UN Security Council weighs in on Nile dam dispute

The United Nations Security Council has recently called on Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to resume negotiations on the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River. 

A statement by the president of the Security Council, which was approved by all 15 members of the council during an open session held on Sept. 15, said that negotiations should resume at the invitation of the African Union’s (AU) chairman “to finalize expeditiously the text of mutually acceptable and binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD, within a reasonable time frame,” without specifying a deadline.

“The Security Council calls upon the three countries to take forward the AU-led negotiation process in a constructive and cooperative manner,” it continued.

The statement further urged observers who have been invited to attend the AU-led negotiations and any other observers that Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agree to jointly invite, “to continue supporting the negotiations with a view to facilitating resolution of outstanding technical and legal issues.”