The most powerful UN court will rule on Monday regarding Gabon and Equatorial Guinea’s decades-long dispute over three tiny islands in likely oil-rich waters. Since the early 1970s, the two west African countries have been tussling over the 30-hectare ( 74-acre ) island of Mbanie and two smaller, low-lying islets, Cocotier and Conga. Although the islands themselves are small and largely desolate, they are located in a region that might be rich in oil and gas. The conflict dates back to 1900, when the then-colonial power France and Spain signed a convention in Paris outlining the boundaries of the two nations. However, Gabon believes that the islands ‘ independence was reaffirmed by a after agreement, the 1974 Bata Convention. In hearings held in October, Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo, honorary president of Gabon’s constitutional court, addressed the International Court of Justice ( ICJ) in response to the declaration that the Bata Convention “resolves all sovereignty issues regarding the islands and border delimitation.” Equatorial Guinea contends that Gabon invaded the territories in 1972 and has occupied them without authorization always. In the hearings in October, Equatorial Guinea’s lawyers claimed that Gabon had unachievably produced the record in 2003, shocking everyone involved. No one had heard or seen this alleged convention, according to Equatorial Guinea’s vice-minister of mine and oils Domingo Mba Esono, who addressed ICJ courts. Furthermore, Esono claimed that the file presented was only an unauthenticated photocopy and not an original.
” Photocopy of a photocopy”
Equatorial Guinea’s attorney, Philippe Sands, described the Bata Convention as “scraps of report.” You are being asked to rule out whether a condition you rely on a copy of a copy of a purported report, the original of which cannot be found and for which no mention has been made or any emphasis has been placed for three years,” Sands said. Since 2003, Equatorial Guinea has been asking for an original version of the Bata Convention in vain. Borantsuo acknowledged that” unfortunately, neither of the two factions can find the original document,” noting that it was created before computers and data. Due to a number of factors, including the unpleasant environment, a lack of qualified personnel, and lack of technology, archives were poorly managed, according to Mborantsuo. Guinea and Equatorial Guinea agreed to beg judges for a decision in an effort to find an amicable resolution in contrast to the majority of nations appearing before the Judge in The Hague, which rules in state problems. The two nations have asked the court to choose between the Paris Treaty of 1900 and the Bata Convention of 1974 as legitimate legal writings. Which nation may be given autonomy over the islands will not be under the ICJ’s jurisdiction. Equatorial Guinea’s Esono said,” We are convinced the court’s judgment will enable our states resolve their excellent disputes over independence and territories, providing a sustainable foundation for their connections to flourish.”
