Nigeria, Cameroon sign UN-brokered accord

United Nations, June 13 (UNI) Presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon have signed an agreement settling a decade-old border dispute over the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula following intense mediation over the weekend by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Mr Annan, who sought to avert a potential flashpoint in already troubled West Africa, said: ''The signing ceremony, which has brought us together, crowns a remarkable experiment in conflict prevention by Cameroon and Nigeria.'' Both Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) and Paul Biya (Cameroon) signed the agreement yesterday and shook hands to the applause of those assembled in the wood-panelled room.

The agreement provides for the withdrawal of Nigerian troops within 60 days, with a possible 30-day extension, from Bakassi, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's Supreme judicial body, awarded to Cameroon in 2002.

Nigerian President Obasanjo said, ''Our agreement today is a great achievement in conflict prevention, which practically reflects its cost effectiveness when compared to the alternative of conflict resolution.'' ''Its significance therefore goes much beyond Nigeria and Cameroon. It should represent a model for the resolution of similar conflicts in Africa, and I dare say, in the world at large,'' he added.

Cameroon President Biya said, ''Reason and wisdom have been our main guides. By signing the agreement we have armed ourselves with an efficient instrument to implement the court's decision bringing a definitive conclusion to our border dispute.'' The UN Secretary-General said at the ceremony on the Greentree Estate in Manhasset on Long Island, near New York City., ''With today's agreement, a comprehensive resolution of the dispute is within our grasp.'' ''The momentum achieved must be sustained.'' Under the agreement, transitional arrangements will be completed in two years for the peninsula, which was the last of four areas to be demarcated in accordance with the ICJ decision, he said.

Mr Annan has been closely involved in the issue since the ICJ decision on the 1,600-km border stretching from Lake Chad in the north to Bakassi in the south.

The UN-sponsored Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC), headed by his Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has been working over the past several years to resolve all issues of the dispute.

The dispute has its origin in the colonial borders established in the early 20th century by Britain and Germany.

Situated on the Gulf of Guinea, the peninsula had been the subject of intense, at times violent disputes between the two countries for several years when Cameroon referred the matter to the ICJ in 1994.

In 2002 the World Court, in a binding decision awarded it to Cameroon, citing a 1913 agreement between Britain and Germany.

However, the modalities of Nigeria's final withdrawal had defied the efforts of the CNMC until Mr Annan on Friday began days of intense mediation with the two Presidents.

Last year, the dispute claimed two Cameroonian soldiers and wounded another.

Among others who attended the ceremony included Permanent Representatives of France, Germany, Britain and the United States, who will help implement the agreement.

UNI XC HS PM1050