Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Resolution of the Bakassi Dispute
“Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Resolution of the Bakassi Dispute,” a conference devoted to the Cameroon-Nigeria boundary disagreement, was co-hosted by the International Peace Institute (IPI) formerly International Peace Academy, the University of Yaoundé II, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Professor Maurice Kamto (left) (Minister Delegate of the Ministry of Justice, Cameroon) and Ambassador John L. Hirsch (Senior Adviser, IPA)
The seminar, which was also supported by both the Governments of Cameroon and Nigeria, was held at the InterContinental Hotel in New York on Wednesday July 18, 2007.The conference brought together high level experts from the Commonwealth Secretariat, the African Union, the United Nations, regional security commissions, international analysts and academics, and policymakers from Cameroon and Nigeria. Nigerian and Cameroonian delegations were lead respectively by H.E. Professor Maurice Kamto and H.E. Dr. Joy Ogwu.
Professor Joy Ogwu (left) (former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria) and Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar
Participants discussed the peaceful settlement of the land and maritime boundary dispute
between the two countries. This decades-old conflict was eventually resolved through a
menu of mechanisms including mediation and the good offices of the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, and adjudication via the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which
in October 2002 ruled variously for both sides on the entire boundary from Lake Chad to
the Gulf of Guinea.
Participants at the meeting
“It is possible to draw lessons from the settlement of localized disputes like Bakassi to develop paradigms that are applicable to other conflicts elsewhere, and within given
variables,” summarized Professor Kamto, Minister Delegate of Justice of Cameroon.
Concurrent with this position was the Nigerian view that “the event, marked by years of
painstaking negotiations, was a demonstration of leadership quality, good judgment and a
test of political will and uncommon courage,” as expressed by Dr. Ogwu, Minister of
Foreign Affairs.
Left to right: Martin Belinga-Eboutou (Cameroon); John Hirsch (IPA); Maurice Kamto (Cameroon), Ade Adefuye (Commonwealth Secretariat); Joy Ogwu (Nigeria), Ibrahim Gambari (UN); and Osita Eze (Nigerian Institute of International Affairs).
The Bakassi settlement demonstrated a) the importance of strong political leadership,
perserverance, and commitment to peace even in the face of domestic reluctance, as
demonstrated by Presidents Paul Biya and Olusegun Obasanjo; b) the strategic role of
mediators, in this case former Secretary-General H.E. Kofi Annan, in providing an
environment of trust; and c) the relevance of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission
as an instrument for the full realization of the provisions of the
ICJ ruling.
A full conference report is being produced and will be disseminated soon.
Please click here for a PDF of the full press release.
