Relations between Nigeria and Cameroon have for years suffered from tensions revolving around the dispute over their 1,600-kilometre land boundary, extending from the Lake Chad area to the Bakassi Peninsula, and the maritime boundary into the Gulf of Guinea. At the end of 1993, tensions escalated into a military confrontation with the deployment of the Nigerian military to the 1,000-square kilometre Bakassi Peninsula, believed to be rich in oil and sea reserves.
In 1994, Cameroon brought this border dispute to the International Court of Justice, which had ruled in October 2002 that the Peninsula belongs to Cameroon, despite having mostly Nigerian inhabitants. However, Cameroon is still expected to cede to Nigeria some ten villages in the southern part of the border.
The Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, under United Nations supervision, was established in November 2002 shortly after the Court ruling to ensure a peaceful implementation of the ICJ judgment. The United Nations has employed a host of measures, ranging from diplomatic mediation to financial incentives, to ensure both countries abide by it.
By 18 December 2003, Nigeria had withdrawn its civil administration, military and police forces in the Lake Chad area and had ceded 33 border villages to Cameroon. The Mixed Commission decided at its ninth meeting that the process for withdrawal and transfer of authority in the land boundary would start on 15 June and end on 15 July 2004, and the same process for the Bakassi Peninsula to start on 15 July, ending on 15 September 2004.
It is estimated that Cameroon and Nigeria will need a budget of some $12 million to assist them in the peaceful implementation of the ICJ ruling. The ninth meeting of the Mixed Commission, held in Yaoundé, Cameroon on 7 and 8 April 2004, confirmed that both countries would each have to contribute $3 million to the UN Trust Fund for Demarcation by the end of April 2004. Although the United Kingdom has offered to contribute 1 million pounds sterling and the European Commission has committed 400,000 euros for the border demarcation, there is still a financial gap, and the Commission called on the friends of Cameroon and Nigeria to contribute generously.
A tripartite delegation, composed of representatives from Cameroon, Nigeria and the United Nations, met in the first half of 2004 with World Bank officials in Washington D.C., where the opportunity for economic cooperation between the two countries, including financing of community development projects, were confirmed. The European Commission has also agreed to consider a request for further financial assistance.
Following a meeting with the Mixed Commission, held in Tunis and chaired by UN Special Envoy to West Africa Ahmed ould Abdallah, part of the good offices effort of the Secretary-General, the African Development Bank (ADB) stated on 14 May that it would fund joint projects between Nigeria and Cameroon that would reinforce peace between them. The Commission also requested ADB to finance a project to improve a road linking Mamfe in northern Cameroon with Abakaliki in southern Nigeria, which is part of a larger project to build a trans-African highway and would facilitate trade between the two countries. It also requested ADB to contribute to other initiatives aimed at consolidating peace and economic development, as well as to environmental protection projects.
Such achievement in preventing a highly possible armed conflict reflects an innovative multilateral approach to a peaceful resolution that could and should be implemented elsewhere. The Mixed Commission also represents a significant initiative that should be seen as a model for preventive diplomacy. Together, these efforts set a positive precedent in dealing peacefully with border disputes and other issues that could be a threat to peace. —Nguyen Tang Le Huy Quoc–Benjamin |
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