COMMUNIQUE ADOPTED AT THE TWENTY-FOURTH MEETING OF THE CAMEROON - NIGERIA
MIXED COMMISSION ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THE JOINT GENEVA COMMUNIQUE OF 15
NOVEMBER 2002
Abuja, 12 June
2009
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 His
Excellency President Paul Biya of the Republic of Cameroon and His
Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo then President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, in the presence of His Excellency Kofi Annan then Secretary General
of the United Nations, held its Twenty-fourth Ordinary Meeting in
Abuja
on 11 and 12 June 2009. His Excellency Ambassador Said Djinnit, Special
Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations chaired the
deliberations of the Mixed Commission in the presence of His Excellency
Deputy Prime Minister, Amadou Ali of Cameroon, and His Excellency Prince
Bola Ajibola (CFR) of Nigeria, who led the Cameroonian and Nigerian
Delegations respectively.
2.
The Mixed
Commission considered and adopted
the report of the Twenty-Third Meeting of the Sub-commission on Demarcation,
which was held on 9 and 10 June 2009. The
Mixed Commission approved the
report of the Sub-Commission on Demarcation on the field assessment missions
of October-November 2008 and April-May 2009 and approved an extraordinary
session of the Joint Technical Team and Sub-commission on Demarcation from
18 to 21 August 2009, for purposes of planning segment 4B of the field
assessment. It further approved the establishment of a technical training
programme to be funded through the Trust Fund that is administered by the
United Nations. It equally took note of issues pertaining to Mount Tosso,
which the Parties requested the Chairman of the Mixed Commission to appoint
an independent expert team to examine the issues and make a final
determination to which the Parties pledged to accept.
3.
The Mixed Commission approved the list
of pillar types, sites and their coordinates adopted by the Sub-Commission
on Demarcation and considered these to be the basis for boundary pillar
emplacement. The Mixed Commission requested the United Nations to provide
the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with adequate
information, in a manner that identifies each pillar location by UTM
coordinates as well as with respect to pillar type (primary or secondary),
with such information in digital form with expectation that pillar
emplacement as per Contract 5-A may begin without further delay.
4.
Following a
presentation by the Head of Africa Regional Office of UNOPS, the Mixed
Commission noted with satisfaction the agreement by Cameroon and Nigeria to
extend their support to the implementation
by UNOPS of
Contract 5-A relating to demarcation and
pillar emplacement. The meeting noted that works would commence in September
2009.
5.
On
the issues of security and sensitization of affected populations in the
course of the demarcation process, the Mixed Commission took note of the
commitment reiterated by Cameroon and Nigeria to ensure the safety and
security of United Nations and associated personnel, including its
contractors, throughout their respective countries. To this end, the Mixed
Commission requested the Sub-commission on Demarcation to place these
matters on the agenda of its scheduled Extraordinary Meeting from 18 to 21
August 2009.
6.
The Mixed
Commission endorsed the report of the Working Group on the Maritime Boundary
and greatly appreciated the confirmation of the readiness of the Government
of Norway to contribute to the Mixed Commission process by making available
the services of an expert on oil and gas cooperation.
7.
The Parties
continued to demonstrate their willingness to provide information that will
facilitate cross-border cooperation with respect to the exploitation of oil
and gas resources straddling the maritime boundary. Cameroon submitted
relevant information to the United Nations which was transmitted to Nigeria
during this session. Nigeria submitted its legislation on oil and gas to the
United Nations. The United Nations will forward these documents as well as
their translations to Cameroon as soon as possible.
8.
The delegations of
Cameroon and Nigeria reiterated their commitment to complete the exchange of
relevant information to facilitate cross-border cooperation. They requested
the United Nations expert to provide them with copies of similar treaties to
which the expert agreed. The Mixed Commission approved the Working Group
recommendation that an extraordinary meeting be convened between 18 and 19
August 2009 in Abuja in order to consider a draft ‘resource clause’, a draft
conflict resolution mechanism and a list of items to be considered for a
framework agreement for cross-border cooperation on oil and gas.
9.
Regarding the
Multinational Highway Project linking Cameroon and Nigeria, the Mixed
Commission expressed satisfaction with the loan agreement signed on 15 May
2009 by Cameroon and Nigeria and the African Development Bank, which is a
visible milestone in the development of economic cooperation and the
strengthening of good neighbourly relations between the two countries. As a
concrete confidence-building project, the Mixed Commission encourages this
effort.
10.
The Senior Economist of the United
Nations presented a report on the confidence-building mission he undertook
to Yaoundé in November 2008 on the follow-up concerning assistance to the
affected populations and the development projects proposed for the Bakassi
“Zone”. Nigeria expressed interest in receiving, for purposes of
information, the Cameroon Government project documents on development
priorities in Bakassi. Cameroon reiterated its interest in the work of the
United Nations observer missions in Bakassi for monitoring and
confidence-building purposes. Furthermore, the Mixed Commission agreed that
the United Nations Civilian Observers be involved in the sensitisation of
the populations living in the boundary areas within the context of the
pillar emplacement process.
11.
The Mixed Commission
noted the support of Cameroon and Nigeria to a proposal from the United
Nations to organize a meeting of both United Nations Country Teams and
interested partners to explore ways and means of supporting community
development projects all along the land boundary and in the Bakassi
peninsula. This meeting is intended to establish common ground for a new
approach to the initiation of cross-border development programmes. Cameroon
and Nigeria took note that a formal request should be submitted to the
United Nations in order to elicit its support.
12.
The Mixed Commission
requested that, at its August 2009 Extraordinary Meeting, the Sub-commission
on Demarcation should discuss and make proposals regarding the continued
role of the United Nations Civilian Observers with the intent of involving
them more intimately in confidence-building activities. This is in addition
to such activities that have already been undertaken by Cameroon and
Nigeria.
13.
The Mixed Commission agreed
on the need for a public information campaign on the demarcation process and
welcomed the UN proposal for the production of a documentary-film that would
illustrate the Cameroon-Nigeria experience of peaceful resolution of their
boundary dispute.
14.
It was agreed that the Twenty-fifth
meeting of the Mixed Commission shall take place in Yaoundé on 8 and 9
October 2009 with the possibility of extension to 10 October 2009.
