Ethiopia’s Quest for Access to the Sea: Historical Realities and Legitimate Claims
Ethiopia’s demand for maritime access is rooted in historical ties to the Red Sea and contemporary legal principles governing landlocked states. Geopolitically, the Horn of Africa’s strategic waterways have long shaped regional power dynamics, with Ethiopia’s loss of direct coastal access after Erit...
Uloženo v:
| Vydáno v: | Mizan law review Ročník 19; číslo 2; s. 347 - 388 |
|---|---|
| Hlavní autoři: | , |
| Médium: | Journal Article |
| Jazyk: | amharština angličtina |
| Vydáno: |
St. Mary's University, Addis Ababa
30.09.2025
|
| Témata: | |
| ISSN: | 1998-9881, 2309-902X |
| On-line přístup: | Získat plný text |
| Tagy: |
Přidat tag
Žádné tagy, Buďte první, kdo vytvoří štítek k tomuto záznamu!
|
| Abstract | Ethiopia’s demand for maritime access is rooted in historical ties to the Red Sea and contemporary legal principles governing landlocked states. Geopolitically, the Horn of Africa’s strategic waterways have long shaped regional power dynamics, with Ethiopia’s loss of direct coastal access after Eritrea’s 1993 secession exacerbating its economic and security vulnerabilities. Legally, Ethiopia’s claim draws on colonial-era agreements, which recognized its “legitimate need for access to the sea,” as well as post-independence ‘effectivités’, its sustained administration of ports, including Assab port, prior to 1991. The claim also engages key debates in international law, including the tension between Eritrea’s territorial sovereignty under uti possidetis and Ethiopia’s equitable rights as a landlocked state under UNCLOS and customary law. Critics argue that Eritrea’s sovereignty is absolute and that Ethiopia’s reliance on Djibouti’s ports suffices. However, Ethiopia counters that its historical access to the sea, coupled with the disproportionate economic burden of landlocked status, justifies special arrangements such as shared administration or sovereign easements. The legal justification hinges on doctrines of necessity, equitable access, and the correction of colonial-era disruptions, which fragmented Ethiopia’s Red Sea linkages. Proposed solutions (including lease agreements, joint port management, or transit corridors) reflect international practices balancing sovereignty with developmental equity. Ethiopia’s pursuit is framed not as territorial revisionism but as a test case for reconciling self-determination with the rights of landlocked states. Therefore, resolving this issue requires political dialogue informed by legal precedents and regional stability imperatives. |
|---|---|
| AbstractList | Ethiopia’s demand for maritime access is rooted in historical ties to the Red Sea and contemporary legal principles governing landlocked states. Geopolitically, the Horn of Africa’s strategic waterways have long shaped regional power dynamics, with Ethiopia’s loss of direct coastal access after Eritrea’s 1993 secession exacerbating its economic and security vulnerabilities. Legally, Ethiopia’s claim draws on colonial-era agreements, which recognized its “legitimate need for access to the sea,” as well as post-independence ‘effectivités’, its sustained administration of ports, including Assab port, prior to 1991. The claim also engages key debates in international law, including the tension between Eritrea’s territorial sovereignty under uti possidetis and Ethiopia’s equitable rights as a landlocked state under UNCLOS and customary law. Critics argue that Eritrea’s sovereignty is absolute and that Ethiopia’s reliance on Djibouti’s ports suffices. However, Ethiopia counters that its historical access to the sea, coupled with the disproportionate economic burden of landlocked status, justifies special arrangements such as shared administration