OPENING
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MIXED COMMISSION AND SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE
UNITED NATIONS, MR. AHMEDOU OULD-ABDALLAH
*
Abuja, 5
April 2007
Prince Bola Ajibola, Head of the Nigerian
Delegation,
Vice-Prime Minister Amadou Ali, Head of the
Cameroonian Delegation,
Excellencies,
Members of the Diplomatic Community,
Members of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed
Commission,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that I chair this
Eighteenth Session of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission meeting in
Abuja. Allow me, firstly, to thank our host, Prince Bola Ajibola, Head of
the Nigerian Delegation, and through him, the Government of Nigeria for the
generous hospitality extended to us.
Having reviewed the progress achieved after
we adjourned our XVIIth Session in Yaoundé on 26 January 2007, I take note
of the continued progress we are making in translating the ruling of the
International Court of Justice on the ground. Though concerned by the slow
pace in the demarcation process, I certainly, can congratulate the parties
for moving forward the implementation process of the ICJ ruling thus far.
I am hopeful that during this Eighteenth
Session of the Mixed Commission, we will continue our work in the usual
spirit of mutual respect and friendship. That spirit, not suspicion, is
indeed essential to a successful cooperation between all of us for the
effective completion of our mandate. This is more so, because we ought to
be pleased with the encouraging work output produced by our respective
Surveyor Teams, as they have recently undertaken successfully a formidable
task of demarcating 232 kilometres of the common land boundary. This
distance is to be added to the 475 kilometres already completed and
represent a milestone not only to the demarcation activity but also to the
hardship endured by our Surveyors in the rather difficult physical relief
and terrain.
Similarly, I feel most confident that the
Parties should and will honour their commitment with respect to the
delimitation of their maritime boundary, as you probably know, it was
extensively discussed at the appropriate technical levels and now awaits
implementation of the technical modalities following the Joint Technical
Team’s successful field visit that was carried out at the end of 2006.
Regarding the Bakassi Peninsula, I am
particularly pleased to mention that the report resulting from the field
mission, which the UN observers of the Mixed Commission have carried out on
12-13 February 2007, has concluded that the prevailing situation was
satisfactory with regard to the rights of the affected populations. In this
context, and as everything is working well, beyond all our expectations, I
wonder if we should not update our commitments.
The Mixed Commission, with the concurrence of
the Parties, is keen to further confidence-building measures so as to
promote sustainable development between Cameroon and Nigeria. In this
regard, I wish to bring it to your notice that I had directed my colleagues
to establish close action links with the Secretariat of the Lake Chad Basin
Commission with a view to finding synergy amongst the participating Member
States to the Commission so as to develop a common approach policy for the
affected and marginalized peoples of the region. In that context, the issue
of environmental protection, especially in the Bakassi Peninsula should
remain a priority to all of us.
As always, my gratitude is to the donors, who
see the work of the Mixed Commission as being result oriented and a success
in conflict management. It is through its timely contributions to the UN
Trust Fund that it has been possible to undertake our activities under a
small and austere budget which would otherwise impact our regular limited
budgetary resources.
In that connection, I would like to remind
all of us that we should accelerate the pace of our obligations. Indeed, we
are not and we shouldn’t be a permanent institution. We must move forward
and prepare our exit strategy.
Once again, I thank you for your kind
attention and declare open the Eighteenth Session of the Cameroon-Nigeria
Mixed Commission.
