Nile Basin Countries Fail to Sign River Treaty Again
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social
Egypt and Sudan have rejected the proposed Nile Basin agreement as it stands, while the other seven members vow to press on.
A majority of the Nile basin nations have resolved to move forward on a regional water usage treaty without the support of Egypt and Sudan, theEast Africanreports.
After last month's negotiations failed to make progress on the accord, seven of the nine countries-Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda-agreed to establish a one-year window to sign the current treaty starting May 14, according to the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). Meanwhile Egypt and Sudan would like to form a Nile commission to continue discussing the details of the agreement.
NBI was formed in 1999 to increase dialogue among the basin countries to cooperatively develop the river. One of the primary goals of the organization was to sign a treaty by 2009 that would create a permanent Nile Basin Commission with legal authority to control the development and allocation of the river and enforce its decisions.
In breaking off negotiations, the seven countries risk creating a powerless body, some local leaders argue. A commission formed without two of the most powerful countries in the basin would be a hollow institution that's less effective than the current system, Tanzanian Water Affairs Minister Mark Mwandosya told theEast African.
The treaty, called the Cooperative Framework Agreement, was supposed to be signed in July, but disagreements over the wording and scope of the document caused delays-one point of contention in the CFA is Article 14(b)which addresses water security. Egypt and Sudan want the article's language changed to protect their historic rights.
"Egypt's share of the Nile's water is a historic right that Egypt has defended throughout its history," Mohammed Allam, minister of water resources and irrigation, told parliament, according toAFP. "Egypt reserves the right to take whatever course it sees suitable to safeguard its share."
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