Arbitration panel orders Eritrea and Ethiopia to pay war compensations

August 18, 2009 (THE HAGUE) — The Hague-based Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission which tasked with settling claims form a border war ordered the two countries to pay each other compensation.

Ethiopia 174 million dollars (123 million euros) while Ethiopia should in turn give its neighbour 163 million dollars, the panel announced on Tuesday.

“The armed conflict between these two parties caused serious injury and damage to the people and infrastructure of these two countries, which the Commission recognized are among the poorest on earth,” the commission said.

The arbitration panel said that it had to take in account the economic conditions of the two countries in its decision stressing the awarded compensation is “probably much less than each party believes it is due.”

The claims panel was set up under the Algiers Peace Agreement that ended the war between the two neighbors in 2000.

Some 80,000 people died in the 1998-2000 border conflict, many in brutal World War I style trench warfare.
The Eritrean government today reacted favorably and accepted the award despite Ethiopia refusal to implement a border demarcation decision that granted the disputed Badme town to Eritrea.

“Eritrea is well aware of the interference that has impaired the administration of justice. 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 (…)”

In Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian foreign ministry estimated that it is not properly indemnified over the damage caused by Eritrea during the war.

“The difference between the totality of the awards between the two countries means that Eritrea owes Ethiopia over ten million US dollars. This is a very small amount given the gravity of the crime of aggression committed by Eritrea as determined by the Commission itself,” said the Ethiopian foreign ministry.

Ethiopia further said it would study the details of the final award and measures that could be taken to ensure what is owed to Ethiopia by Eritrea is settled.

The statement concluded that the most important matter is that “the Claims Commission has found Eritrea to be the culprit in this sad saga between the two countries”

(ST)