The United States, in its diplomatic regime in the Horn of Africa, has failed to align its interests with its actions. Although the Horn of Africa is filled with many diverse cultures and societies, a variety of different state-constructions, in the end, every state hopes to improve the lives of its people.
Almost a decade ago two of Africa’s greatest hopes for the future were building societies to reshape the image of the African. Both nations claimed to encourage civility with one another and the rest of the world; an effort to change the relationship of their continent with the outside world. A new philosophy was born in Eritrea and Ethiopia, aside from embracing the quintessentially African (e.g. love for social justice, etc.), a desire for international tranquility.
For 7 years the people and Governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia have been subject to a treaty signed in 2000 that brought peace between both peoples. The peace brokered by this agreement is at risk given the occupation of territory by one party over another. The genesis of the occupation is presented below to better understand why the international community must act today to prevent a renewed conflict.
What triggered the Eritrea-Ethiopia border war?
Ethiopian authorities killed Eritrean officers who had come to discuss the case of Eritrean farmers who were forcibly evicted from their border villages by Ethiopian authorities, and the fact that Ethiopia had illegally occupied large swaths of sovereign Eritrean territory along the border. prior to this incident, Eritrea’s efforts to have the border demarcated through a joint border commission was frustrated by Ethiopia’s intransigence.
Peacekeeping operations are not to be permanent. They are temporary operations meant to provide an environment and sometimes be a catalyst for self sustaining peace. They are meant to stabilize conflict situations after a cease fire and to assist in the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements.1