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,
10 February 2004
Excellency,
Olu Adeniji, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Excellency
Prince Bola Ajibola, Head of the Nigerian
delegation,
Excellency
Senior Minister Amadou Ali, Head of the Cameroonian delegation,
Excellency
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of ECOWAS,
Minister
State for Defense-Navy,
Distinguished
Delegates to the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission,
Distinguished
Members of the Diplomatic Community and the Press,
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I
would like first of all to acknowledge with gratitude the presence among
us today of our Guest of Honour, a distinguished Nigerian official,
my former SRSG colleague in Sierra Leone where he helped implement
UN Security Council decisions in that country, thus bringing stability in
the region.
I
would also like to thank the Heads of the Nigerian and Cameroonian
delegations, for their opening statements and for their confident and
inspired leadership.
Over
the last 15 months, we all have learned we and keep learning, many things
traveling and working with one another.
It is an endless and rewarding process on substantive matters and
on ordinary issues as well. I, for example, have learned the use of a most helpful
phrase: “All protocols duly observed!” I also now pay much more
attention to the very simple word “accepté” that one hears more and
more frequently in our exchanges – it is an indication I think that
suspicion and doubt are in retreat before the advances of confidence and
cooperation.
Two
months ago, in Yaoundé, I noted that we stood at a crossroads in terms of
the work of the Mixed Commission as the withdrawal and handover process in
the Lake Chad area was about to begin.
Two months later, we have definitely crossed that crossroad and are
walking down the implementation road. Together you have accomplished a
number of positive developments. Allow me to remind you of a few of them.
First,
between November 2003 and February 2004, the Working Group on Withdrawal
and Handover in the Lake Chad area has carried out three separate field
missions. Thanks to its efforts, the withdrawal and handover process went
smoothly. Since then, no major problems have been noticed.
We all hope none will occur, and that soon we will be able to
report that the whole exercise would serve as a case study for similar
situations.
Second,
the Sub-Commission on Affected Populations has literally been wearing out
the tires on its cars moving around the land boundary area.
The Sub-Commission has, in the last four months, carried out three
visit: one to the Lake Chad area, and two to the Land Boundary area, the
last of which was extremely instructive.
The final field visit should take place immediately following this
meeting.
Third,
I am not happy to report the unexpected slow movement on the demarcation
front. In essence, the lack of a much larger amount of resources in the
existing U.N Trust Fund for demarcation prevented the bidding on the
demarcation contracts from starting the early phases of the operation.
My UN colleagues in charge of procurement may also have had
different priorities from mine based on in-house regulations. We hope to
overcome these difficulties in the next few weeks.
This
brings me to the all-important subject of funding. At its fifth meeting in
August 2003, the Mixed Commission approved a detailed Application for
Funds, which was subsequently sent by the United Nations to a short list
of donors. So far, the response rate has been rather poor. You will recall
that I once proposed that we stage a mock skirmish or military
confrontation between Cameroon and Nigeria in the presence of the media to
attract attention and hence funding for this peace effort.
Since then I have
been reminded that staging wars is as expensive as waging them, so
the idea is not practicable.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
We
must continue our search for resources by more conventional means.
My Cameroonian and Nigerian colleagues and I are scheduled to carry
out a tripartite visit to our partners and potential donors next month. We
should visit Brussels, and probably Paris and London then New York as well
as Washington. The proposed travel plan should be sent to you by the end
of this month.
More
importantly, I had raised the problem of funding with the
Secretary-General, who, equally concerned, discussed it with the two Heads
of State in Geneva. I was
very heartened by their consensual view that demarcation was primarily the
responsibility of the two neighbourly states, who were willing to make
additional contribution to the demarcation operation.
This
brings me to the last and most significant development since our last
Commission meeting – the recent Summit of Heads of State from which we
have just returned. Presidents
Biya and Obasanjo reviewed, along with the Secretary-General, the progress
achieved by the Commission. I
wish to draw your attention to what I consider to be the most salient
points of that meeting :
Beyond
these very important, and widely welcomed, confidence-building measures,
the message for the Mixed Commission was quite clear.
The summit was a vote of confidence for the Mixed Commission and
its work, and an invitation to redouble our efforts to discharge the
responsibilities given to us by our three leaders.
In
this regard, I am pleased to note that one of the major accomplishments of
this Commission has been to keep to the strict and demanding set of
deadlines we adopted for ourselves. The successful withdrawal and transfer
of authority in the Lake Chad area was carried out ahead of the deadline,
and it is essential that we make this a tradition of the Commission.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
In
the course of this meeting we will be discussing several important agenda
items, Including the maritime boundary,
issues related to affected populations, and various
confidence-building measures or projects in including regional cooperation
around the Gulf of Guinea.
In
summary, we are blessed, blessed with relative success so far, blessed
with the congratulations and the encouragement of our leaders, blessed
with the capacities and leadership of those within this hall.
But as you well know, he unto whom much is given, of him shall much
be required. Much is required
of us. I appeal therefore to
you to make this eighth meeting of the Mixed Commission a highly
productive one. Indeed, we have many obstacles before us, many delicate
issues to address and many problems to resolve.
The tasks remaining are among the most sensitive, but everything
you already accomplished was also very sensitive in its own context and
socio-economic and political environment. What was then needed and is
still needed today is a firm determination in support of peace and
cooperation. This
determination is what will distinguish a group of leaders intent on
solving the most difficult and sensitive disputes from ordinary
politicians.
It
is precisely this thought that struck me so clearly in Geneva.
One of the leaders expressed his strong hope that together, the
three of them would through the work of this Commission leave behind a
shared legacy for the African continent.
A legacy of how Africans have resolved their problems hand in hand
without resorting to war or violence.
In
closing, I would like to suggest to you that this vision is indeed worthy
of every effort. Let us
materialize this vision.
Thank
you for your attention.
