Commission awards Ethiopia-Eritrea war claims
Ethiopian soldiers walk on a road leading to an eastern Ethiopian
border town
19 August, 2009
THE HAGUE (AFP) – A panel tasked with settling claims from a border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea ordered the neighbouring nations Tuesday to pay each other tens of millions of dollars in compensation.
In a report on its website, the Hague-based Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission said Eritrea should pay Ethiopia 174 million dollars (123 million euros) while Ethiopia should in turn give its neighbour 163 million dollars.
"The armed conflict between these two parties caused serious injury and damage to the people and infrastructure of these two countries, which the Commission recognised are among the poorest on earth," the commission said in a statement.
"While the compensation awarded to each party is substantial, the commission recognised that it is probably much less than each party believes it is due," it said, adding that local economic conditions had to be taken into account.
Some 80,000 people died in the 1998-2000 border conflict, many in brutal World War I style trench warfare.
The claims commission was set up under a 2000 Algiers peace deal that ended the two-year conflict.
Eritrea had said earlier Tuesday that it would accept the ruling.
"Eritrea is well aware of the interference that has impaired the administration of justice," the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
The statement was referring to Ethiopia's refusal to recognise a binding verdict by an international panel that granted the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea.
"Nonetheless, and irrespective of the plausibility of the evidence and legal instruments invoked to arrive at the award, the government of Eritrea accepts the award of the Claims Commission without any equivocation due to its final and binding nature under the Algiers Agreement."
Ethiopia has repeatedly called for adjustments in the implementation of the new demarcation and maintains troops in disputed territories.
Reacting to the claims commission ruling, Ethiopia's foreign ministry argued that its neighbour got off lightly.
"The difference between the totality of the awards between the two countries means that Eritrea owes Ethiopia over ten million US dollars," a statement said.
"This is a very small amount given the gravity of the crime of aggression committed by Eritrea as determined by the commission itself," it added.