The International Court of Justice has settled a decades-long dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon over a cluster of small islands in the Gulf of Guinea.
In its final and binding ruling, the court sided with Equatorial Guinea, stating that its claim to the islands based on a 1900 convention dividing up French and Spanish colonial assets in West Africa should be honored.
The court rejected Gabon’s claim based on a 1974 agreement, saying it couldn’t be seen as a treaty with the force of law.
As a result, Gabon will have to remove its soldiers from the tiny island of Mbanié, which it occupied after driving Equatorial Guinea’s soldiers out in 1972.
The dispute reignited in the early 2000s when oil was discovered in the area, and both countries, significant oil producers, had agreed to let the World Court settle the matter.
The ruling means Equatorial Guinea will retain sovereignty over the islands of Mbanié, Cocotiers, and Conga, located in potentially oil-rich waters. Equatorial Guinea had control of the territory until Gabon’s military takeover in 1972.
The court’s decision is based on the title held by the Kingdom of Spain on October 12, 1968, which Equatorial Guinea succeeded.
