Chronology of Events

Ethiopia/Eritrea

July 2008

On 30 July, the Security Council adopted resolution 1827 which terminated the UN mission to Ethiopia/Eritrea as of 31 July. Earlier, on 29 July, the Secretary-General informed the Council that the UN had consulted Ethiopia and Eritrea about possible options for a follow-on UN presence after the expiration of the mandate of UNMEE. The Secretary-General indicated that both Ethiopia and Eritrea responded that they would not accept any option. 

June 2008

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki wrote a letter to the Council on 18 June stressing that the most important issue for Eritrea was Ethiopian withdrawal from its territories, adding that the UN cannot have legal authority to legitimise occupation. Ethiopian Minister Meles Zenawi said in a letter on 17 June that Ethiopia was open to a UN presence, providing it did not imply or signify a “continuation whatsoever of UNMEE under a new arrangement.”

14 May 2008

Council members discussed the future of UNMEE, regarding the possibility of terminating the mandate of the mission and starting a new UN mission in the region with an appropriately modified mandate to deal with the current situation. 

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