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 Cameroon and His
Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, in the presence of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, held its second meeting in Abuja,
Federal Republic of Nigeria, on 4 and 5 February 2003.
2.
The Vice-President of Nigeria, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, delivered a
keynote address at the opening ceremony of the meeting. The meeting of the
Mixed Commission was attended by members or the Commission from Nigeria,
led by Prince Bola Ajibola (CFR), former Minister of Justice and former
High Commissioner of Nigeria to the United Kingdom and from Cameroon, led
by Mr. Amadou Ali, the Minister of State in charge of Justice and Keeper
of the Seal of Cameroon. The Special Representative of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah,
chaired the meeting. The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere and
discussions were conducted in an open, constructive and transparent
manner.
3.
The Mixed Commission was received by President Olusegun Obasanjo during
which he was briefed on its work to date. The Mixed Commission expressed
its appreciation for his advice and words of encouragement.
4.
The Mixed Commission approved the report of the Sub-Commission on the Work
Programme towards the demarcation of the land boundary. With reference to
paragraph 9 of the report of the Sub-Commission, the Mixed Commission
agreed that an independent contractor should be engaged for the
implementation of part 2 of the Work Programme relating to pillar
installation and the surveying programme.
5.
The Mixed Commission requested the Sub-Commission to proceed expeditiously
with its work, in light of the additional guidance given to it at this
meeting. Thus, it requested the Sub-Commission to submit to it at its
meeting in April 2003, a preliminary report which shall include details
with respect to costs, time frame, funding, identification of possible
independent contractors, and any other relevant factors that will
guarantee a successful demarcation exercise. The Mixed Commission expects
the Sub-Commission to submit a full report to it at its meeting in June
2003.
6.
The Mixed Commission discussed the possibility of reactivating the work of
the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and agreed to appeal to their
respective Heads of State to convene at their earliest convenience an
extraordinary Summit of all the member states. The Mixed Commission is
grateful to President Obasanjo for agreeing to bring the matter to the
attention of his colleagues of the LCBC. The Mixed Commission is also
grateful to the World Bank for approving a grant for the work of the LCBC
and urges it to continue with further support to the organization. In
order to be better acquainted with the work of the LCBC, a team from the
Mixed Commission (one person from each delegation) will visit the
Secretariat of the LCBC in N'djamena, Republic of Chad, as soon as
possible. The team may also follow up on the preparation of the
extraordinary summit proposed.
7.
The Mixed-Commission considered the issue relating to respect for the
rights of the populations residing in the affected areas. In conformity
with paragraphs 6 and 7 of the Yaounde communiqué of 2 December 2002, the
Mixed Commission decided to establish a Sub-Commission on Affected
Populations with a mandate to assess the situation of these populations
and to consider modalities relating to the protection of their rights. The
Sub-Commission shall include demographers, human rights experts,
cartographers, sociologists and lawyers from the two parties and the
United Nations. The Sub-Commission will submit its report to the Mixed
Commission as expeditiously as possible, and in any case no later than at
its August 2003 meeting. Cameroon and Nigeria will provide the members of
the Sub-Commission with security and freedom of movement for fulfilling
their mandate.
8.
The Mixed Commission thanked the Secretary-General of the United Nations
for his continued support to its work and appealed to him to take further
actions, including lending his personal support for the mobilisation of
the resources necessary for the work of the Mixed Commission.
9.
The Mixed Commission will hold its next meeting in Yaounde on 2-3 April
2003, with a possible extension to 4 April 2003.
