By Michelle
Nichols, NEW YORK USA
Tunisia
has proposed the U.N. Security Council push for a binding agreement between
Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on the operation of a giant hydropower dam within six
months, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia
Tunisia
circulated the draft text to the 15-member Security Council ahead of a council
meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Thursday, though it
was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote.
A senior
Ethiopian diplomat in New York told Reuters the draft resolution would
"effectively scuttle" an African Union-led mediation process between
the three countries, and Ethiopia was working to make sure that it would not be
adopted.
"Africa
is watching and watching closely because the precedence is huge to bear and
disrupts African Unity," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
"Ethiopia does not believe the matter falls within the purview of the
council."
Tunisia's
U.N. mission did not respond to a request for comment.
The draft
text "calls upon the three countries to refrain from making any
statements, or taking any action that may jeopardize the negotiation process,
and urges Ethiopia to refrain from continuing to unilaterally fill the GERD
reservoir."
Egypt's
irrigation minister said on Monday he had received official notice from
Ethiopia that it had begun filling the reservoir behind the dam for a second
year. Egypt said it rejected the measure as a threat to regional stability.
Ethiopia
says the dam on its Blue Nile is crucial to its economic development and to
provide power.
But Egypt
views it as a grave threat to its Nile water supplies, on which it is almost
entirely dependent. Sudan, another downstream country, has expressed concern
about the dam's safety and the impact on its own dams and water stations.
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