Ms Hanna Tetteh, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General to the Horn of Africa

In the seventh lecture of the 2022 Development Matters series, supported by Irish Aid, the IIEA hosted Ms Hanna Tetteh, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General to the Horn of Africa and previously Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana. SESG Tetteh discussed her role in the breakthrough ceasefire agreement to the conflict in the Tigray region in Ethiopia and the implications of this agreement for Ethiopia and for the Horn of Africa. This event was chaired by Réiseal Ní Chéilleachair, Head of International Advocacy at Concern Worldwide.

In his opening remarks, Michael O’ Toole, Director of the Horn of Africa Unit in Irish Aid, noted that Ireland played an important role during its time as an elected member of the UN Security Council in ensuring that the Council kept a focus on Ethiopia, encouraging an end to the conflict which led to hundreds and thousands of casualties, severe human rights abuses, and blockages of humanitarian assistance.

Negotiating the first steps to peace

Ms Tetteh provided an overview of the current situation in the Horn of Africa. On 2 November 2022, after two years of conflict, the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an agreement for lasting peace through the permanent cessation of hostilities, in a ceremony in South Africa. She noted, however, that the Pretoria Agreement envisaged subsequent negotiations to take account of disarmament, reintegration and to deal with outstanding political issues between the two parties. Ms Tetteh stressed that this agreement was a foundation document not a final document, a first step in a series of steps, and it will not be the only agreement that the parties are going to have to negotiate between themselves. She said that following the Pretoria Agreement, senior commanders from both sides met for follow-up discussions in Nairobi and signed the declaration of the senior commanders on the modalities for the implementation of the agreement for lasting peace through the permanent cessation of hostilities, on 12 November 2022. She added that since the 30 November 2022, the Technical Planning Joint Committee comprising several representatives from both sides had been meeting in Shire in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. On 1 December 2022, the TPLF announced that the Tigray army had started withdrawing from several active former frontlines. Ms Tetteh cautioned that while there are conflicting reports on the withdrawal of Tigrayan forces, it appears that they had partially withdrawn, although the exact figures had not been verified at that time.

SESG Tetteh attended the Pretoria talks as one of three observers, alongside the Executive Secretary of The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), and the US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa. Following the 2 November agreement, Ms Tetteh continued her engagements with the two parties, with the African Union (AU) Commission, with the AU High Level Panel, who were the mediators and facilitators of this process and with relevant stakeholders including representatives of the government of Ethiopia. She said that continued efforts are required to build momentum in order to implement the agreement for the permanent cessation of hostilities and to ensure that in the follow up discussions, agreements can be reached. On reflection, Ms Tetteh said that there is evidence of the necessary political will to implement the agreement on both sides and she urged the international community to support this. She added that the Pretoria agreement may provide increased opportunities to support with funding and sustain the peace and development gains within Ethiopia and the broader Horn region.

Implications of the Agreement for the Horn of Africa

Ms Tetteh then reflected on the implications of the Agreement for the Horn of Africa and her assessment was that if implementation proceeds as evidenced over last few weeks, it would stabilise the Northern region of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. She explained that the Northern region of Ethiopia includes Tigray, Amhara and Afar and that communities in the region have been significantly impacted by the conflict. She argued that the peace-building process must be focused on this region in order to ensure there is a lasting end to the conflict.

Bilateral Relationships between Ethiopia and its neighbours

She then focused on the bilateral relationships between Ethiopia and its neighbours, which she felt could benefit from greater peace in the country and which would allow Ethiopia to be less inward-facing, although, she acknowledged that there are some smaller-scale conflicts in the country which still need attention and sustainable solutions. Ms Tetteh said that her expectation is that engagement between Ethiopia and its neighbours will continue to be on a bilateral basis even though there are multilateral structures within IGAD and the African Union, but they are more complex. She welcomed the optimism generated by the Pretoria Agreement and said it could have a positive ripple-effect on issue-based cooperation within the regional architecture mentioned above. She cited the example of COP27, where a consensus developed within the IGAD countries on the development of a coordination mechanism on climate change challenges. This was later endorsed at an IGAD meeting where these countries in the region saw the merit of working together against common threats.

Ms Tetteh said that bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Sudan have improved, and they are close to reconciliation on the al-Fashaga border. Representatives who met at different fora and attended the ordinary IGAD Council had resolved to solve local and regional disputes peacefully. This, she said, may create openings on discussion on water management in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Regarding Ethiopian cross border cooperation with Somalia, she said that recent incursions of Al Shabaab into the region was dealt with by both sides. Increased cooperation between the government of Somalia and Ethiopia will help deal with mutual terrorist threats.
With Djibouti, Ethiopia has strong economic relations due to Djibouti’s port facilities.

Ms Tetteh concluded her presentation by stating that that the Pretoria agreement provides the basis for a sustainable peace-process, by taking a patient step by step approach. If all parties can work together to support the peace process and demonstrate that peace can be maintained, this major conflict which affects the continent will be replaced with peace and bring normality to the Tigray region. NGOs are now able to deliver food, services are also being restored and there is relief and optimism about a better future. The UN, she said, will continue to scale up humanitarian assistance, and if requested, the UN could support de-mining efforts. Finally, she added that the delivery of humanitarian assistance is a confidence building measure as much as a relief for the population at large.