Conflict and Conflict Resolution in International Relations a Case Study of the Bakassi Peninsula
CHAPTER ONE
Preamble
The focus of this work is on conflict and conflict resolution in international relations. It examines the Bakassi Peninsular disputes as a case study of supranational conflicts and conflict resolution in international system. This chapter examines the concept of conflict, its various causes and what makes it a permanent feature of the human society and the international system. It defines supranational conflicts, its types and the various machineries that are in place in the international system for the resolution of international dispute. Lastly, the chapter identifies and explains the various methods of dispute resolution.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
THE GENESIS OF THE NIGERIA-CAMEROON BOUNDARY DISPUTE
The resource-rich Bakassi peninsula, and the 1,600 kilometre – long border area between Cameroon and Nigeria extending from Lake Chad to the Gulf of Guinea, has been a bone of contention between the two countries dating back to colonial period. Hostilities and military confrontations broke out in the early 1990s between Cameroon and Nigeria. In 1994, Cameroon asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, to settle a dispute over its boundary with Nigeria, especially the question of sovereignty over the Bakassi peninsula, and over islands in Lake Chad, and to specify the course of the land and maritime boundary between the two countries (ICJ Reports, 2002).
After eight years of adjudication, the Court delivered its judgment on the merits of the case on 10th October 2002, deciding, in part, that sovereignty over the Bakassi peninsula and in the disputed area in the Lake Chad region lies with Cameroon. To help implement this decision in a peaceful manner, President Paul Biya of Cameroon and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria asked the Secretary-General to set up a Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission chaired by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, to consider ways of following up on the ICJ ruling and moving the process forward.
Today, Bakassi peninsula is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty from neighbouring Nigeria as a result of a judgment by the International Court of Justice. On 22 November 2007, the Nigerian Senate rejected the transfer, since the Green Tree Agreement ceding the area to Cameroon was contrary to Section 12(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Regardless, the territory was transferred to Cameroon on 14 August 2008.
Bakassian leaders threatened to seek independence if Nigeria renounced sovereignty. This secession was announced on 9 July 2006, as the “Democratic Republic of Bakassi”. The decision was reportedly made at a meeting on 2 July 2006 and The Vanguard newspaper of Nigeria reported the decision to secede. The decision was reportedly made by groups of militants including Southern Cameroons under the aegis of Southern Cameroons Peoples Organisation (SCAPO), Bakassi Movement for Self-Determination (BAMOSD), and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
CHAPTER THREE
ICJ JUDGEMENT
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ICJ RULING
The International court of justice‟s judgment in the case concerning the land and maritime boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon ( on October 10, 2002). Therefore, it will be imperative to give a summary of it since that will help us in our subsequent analysis. The judgement is as follow:
The court first decided that the land boundary between the two countries had been fixed by treaties entered into during the colonial period and it upheld the validity of those treaties. It moreover, rejected the theory of historical consolidation put forward by Nigeria and accordingly refused to take into account the effectivites relied upon by Nigeria. It ruled that, in the absence of acquiescence by Cameroon, these effectivities could not prevail over Cameroon‟s conventional titles.
CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
The high spate of boundary disputes among Africa states have been associated with the creation of boundaries in Africa disregarding the relationship between territorial boundaries and the anthropogenic homogeneity of the various ethnic groupings by the colonial powers.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the above findings and conclusion, we make the following recommendations:
All boundary disputes, especially in Africa, should be handled according to the United Nations recommendation in its Charter (UN, 1945: Article 33, Sub-section I). According to this, parties to any dispute, the continuation of which is likely to endanger peaceful and warmly relationship should resort to the principles of negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, and judicial settlement, under the auspices of regional agencies or arrangements or other peaceful means of their own choice.
The welfare and improvement in the standard of living of the Bakassi citizens should be of utmost priority to both the Nigerian and Cameroonian government because they are entitled to their fundamental human rights no matter the situation.
A sub-regional commission that will chart a course of harmonious relations among Africa states, especially between Nigeria and Cameroon is also needed.
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