In an emergency session of the UN Security Council, convened at the request of the state of Eritrea and held on Saturday 27 February 1999, the Council issued a call for an immediate cease-fire of hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea. This decision comes upon the surprising and belated acceptance by the State of Eritrea of the OAU Framework Agreement, a framework that had been accepted by Ethiopia from the start, and which has been persistently rejected by the State of Eritrea until yesterday. It will be recalled that the framework proposed by the OAU, endorsed by the Security Council, requires among other things the withdrawal of troops from Badme, and restoration of Ethiopian administrative jurisdiction. This critical measure was an acknowledgement by the OAU and the UN Security Council that the territory in question was forcibly seized by the armed forces of Eritrea. Eritrea refused to accept this term for a peaceful resolution even in the face of the UN Security Council's resolution of 29 January 1999, which welcomed Ethiopia's acceptance of the framework and called for Eritrea's acceptance without delay.

In the face of Eritrea's refusal of the framework, Ethiopia in the end had no choice but to exercise her right to self-defence under international law. It is now well known that Ethiopia has been successful in the exercise of this right, and Eritrean armed forces have been compelled to withdraw from Ethiopian territory under dispute. It is at this juncture that Eritrea for the first time expressed its willingness to accept the OAU framework.

It should be clear that now, when Ethiopia has restored the status quo ante, the application of the terms of the OAU framework is inappropriate. It bears remembrance that in order to enable proposals for a peaceful resolution of the conflict Ethiopia had agreed to terms that fell short of the restoration of her claims to sovereignty. In particular Ethiopia's willingness to allow demilitarisation of the disputed territories and to permit the presence of third party peacekeeping forces was a concession made in the interests of keeping the peace. These concessions, entered into in order to avert hostilities, are plainly not apposite following the forcible restoration of the status quo ante.

Following the enormous price in human lives and material well-being paid by Ethiopia in order to compel withdrawal of the Eritrean invading forces, there is no reason of principle, law, or national interest why Ethiopia would now consider to withdraw her armed forces from her territory, territory which the OAU, the UN Security Council, and the rest of the international community recognise as having been illegitimately invaded by Eritrea. Ethiopia now and throughout the course of the crisis has sought peace. We welcome the new effort by the international community to make peace. We call upon the international community to put forward terms of peace that are fair and practicable, in accord with international law, and fully cognisant of the present state of affairs.