Communiqué adopted at
the thirteenth meeting of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission
established
pursuant to the Joint Geneva communiqué of 15 November 2002
*
28-29 July 2005
1. The
Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, which was established pursuant to the
Joint Communiqué adopted at the meeting held on 15 November 2002, in Geneva,
between their Excellencies Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Olusegun
Obasanjo of Nigeria, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, held its Thirteenth meeting in Yaoundé on 28 and 29 July 2005. Mr.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, chaired the meeting of the Commission while Vice-Prime
Minister Amadou Ali of Cameroon and Prince Bola Ajibola (CFR) of Nigeria
headed their respective delegations.
2. The
Mixed Commission welcomes the tripartite summit between Presidents Paul Biya
and Olusegun Obasanjo and the United Nations Secretary-General, which was
held in Geneva on 11 May 2005, and the renewed trust bestowed on it by the
two Heads of State and the Secretary-General on that occasion.
3. The
Mixed Commission considered and adopted the report of the 11th meeting of
the Sub-Commission on Demarcation. It welcomes the progress made by the
Joint Technical Team of the Sub-Commission on Demarcation and the decision
to continue the actual field assessment of the boundary as of October 2005.
4. The
Mixed Commission considered and adopted the reports of the Observer
Personnel on their visits to the Lake Chad area from 16-18 December 2004 and
24-25 February 2005, as well as the reports on their visits to the Land
Boundary from 22-23 November 2004, 24-25 February and from 13-15 June 2005.
5. The
Mixed Commission noted with satisfaction the peaceful atmosphere prevailing
in the Lake Chad and Land Boundary areas one year after the withdrawals and
transfers of authority that occurred there as well as the good relations
existing between the populations and the new authorities.
6. The
Mixed Commission decided that the Observer Personnel would continue their
regular visits to the land boundary to observe the situation in villages
affected by the decision of the ICJ, including the demarcation.
7. The
Observer Team of the Mixed Commission set up to shed light on the incident
that occurred in Bakassi Peninsula in June 2005, an issue noted by Cameroon,
informed the Mixed Commission that its report will soon be ready. The Mixed
Commission decided that the report, when submitted, will be forwarded by the
Chairman of the Mixed Commission to the Heads of State of both countries and
the United Nations Secretary-General.
8. The
Mixed Commission noted that progress had been made in implementing
confidence building measures, and that both countries had participated in
meetings on the rehabilitation of the Enugu-Abakaliki-Mamfe- Mutengene road
and the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
9. The
Mixed Commission, in its consideration on the progress on demarcation of the
land boundary, invited the British High Commissioner in Cameroon in his
capacity as representing the Presidency of the European Union, to thank him
for the support of his country. The Mixed Commission requested the support
of the Government of his country for the joint application of Cameroon and
Nigeria for funding by the European Union for the demarcation activities.
10. The
Chairman of the Mixed Commission informed the two Parties that he had
examined their proposals concerning the methodology of the implementation of
the ICJ judgment, including a map incorporating the delineation of the
maritime boundary as delimited by the Court. He read out the content of his
letter of 29 November 2004 underscoring the points of agreement between the
Parties on this issue. No objections were raised by the two Parties. He had
directed the United Nations expert to propose a map. The Mixed Commission
decided that the United Nations expert will present the proposal to the next
meeting of the Working Group on the Maritime Boundary.
11. The
Mixed Commission decided to set up a Working Group to draft a new programme
of withdrawal of Nigerian troops and authorities from the Bakassi Peninsula
and to submit its recommendations to the Heads of both delegations prior to
the 14th meeting of the Mixed Commission, which will submit these to both
Heads of State and the United Nations Secretary-General. Each Party will
communicate to the United Nations the names of its four members of this
Working Group.
12. The
14th meeting of the Mixed Commission will be held in Abuja from 13 to 14
October 2005 with the possibility of an extension until 15 October 2005.
