OPENING
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MIXED COMMISSION AND SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE
UNITED NATIONS, MR. AHMEDOU OULD-ABDALLAH
*
Yaounde,
25 January 2007
Your Excellency, Mr. Vice-Prime Minister,
Prince Bola Ajibola, CFR
Senior State Officials,
Members of the Government,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Members of the Mixed Commission,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to recall a loss
that has greatly affected us, the passing of Cameroonian-born Professor
Peter Ntamark Yana, as well as a piece of good news, the presence among us
of Alhaji Diggi, the new Director General of the National Boundary
Commission.
It is with great pleasure that I chair this
Seventeenth Session of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission in Yaoundé.
Permit me, first of all, to thank our host, Mr. Amadou Ali, Vice-Prime
Minister, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, and through him, the
Government of Cameroon, for the generous hospitality accorded to us.
We are together again at this Seventeenth
Session to push forward the implementation of the International Court of
Justice’s ruling. Within the context of this Seventeenth Session, I feel it
is obviously unnecessary to mention the spirit of cooperation which prevails
in our deliberations.
I would like you to recall that the Sixteenth
Session of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, which was held in Abuja
last November, has been acknowledged as one of the most successful meetings
of the Commission. We should thus continue our work today in the same
spirit, especially as we will be examining the maritime boundary issue. It
was during the Sixteenth Session that the Parties reached agreement on a
field mission to the open sea. That mission was effected from 16 to 26
November 2006 by expert surveyors and cartographers from Cameroon and
Nigeria, as well as the United Nations. A total of 22 points at sea were
surveyed to permit progress to be made in respect of the British Admiralty
Chart datum which the International Court of Justice referred to in its
Ruling of 10 October 2002. It was agreed that Cameroon and Nigeria would be
given the time required to study more closely that field mission’s
conclusions. It is certain that common ground will be found on that issue,
which will be consistent with the law and spirit of agreement prevailing
between us.
We also have reasons to be glad about the
impending resumption of land boundary demarcation operations, whose second
phase will conclude the demarcation of 275 extra kilometres of frontier land
by 31 March 2007. The total distance demarcated will therefore rise to 745
kilometres. Other demarcation operations will be undertaken by the end of
2007, which will most likely complete more than half of the demarcation
work.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have also noted the incomparable eagerness
each Party has shown by putting forward proposals to further speed up
progress on land boundary demarcation activities, by strengthening the teams
on the field or by simultaneously undertaking a southern section of the
boundary where pillars of the shared history between the two countries were
still visible.
I would like, at this point, to mention the
generous contribution of the European Union, which just
disbursed the first instalment of the funds
it promised. In that connection, I thank our partners, in particular, Canada
and the United Kingdom, for giving us their trust and support.
The withdrawal and transfer of authority in
Bakassi gives us another reason for satisfaction. The withdrawal of Nigerian
troops from the Bakassi peninsula was effective since 14 August 2006, in
accordance with the Greentree Agreement signed under the auspices of the
United Nations. Reports by the United Nations Observer Team, which travelled
twice to Bakassi in 2006, concluded that the prevailing situation was
satisfactory with regard to the rights of the affected populations. However,
supplementary economic and social measures would be desirable and I
understand that Cameroon has taken appropriate steps to address that issue.
I am certain that the forthcoming field missions of Observers of the Mixed
Commission will again give us the latest information on the situation of the
affected populations, not only in the Bakassi peninsula, but also on the
land boundary and in the Lake Chad region, as well. The role of observers
remains vital over the entire boundary between the two countries,
particularly for strengthening confidence between the populations. The issue
of confidence building between the populations, of joint projects -
especially road projects - initiated along boundaries, and of reviving the
Lake Chad Basin Commission, are all dear to our hearts. Within the
secretariat, one of my colleagues has been assigned the specific duty of
monitoring this programme.
It is on this note of optimism that I would
like to conclude my remarks at this opening ceremony.
I thank you for your kind attention and
declare open the Seventeenth Session of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed
Commission.
