OPENING
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MIXED COMMISSION AND SPECIAL
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE
UNITED NATIONS, MR. AHMEDOU OULD-ABDALLAH
*
Yaoundé, 5
July 2007
Mr Vice-Prime Minister, Amadou Ali,
Prince Bola Ajibola, Head of the Nigerian
Delegation,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps and
Representatives of International Organizations,
Members of the Mixed Commission,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As always, my delegation and I are delighted
to be here in Yaoundé for the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, which is
today holding its Nineteenth Meeting. It is my pleasure to begin by thanking
the Cameroonian Government, for the usual warm hospitality accorded us, as
well as the facilities put at our disposal, since our arrival. I do of
course recognize the personal touch of our friend and brother the Vice-Prime
Minister, Amadou Ali, who has never spared any effort to make our stay in
Yaoundé as pleasant and, above all, as fruitful as possible. I would like
to thank him heartily and request him to kindly convey to the highest
authorities of the country, our very sincere gratitude.
I would also like to hail the presence of my
brother and friend Prince Bola Ajibola, the Head of the Nigerian Delegation
and all its members. The recent changes in Abuja will only strengthen their
determination to forge ahead.
Lastly, I salute the presence amongst us of
Members of Government, Representatives of the Constituted Corps, the
Diplomatic Corps and International Organizations and that of the numerous
guests invited to this opening ceremony of our meeting. I thank them for
this mark of sympathy and encouragement.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am all the more delighted as our meeting
follows the conclusion of an important stage of our work, namely that of the
maritime boundary. Indeed, after the successful withdrawal and transfer of
authority in the Lake Chad area in December 2003, the withdrawal and
transfer of authority along the land boundary in July 2004, the withdrawal
and transfer of authority in the Bakassi peninsula in August 2006, the
delimitation of the maritime boundary was concluded during an extraordinary
session held at Abuja on 11 May 2007. This means that the Mixed Commission
has successfully carried out its assigned tasks, thus deserving our
congratulations.
It is true that the job of the Chairman of
the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission has been facilitated by the spirit of
compromise and mutual cooperation that has characterized our proceedings,
and also by the commitment of the two Heads of Delegation, Ahmadou Ali and
Prince Bola Ajibola. The support of the Secretary-General of the United
Nations and of the two Heads of State has, without any doubt, facilitated
the process. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Certainly, we have completed the
implementation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice.
However, there are still some major technical tasks which our Commission
must tackle in the coming months with the same determination and the same
perseverance as in the past. I will mention only three of them.
The first is to pursue the land boundary
demarcation process: I have already had occasion to commend the demarcation
work accomplished by our technical teams that have been able to cover an
appreciable distance of approximately 700 km of the land boundary. This
process must be accelerated. During this meeting, the Mixed Commission will
adopt a calendar for the continuation and intensification of field work by
the Joint Technical Team in order to increase this distance to at least
1,000 km by the end of this year. The other aspects of demarcation, namely
the production of high resolution images, maps, placement of pillars along
the land boundary, and others need to progress at the same pace. During this
meeting, we will define the strategies necessary for the attainment of these
objectives.
The second task is to strengthen
confidence-building measures: I am pleased to note that the process of
withdrawal and transfer of authority in the zones concerned were conducted
in peace and security and that the populations of the two countries have
continued to cooperate in a spirit of brotherliness and good
neighbourliness. The Observer Team, whose patience and efficiency I salute
here, has had occasion to appreciate the spirit of understanding prevailing
between the populations. It has also noted their needs in terms of basic
infrastructure, schools, health centres, drinking water, communication,
environmental protection, which are indispensable for the well-being of the
affected populations. The question arising today is how to ensure peace
building and trust between the populations, how to meet their most immediate
needs, how to foster and strengthen solidarity and trade, and lastly, how to
make this common boundary a haven of peace and cooperation and not a zone of
confrontation. To find answers to this question, we have with us
representatives of UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and
Research, with which we intend to develop collaboration.
Lastly, there is the strengthening of
transboundary cooperation. With the settlement of the four segments of the
ICJ ruling, namely - the Lake Chad area, the land boundary, the Bakassi
peninsula and the maritime boundary-, there is a need to implement
instruments of cooperation in the maritime and economic domains. During this
session, we will seek to foster the settlement of the question of oilfields
and notably, those straddling the maritime boundary, and also to strengthen
all that can foster development along the boundary. Special attention will
be accorded to the role that regional institutions and bilateral cooperation
mechanisms can play.
At this point, it is worth noting that, in
view of the progress accomplished, I as well as my Cameroonian and Nigerian
colleagues do believe that we need to revisit our working methods and
notably their periodicities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I cannot conclude my statement without
thanking the partners who have supported and assisted our process both
politically and financially. I am referring here to, Canada, France, Germany
Great Britain the United States, the European Union, the World Bank, the
African Development Bank, the United Nations Agencies and many others. I
call on them to keep up their support which is so helpful to us. Demarcation
activities, confidence building measures and transboundary cooperation will
be achieved in a better and more effective manner thanks to their support.
I remain convinced that with the
determination of the Parties and the support of the international community,
the process that started in December 2002 will be completed successfully and
will serve as a model for conflict management.
On this note of hope, I declare open the
proceedings of the XIXth Meeting of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.
Thank you.
