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reiterating that both parties had agreed that it 
would be ‘‘final and binding’’. 
(9) Following the decision of the Boundary 
Commission that the heavily disputed town of 
Badme would be zoned to the Eritrean side of the 
new border, Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin of 
Ethiopia announced on April 15, 2003, that ‘‘[n]o-
one expects the [G]overnment of Ethiopia to accept 
these mistakes committed by the Commission’’. Fur-
ther, the Ethiopian Ministry of Information released 
a statement accusing the Boundary Commission of 
an ‘‘unfair tendency’’ in implementing the border 
ruling and ‘‘misinterpreting’’ the Algiers Agree-
ments. 
(10) In his March 6, 2003, ‘‘Progress Report’’ 
to the United Nations Security Council, Secretary 
General Kofi Annan reported that Prime Minister 
Zenawi of Ethiopia had expressed to his Special 
Representative, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, that ‘‘if 
its concerns were not properly addressed Ethiopia 
might eventually reject the demarcation-related deci-
sions of the Commission’’. 
(11) On September 19, 2003, Prime Minister 
Zenawi wrote to United Nations Secretary General 
Kofi Annan and stated: ‘‘As the Commission’s deci-
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sions could inevitably lead the two countries into an-
other round of fratricidal war, the Security Council 
has an obligation, arising out of the UN Charter, to 
avert such a threat to regional peace and stability.’’. 
(12) On October 3, 2003, the United Nations 
Security Council wrote to Prime Minister Zenawi 
and stated: ‘‘The members of the Security Council 
therefore wish to convey to you their deep regret at 
the intention of the government of Ethiopia not to 
accept the entirety of the delimitation and demarca-
tion decision as decided by the boundary commis-
sion. They note in particular, that Ethiopia has com-
mitted itself under the Algiers Agreements to accept 
the boundary decision as final and binding.’’. 
(13)(A) In an attempt to resolve the continued 
impasse, United Nations Secretary General Kofi 
Annan offered his good offices to the two parties 
and appointed Mr. Lloyd Axworthy, former Minister 
for Foreign Affairs of Canada, to serve as his Spe-
cial Envoy for Ethiopia and Eritrea on January 29, 
2004. 
(B) Despite the assurances of the United Na-
tions Secretary General, including in his Progress 
Reports of March 6, 2004, and July 7, 2004, that 
the appointment of the Special Envoy was ‘‘not in-
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tended to establish an alternative mechanism to the 
Boundary Commission or to renegotiate its final and 
binding decision’’, President Isaias of Eritrea has re-
fused to meet with the Special Envoy or otherwise 
engage in political dialogue aimed at resolving the 
current impasse. 
(14) In his July 7, 2004, ‘‘Progress Report’’ to 
the United Nations Security Council, Secretary Gen-
eral Kofi Annan reported that the Ethiopian Min-
istry of Foreign Affairs continues to reiterate its po-
sition that ‘‘the current demarcation line would dis-
rupt the lives of border communities and lead to fu-
ture conflict’’. 
(15) In that same report, Secretary General 
Annan reminded both governments that they them-
selves ‘‘entrusted the Boundary Commission with 
the entire demarcation process, drew up its mandate 
and selected its Commissioners’’ and called upon the 
Government of Ethiopia to ‘‘unequivocally restate its 
acceptance of the Boundary Commission’s decision, 
appoint field liaison officers, and pay its dues to and 
otherwise cooperate fully and expeditiously with the 
Commission’’.
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SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that Ethiopia and Eri-
trea—
(1) should take all appropriate actions to imple-
ment the Algiers Agreements, including by accepting 
the ‘‘Delimitation Decision’’ issued by the neutral 
Boundary Commission on April 13, 2002, with re-
spect to the boundary between the two countries; 
and 
(2) should fully cooperate with the United Na-
tions Special Envoy for Ethiopia-Eritrea, Lloyd 
Axworthy, whose mandate is the implementation of 
the Algiers Agreements, the Delimitation Decision of 
the Boundary Commission, and the relevant resolu-
tions and decisions of the United Nations Security 
Council. 
SEC. 5. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY. 
Congress makes the following declarations: 
(1) Congress expresses its support for the 
Boundary Commission established by the Com-
prehensive Peace Agreement and calls on the inter-
national community to continue to support the 
United Nations trust fund established to facilitate 
the process of demarcation between Ethiopia and 
Eritrea and the economic and social transition of af-
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fected communities to new borders determined by 
the Commission. 
