Kinshasa, May 14th, 2025 (CPA).- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has announced on Wednesday that the verdict on the border dispute over land and maritime boundaries and sovereignty over the islands of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea will be delivered on Monday May 19th, according to a press release. ‘Under the terms of the agreement, the parties have asked the Court to rule on whether the legal titles, treaties and international conventions invoked by the parties are law in relations between the Republic of Gabon and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea’, it is read. The press release states that the proceedings were initiated on March 5th, 2021 by means of a compromise agreement between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. As a reminder, the two countries are claiming sovereignty over the Mbanie, Cocotiers and Conga islands, all of which are uninhabited. They have pleaded their case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague during public hearings from Monday September 30th to Friday October 4th, 2024. Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, two West African countries, are currently battling it out in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over a territorial dispute dating back to the 1970s. The dispute concerns three islets, Mbanie, Cocotier and Conga, located in a maritime zone potentially rich in hydrocarbons. The dispute arises against a backdrop of energy competition, with both nations seeking to consolidate their regional influence by securing natural resources. At the root of the dispute is an agreement signed in 1900 between France and Spain, then the respective colonial powers of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. This document, which was supposed to establish the maritime borders between the territories, has soon proved to have its limitations. In 1974, a new convention, known as the Bata Convention, was signed to clarify the situation, but the validity of this agreement is being challenged by Equatorial Guinea. According to Malabo, the document presented by Gabon during negotiations in 2003 is merely an unauthenticated photocopy, raising doubts about its official status.
Energy and strategic issues
The dispute concerns the delimitation of maritime boundaries, but the stakes go well beyond territorial sovereignty. The maritime zone in question is presumed to contain major hydrocarbon deposits. Control of these resources could not only transform the economic prospects of the two countries, but also redefine their strategic position in Central Africa.
Gabon, which currently occupies the islands, maintains that its sovereignty is established by the Bata Convention, while Equatorial Guinea accuses Libreville of illegal occupation since 1972. ACP/