THE UN: Ireland has called for the release of prisoners in the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict to give a psychological boost to the peace process in the region, reports Deaglán de Bréadún from in New York.
The deputy head of Ireland's UN mission, Mr Gerard Corr, told the Security Council it would help in "easing tensions in the region and improving relations between the parties".
Mr Corr was speaking at a Security Council meeting on the report of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, set up to resolve demarcation disputes after a war between the two states. The war began in 1998 when border skirmishes sparked an Eritrean invasion. Ethiopia responded with a massive counter-offensive, pushing up to 60 miles into Eritrea, which had secured independence from Ethiopia in 1992. The conflict lasted two years and cost 100,000 lives.
Mr Corr supported the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, on the need for the international community to maintain support for the process, politically, morally and financially, to build on the progress made.
Mr Annan told the UN body that both parties had reaffirmed their acceptance of the decision of the boundary commission on the location of their common border, announced on April 13th. The Russian ambassador and current president of the Security Council, Mr Sergey Lavrov, said the members commended the commitment of Ethiopia and Eritrea to accept the decision of the boundary commission as binding.