(2) Congress further declares that it shall be 
the policy of the United States to limit United 
States assistance for Ethiopia or Eritrea if either 
such country is not in compliance with, or is not 
taking significant steps to comply with, the terms 
and conditions of the Algiers Agreements. 
(3) Congress strongly condemns statements by 
senior Ethiopian officials criticizing the Boundary 
Commission’s decision and calls on the Government 
of Ethiopia to immediately and unconditionally fulfill 
its commitments under the Algiers Agreements, pub-
licly accept the Boundary Commission’s decision, 
and fully cooperate with the implementation of such 
decision. 
(4) Congress recognizes the acceptance by the 
Government of Eritrea of the Boundary Commis-
sion’s decision as final and binding, but condemns 
the Government of Eritrea’s continued refusal to 
take advantage of the good offices offered by the 
United Nations Secretary General, to work with 
Special Envoy Lloyd Axworthy, or to otherwise en-
gage in dialogue aimed at resolving the current im-
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passe, and calls on the President of Eritrea to do so 
without further delay. 
SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE. 
(a) LIMITATION ON ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—Eco-
nomic assistance may only be provided for Ethiopia or Eri-
trea for any period of time for which the President deter-
mines that Ethiopia or Eritrea (as the case may be) is 
in compliance with, or is taking significant steps to comply 
with, the terms and conditions of the Algiers Agreements. 
(b) LIMITATION
ON MILITARY ASSISTANCE
AND 
ARMS TRANSFERS.—Military assistance and arms trans-
fers may only be provided for Ethiopia or Eritrea for any 
period of time for which the President determines that 
Ethiopia or Eritrea (as the case may be) is in compliance 
with, or is taking significant steps to comply with, the 
terms and conditions of the Algiers Agreements. 
(c) EXCEPTIONS.—The limitation on assistance 
under subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply with respect 
to humanitarian assistance (such as food or medical as-
sistance), assistance to protect or promote human rights, 
and assistance to prevent, treat, and control HIV/AIDS. 
(d) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica-
tion of subsection (a) or (b) with respect to Ethiopia or 
Eritrea, particularly for the provision of peacekeeping as-
sistance or counterterrorism assistance, if the President
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determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional 
committees that it is in the national interests of the 
United States to do so. 
SEC. 7. INTEGRATION AND BORDER DEVELOPMENT INITIA-
TIVE. 
(a) ASSISTANCE.—After the date on which the border 
demarcation between Ethiopia and Eritrea is finalized 
(consistent with the decision of the Boundary Commission 
established by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement), the 
President shall establish and carry out an initiative in con-
junction with the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea 
under which assistance is provided to reduce the adverse 
humanitarian impacts on the populations of the border re-
gion, prevent conflict which might result from the demar-
cation process, and further social and economic develop-
ment projects that are identified and evaluated by local 
authorities to establish sustainable integration, develop-
ment, and trade at the border region. 
(b) PROJECT EXAMPLES.—Examples of development 
projects referred to in subsection (a) are—
(1) 
startup 
initiatives, 
including 
farming 
projects, to promote community economic develop-
ment and the free flow of trade across the border be-
tween the two countries;
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(2) generous compensation packages for fami-
lies displaced by the border demarcation and support 
for relocation; 
(3) effective mechanisms for managing move-
ment of persons across the border between the two 
countries; 
(4) an increase in the supply of basic services 
in the border region, including water, sanitation, 
housing, health care, and education; and 
(5) support for local efforts to reinforce peace 
and reconciliation in the border region. 
SEC. 8. REPORT. 
Until the date on which the border demarcation be-
tween Ethiopia and Eritrea is finalized, the President 
shall prepare and transmit on a regular basis to the appro-
priate congressional committees a report that contains a 
description of progress being made toward such demarca-
tion, including the extent to which Ethiopia and Eritrea 
are in compliance with, or are taking significant steps to 
comply with, the terms and conditions of the Algiers 
Agreements, and are otherwise cooperating with inter-
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nationally-sanctioned efforts to resolve the current im-
passe.
Passed the House of Representatives October 8, 
2004. 
Attest: 
JEFF TRANDAHL, 
Clerk.