or sovereign easements. The legal justification hinges on doctrines of necessity, equitable access, and the correction of colonial-era disruptions, which fragmented Ethiopia’s Red Sea linkages. Proposed solutions (including lease agreements, joint port management, or transit corridors) reflect international practices balancing sovereignty with developmental equity. Ethiopia’s pursuit is framed not as territorial revisionism but as a test case for reconciling self-determination with the rights of landlocked states. Therefore, resolving this issue requires political dialogue informed by legal precedents and regional stability imperatives. Ethiopia’s demand for maritime access is rooted in historical ties to the Red Sea and contemporary legal principles governing landlocked states. Geopolitically, the Horn of Africa’s strategic waterways have long shaped regional power dynamics, with Ethiopia’s loss of direct coastal access after Eritrea’s 1993 secession exacerbating its economic and security vulnerabilities. Legally, Ethiopia’s claim draws on colonial-era agreements, which recognized its “legitimate need for access to the sea,” as well as post-independence ‘effectivités’, its sustained administration of ports, including Assab port, prior to 1991. The claim also engages key debates in international law, including the tension between Eritrea’s territorial sovereignty under uti possidetis and Ethiopia’s equitable rights as a landlocked state under UNCLOS and customary law. Critics argue that Eritrea’s sovereignty is absolute and that Ethiopia’s reliance on Djibouti’s ports suffices. However, Ethiopia counters that its historical access to the sea, coupled with the disproportionate economic burden of landlocked status, justifies special arrangements such as shared administration or sovereign easements. The legal justification hinges on doctrines of necessity, equitable access, and the correction of colonial-era disruptions, which fragmented Ethiopia’s Red Sea linkages. Proposed solutions (including lease agreements, joint port management, or transit corridors) reflect international practices balancing sovereignty with developmental equity. Ethiopia’s pursuit is framed not as territorial revisionism but as a test case for reconciling self-determination with the rights of landlocked states. Therefore, resolving this issue requires political dialogue informed by legal precedents and regional stability imperatives. |
| Author | Biruk Paulos Temesgen Thomas Halabo |
| Author_xml | – sequence: 1 surname: Biruk Paulos fullname: Biruk Paulos – sequence: 2 surname: Temesgen Thomas Halabo fullname: Temesgen Thomas Halabo |
| BookMark | eNo9kMFKAzEURYMoWLUrfyB7mZpMZtLEXSlqCwVRK7gLb5KXNjJtSjIK7vwNf88vcbTi6nHf4tzLOSGH27hFQs45G1WCV5ebNo3euA7lSB6QQSmYLjQrnw_JgGutCq0UPybDnEPDSqnHXCg1IMvrbh3iLsDXx2em96-YO-pjohNrMWfaRdqtkT4iXNFZyF1MwUJLHxDa0AXMFLaOLnDVhw10SKcthE0-I0ce2ozDv3tKnm6ul9NZsbi7nU8ni8JyoWWhuKytZQyEY41nVgonrVJMOtXUCmpslAJbNwJK6Wq0FUgJKGs_bmqvtBKnZL7nuggvZpf6DendRAjm9xHTykDqgm3RWF8x50FYKF3FhNYS-1rfox2gEGXPutizbIo5J_T_PM7Mj1_T-zW_fo0U35vTckk |
| ContentType | Journal Article |
| DBID | AAYXX CITATION DOA |
| DOI | 10.4314/mlr.v19i2.6 |
| DatabaseName | CrossRef DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals |
| DatabaseTitle | CrossRef |
| DatabaseTitleList | CrossRef |
| Database_xml | – sequence: 1 dbid: DOA name: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals url: https://www.doaj.org/ sourceTypes: Open Website |
| DeliveryMethod | fulltext_linktorsrc |
| Discipline | Law |
| EISSN | 2309-902X |
| EndPage | 388 |
| ExternalDocumentID | oai_doaj_org_article_cf40dfa3ca2d403996ea3df3a2dae332 10_4314_mlr_v19i2_6 |
| GroupedDBID | -OY .4L 1XV 4JU AAFWJ AAYXX ADBBV ADUOI AFPKN ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS ANHLU BCNDV CITATION GCT GROUPED_DOAJ HCSNT HOCAJ KQ8 KWQ OK1 QN5 RHO RNS |
