News Investigators/ UN Secretary-General António Guterres has backed former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s renewed peace initiative in Ethiopia amid rising security tensions in the northern part of the country.
Guterres urged all parties to support Obasanjo’s consultations and use the initiative to resolve outstanding differences threatening Ethiopia’s fragile peace.
UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, disclosed this while briefing UN correspondents at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Dujarric said the UN chief was concerned about recent reports of security incidents and heightened tensions in northern Ethiopia.
“The Secretary-General is concerned by recent reports of security incidents and heightened tensions in northern Ethiopia,” he said.
According to him, Guterres stressed the need for restraint and preservation of gains recorded since the cessation of large-scale hostilities.
“He underscores the importance of maintaining calm and sustaining progress towards lasting peace,” Dujarric said.
The UN chief particularly welcomed the renewed diplomatic intervention of Obasanjo, the African Union’s High Representative for the Horn of Africa.
“He welcomes the renewed efforts of the African Union High Representative for the Horn of Africa, former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo,” Dujarric said.
The renewed engagement includes consultations undertaken by Obasanjo in Addis Ababa and Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
Dujarric said Guterres considered the consultations an opportunity to reinvigorate dialogue and resolve issues still outstanding under the peace process.
“That includes the recent consultations by Obasanjo in Addis Ababa and in Tigray province,” he said.
“The Secretary-General urges all parties to support this initiative and take this opportunity to advance dialogue on outstanding issues.”
Obasanjo played a central role in negotiating the landmark peace agreement that ended two years of devastating conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan forces.
The agreement, formally known as the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, was signed in Pretoria on Nov. 2, 2022.
It followed AU-led negotiations facilitated by Obasanjo, alongside former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The accord provided for a permanent cessation of hostilities, restoration of constitutional order, humanitarian access, disarmament and the restoration of federal authority and essential services.
Obasanjo’s renewed consultations come amid concerns that unresolved political and security questions could undermine progress made since the Pretoria agreement.
The UN Secretary-General warned parties against inflammatory actions or statements capable of deepening mistrust or triggering renewed confrontation.
“The Secretary-General calls on parties to refrain from actions and rhetoric that could heighten tensions,” Dujarric said.
The UN chief “urges all to recommit fully to the comprehensive implementation of the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement,” Dujarric added.
The latest intervention underscores international concern about preserving stability in Tigray and preventing northern Ethiopia from sliding back into armed conflict.
Obasanjo’s renewed role is significant because of his involvement in securing the original agreement and the relationships built with Ethiopian parties during negotiations.
The former Nigerian president’s consultations also reinforces the principle of African-led conflict resolution in Africa, with the AU continuing to take the lead in safeguarding an agreement it helped negotiate.
The UN said preserving calm and supporting Obasanjo’s diplomatic engagement offered the parties an opportunity to prevent deterioration and consolidate the peace.
NAN
