Communiqué adopted at
the sixteenth meeting of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission
established
pursuant to the Joint Geneva communiqué of 15 November 2002
*
Abuja, 8 November 2006
1. The
XVIth meeting of the Mixed Commission, which took place in Abuja on 6 and 7
November 2006, was unanimously considered by both parties and the United
Nations as so far the smoothest and most consensual one.
2. The main
item on the agenda of the meeting was the remaining issue of the maritime
boundary. It was decided to undertake a joint field visit by a team of
experts, under the UN leadership, from 16 to 26 November 2006. The objective
of this visit is to collect data that will enable the physical delineation
of the maritime boundary between the two countries. In this respect, their
agreement on the methodology to establish a datum for the maritime chart
used for the delineation is one more a positive development.
3. The
meeting further reviewed the progress of demarcation operations along the
1700 km long land-boundary and pledged to double the teams of surveyors in
order to speed up the process.
4. Concerns
were shared about the environmental situation, especially fisheries and the
status of the mangrove in the Bakassi peninsula. The dramatic shrinking of
the size of the Lake Chad caused by lack of maintenance of canals,
population pressure and climate change was also debated. The Mixed
Commission urged all interested governments as well as concerned civil
society organizations to pull efforts together with a view to addressing
urgently these matters.
5. The
Cameroon/Nigeria Mixed Commission is a mechanism established by
Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan on 15 November 2002 at
the request of President Biya and President Obasanjo to follow-up on the
implementation of the decision of the ICJ on the border dispute. It is
chaired by Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ahmedou
Ould-Abdallah.
