Asmara (Somalia Today) — Eritrea announced Friday that it has formally notified the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) of its withdrawal from the Horn of Africa regional bloc, accusing the organization of violating its legal mandate and failing to deliver reform.
In a foreign ministry press release dated Dec. 12, Eritrea stated that IGAD has “forfeited its legal mandate and authority.” The ministry argued the bloc offers “no discernible strategic benefit” to its constituencies and has repeatedly “renege[d] on its statutory obligations.”
IGAD did not immediately respond to the announcement. Eritrea confirmed it has already informed the IGAD Secretary-General of its decision.
The statement framed the withdrawal not as a tactical maneuver, but as a necessity. Asmara said it felt “compelled to withdraw” from an organization that, in its view, no longer holds legal standing or relevance.
Old grievances
Eritrea anchored its decision in disputes that predate the current wave of tensions in the Horn of Africa.
The Foreign Ministry noted that Eritrea played a “pivotal role” when IGAD was revitalized in 1993, working with other member states to strengthen the bloc as the “primary vehicle” for regional peace, stability, and economic integration.
However, Eritrea argues the bloc’s trajectory subsequently deteriorated. The ministry claims that, “especially since 2005,” IGAD failed to meet the aspirations of the region’s people and adopted a “deleterious role,” becoming “a tool against targeted Member States; particularly Eritrea.”
These grievances previously led Asmara to suspend its membership in April 2007. Eritrea reactivated its membership in June 2023—ending a near 16-year absence—in the hopes that the organization would pursue reform and “rectify its past records.”
On Friday, however, the government declared that IGAD had failed that test.
The Foreign Ministry accused the bloc of continuing to undermine its own relevance by ignoring statutory obligations.
Eritrea did not identify specific recent decisions that breached the mandate, instead casting the withdrawal as a broader institutional verdict: the bloc no longer serves as a lawful or useful forum for member states.
The Ethiopia factor
While Eritrea’s statement focused on rules and mandates, analysts link the withdrawal to worsening ties between Eritrea and Ethiopia following the November 2022 Pretoria agreement, which ended the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Observers suggest Eritrea viewed the post-war deal—signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed—as an outcome that preserved the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a political force.
Simultaneously, Prime Minister Abiy’s repeated public arguments regarding Ethiopia’s “right” to Red Sea access have sharpened suspicions across the region, including in Asmara.
Headquartered in Djibouti, IGAD describes itself as a regional organization with a mandate spanning peace, security, and economic integration. Its legal basis rests on the 1996 agreement establishing the authority.
Eritrea’s accusation attacks the core of that framework. It is not arguing over a single policy line, but rather that IGAD has “forfeited” its mandate entirely.
Treaty reform
IGAD leaders have presented reform as a priority in recent years.
A summit communiqué dated June 12, 2023, announced the adoption of a new treaty intended to replace the 1996 agreement and build a more “rule-based” organization with a stronger legal framework.
Since then, IGAD has highlighted ratification steps by member states, including Ethiopia’s approval of the new treaty.
Eritrea’s statement dismissed this trajectory as insufficient.
The withdrawal lands amidst shifting alliances in the Horn. In October 2024, Egypt, Eritrea, and Somalia announced plans to boost security cooperation—a move widely interpreted through the prism of competition with Ethiopia.
Eritrea gave no indication it would revisit the decision or pursue mediation. For now, Asmara frames the move as definitive, refusing to remain in an organization it believes has lost legal authority and failed to contribute “substantively to the stability of the region.”
