Diplomatic Settlement of Conflicts in the International System: The Cases of Cameroon and Nigeria in the Bakassi Peninsula
Keywords:
International law, Cameroon, Nigeria, Diplomatic Settlement, Conflicts, BakassiAbstract
Treaties signed between states are one of the primary sources of international law. According to the Pacta-Sunt-Servanda principle, states must keep their agreements. Conflicts between nations are expected in an anarchic global system due to certain governments' violations of this consensus. A dispute can be resolved peacefully or judicially under international law. For a judicial solution, states must accept court or arbitrator jurisdiction. Article 33 of the United Nations Charter specifies peaceful solutions as diplomacy. 1960, Cameroon and Nigeria gained independence, but their geographical and maritime borders were not defined. This border dispute occurs on the Bakassi Peninsula, a 1000 square kilometer wetland rich in fish and offshore oil crucial to maritime boundary delimitation. The Nigerian government claimed the border existed before the British and German agreements in 1913. For its part, Cameroon claimed the German-British border. The Bakassi conflict escalated in the 1980s and 1990s, and to resolve this disagreement, the two nations initiated discussions through diplomatic and peaceful channels. This started with the visit and meeting of the two Presidents. It also included the deployment of U.N. emissaries and the appointing ambassadors and justice ministers in both countries. After the Greentree deal was signed in 2006 and diplomatic efforts were exhausted, the issue was assigned to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Based on a 1913 treaty between colonial powers, the International Court of Justice favored Cameroon. The ICJ ordered Nigerian troops to depart the peninsula by August 14, 2008. Following this conclusion, which did not devolve into a regional conflict, the Bakassi issue became a model to be followed and reproduced everywhere when borders are challenged. This article analyzes the diplomatic and judicial settlement of disputes in the international system using International Law, sociology, history, and other related sciences. It focuses specifically on the cases of Cameroon and Nigeria on the Bakassi Peninsula.
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