arbitration / adr news

Sudan Mulling International Arbitration in Dispute with Ethiopia over GERD

24 April 2021

Khartoum - Ahmed Younis

The dispute on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam escalated on Friday after Sudan announced that it was mulling to resort to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in case Addis Ababa completes the second filling of GERD.

If the second filling is completed without a binding legal agreement, Sudanese legal teams backed by international legal firms would file lawsuits against the Italian company that is executing the project and the Ethiopian government, to compensate for the damages that Sudan would suffer from, Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yassir Abbas said Friday.

He said Sudan was studying various options, including resorting to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), The Human Right Commissions and the COMESA Court.

"Failure to reach an agreement paves the way for raising a complaint to the Security Council, considering that the GERD poses a real threat to regional peace and security," the minister warned.

Abbas said Ethiopia had rejected a Sudanese proposal to use EU, US and UN mediators led by the African Union.

He added that while previous negotiations between the three countries had yielded agreement over 90% of outstanding issues that progress was now in doubt.

Egypt said it was willing to reach a comprehensive, fair and balanced deal on filling the dam in a way that serves the interest of the three countries and protects regional stability and peace.

It expressed its stance during a virtual meeting between Egyptian Ambassador in London Tarek Adel and UK Minister for Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly on the GERD negotiations.

Source: Asharq Al-Awsat