| ID | FETCH-LOGICAL-c1396-8165cc00a3d0bf0c63d6c8806d8b58a5eb88ac5b3a26d5ec4a66ae65f7b5f8983 |
| IEDL.DBID | DOA |
| ISSN | 1998-9881 |
| IngestDate | Mon Dec 01 19:30:07 EST 2025 Wed Oct 29 21:26:50 EDT 2025 |
| IsDoiOpenAccess | true |
| IsOpenAccess | true |
| IsPeerReviewed | false |
| IsScholarly | true |
| Issue | 2 |
| Language | Amharic English |
| LinkModel | DirectLink |
| MergedId | FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c1396-8165cc00a3d0bf0c63d6c8806d8b58a5eb88ac5b3a26d5ec4a66ae65f7b5f8983 |
| OpenAccessLink | https://doaj.org/article/cf40dfa3ca2d403996ea3df3a2dae332 |
| PageCount | 42 |
| ParticipantIDs | doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_cf40dfa3ca2d403996ea3df3a2dae332 crossref_primary_10_4314_mlr_v19i2_6 |
| PublicationCentury | 2000 |
| PublicationDate | 2025-09-30 |
| PublicationDateYYYYMMDD | 2025-09-30 |
| PublicationDate_xml | – month: 09 year: 2025 text: 2025-09-30 day: 30 |
| PublicationDecade | 2020 |
| PublicationTitle | Mizan law review |
| PublicationYear | 2025 |
| Publisher | St. Mary's University, Addis Ababa |
| Publisher_xml | – name: St. Mary's University, Addis Ababa |
| SSID | ssib026971388 ssj0000392928 |
| Score | 2.3052776 |
| Snippet | Ethiopia’s demand for maritime access is rooted in historical ties to the Red Sea and contemporary legal principles governing landlocked states.... |
| SourceID | doaj crossref |
| SourceType | Open Website Index Database |
| StartPage | 347 |
| SubjectTerms | Ethiopia, Red Sea, maritime access, Eritrea, historical rights, uti possidetis, landlocked states, geopolitics |
| Title | Ethiopia’s Quest for Access to the Sea: Historical Realities and Legitimate Claims |
| URI | https://doaj.org/article/cf40dfa3ca2d403996ea3df3a2dae332 |
| Volume | 19 |
| hasFullText | 1 |
| inHoldings | 1 |
| isFullTextHit | |
| isPrint | |
| journalDatabaseRights | – providerCode: PRVAON databaseName: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals customDbUrl: eissn: 2309-902X dateEnd: 99991231 omitProxy: false ssIdentifier: ssj0000392928 issn: 1998-9881 databaseCode: DOA dateStart: 20070101 isFulltext: true titleUrlDefault: https://www.doaj.org/ providerName: Directory of Open Access Journals |
| link | http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV07T8MwELagYmBBPEV5yUPXtEkcOw5bqUAMVYWgoG7R5eKgSn2pLWXlb_D3-CWcnQBlYsGbrSiyvrN931nn7xhr0JbRCGDzpGLwosCAl2iNROSokTuR6C7cnrpxr6cHg-RurdSXzQkr5YFL4FpYRH5egEAI88gnd6oMiLwQ1AUjhDt9ifWsBVO0kkKVUPBVCXG5M9nSAFdo1b0po-kE5WM98p9RazyaN1dBMgyb6pd7WlPxd-7mZpftVDyRt8v57bENGO-zzS68HrC-zVGfzobw8fa-4O7GkhP15G1X-5Avp5xIHX8wcMl_RED4vbGMm-JiDpOcd80zdYitGt4ZwXC8OGSPN9f9zq1XFUfwkEib8nSgJKLvExh-VvioRK6QNqPKdSY1SJNpDSgzAkrl0mAESoFRsogzWehEiyNWm0wn5phxJUWWWSG4TGCEqJJAQ5FQLOhjHBeJqLPGFybprNTASCl2sNClBF3qoEtVnV1ZvL4_scLVboDMmVbmTP8y58l__OSUbYe2TK9L6zhjteX8xZyzLVwth4v5hVspn6OUwtc |
| linkProvider | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| openUrl | ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Ethiopia%E2%80%99s+Quest+for+Access+to+the+Sea%3A+Historical+Realities+and+Legitimate+Claims&rft.jtitle=Mizan+law+review&rft.au=Biruk+Paulos&rft.au=Temesgen+Thomas+Halabo&rft.date=2025-09-30&rft.issn=1998-9881&rft.eissn=2309-902X&rft.volume=19&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=347&rft.epage=388&rft_id=info:doi/10.4314%2Fmlr.v19i2.6&rft.externalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=10_4314_mlr_v19i2_6 |
| thumbnail_l | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=1998-9881&client=summon |
| thumbnail_m | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=1998-9881&client=summon |
| thumbnail_s | http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=1998-9881&client=summon |