Egypt on Tuesday formally referred the dispute over Ethiopia’s announcement of the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile to the UN Security Council, denouncing the move as a “new breach of international law.”
In a strongly worded statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry rejected what it called Ethiopia’s “unilateral action,” arguing that it violates the UN Charter and threatens regional peace and stability.
The statement revealed that Egypt had submitted an urgent letter to the Council’s president, urging the international community to assume responsibility for what Cairo described as an “existential matter” for the Egyptian people’s water rights.
The protest followed Ethiopia’s official ceremony announcing the dam’s completion and operation, despite the absence of a tripartite agreement with Egypt and Sudan on filling and operating procedures, after more than a decade of failed negotiations.
The GERD dispute remains one of the most sensitive regional issues, with Egypt repeatedly voicing fears that the dam could undermine its historic share of Nile waters, on which it relies almost entirely for drinking water and irrigation.
