Leaked Ethiopian Memo Snarks on UNSC Members’ Positions on Eritrea Sanctions

OVERVIEW
A leaked memo from Ethiopia’s foreign ministry, as obtained by this reporter, provides a run-down on UN Security Council members’ positions on Eritrea sanctions, including dissing some members as not making any “meaningful contribution,” while warning that anotother, Chile, cares about international law too much. The memo contrasts Susan Rice and new successor as US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, and urges Ethiopian diplomats to “facilitate the resolution of the misunderstanding the [Sanctions] Group has with Kenya and Somalia.” 

Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Berhane Bebrekiristos (r)

Leaked Ethiopian Memo Snarks on UNSC Members’ Positions on Eritrea Sanctions

By Matthew Russell Lee,

UNITED NATIONS, June 27 — The buzz from the Horn of Africa is an Ethiopian Minister of Foreign affairs memo about Eritrea, sanctions and the UN Security Council. As obtained by this reporter, the memo by Ethiopian Minister Berhane Gebrekiristos brags that “the P3 countries have been supportive of sanctions against Eritrea… The former US Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Susan Rice, was instrumental in adopting the sanctions. The current US Permanent Representative, Ambassador Samantha Power, may not be as strong on Eritrea. But since Ambassador Susan Rice is serving as the National Security Adviser of President Obama, she will ensure the continuation of the US’s policy of sanctions Eritrea.”

The memo goes on, “France has supported the imposition of sanctions against Eritrea, primarily due to the conflict with Djibouti.” It says “meetings with the UK Permanent Representatives have confirmed that the UK will not change its position.”

Non-permanent members are also reviewed: “the Eritrean president has participated in the independence day of Chad in 2011 but we don’t believe Chad will be supportive of Eritrea’s efforts to lift the sanctions.”

Then, “Lithuania has a good relationship with the US and as a member of the EU it tends to implement the common position of the Union… While Argentina and Luxembourg have no meaningful participation or contribution in the UNSC” — ouch! — “Australia and South Korea tend to take positions similar to that of the US. Jordan has assigned non-resident Ambassador to Eritrea… During its previous membership of the UNSC, Chile had expressed that in accordance to international law Eritrea has a better legal case.”

One problem, the memo says, is the last report of the Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group: “Italy, Norway, Kenya and Somalia who were mentioned in the report also criticized the Group. The Group’s reports exposed the rampant corruption in the Somali Government.”

As this reporter first uploaded to this site, Somalia asked that the chair of the SEMG be fired; Kenya declared one of the Group’s members persona non-grata.

So, the Ethiopian memo counsels, Ethiopian diplomats should “facilitate the resolution of the misunderstanding the group has with Kenya and Somalia.” Good luck.

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