GHANA’S Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong is confident that the country will come victorious in the maritime boundary dispute case between Ghana and Ivory Coast.
She assured that any award from the international tribunal arbitrating the maritime boundary dispute Ghana and Ivory Coast would certainly favour Ghana.
Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, who is leading a team of local lawyers, backed by international maritime law experts, maintained that the law was on Ghana’s side.
She however said the country was going all out to ensure that justice was done.
The Attorney-General told journalists in Accra today, the government “regards the arbitration as a peaceful means to resolve the long-standing and costly dispute between the two neighbours.”
She downplayed suggestions that the case could set off an escalated conflict between the two countries.
“We should all understand that this is not a hostile act,” because “All we are doing is seeking another forum where the matter can be determined to bring certainty to the issue; it is not as if the countries are at loggerheads,” she added.
The Attorney-General said, “Ghana commenced the arbitration proceedings with the desire to strengthen the relationship between the two con tries by firmly and finally establishing the maritime boundary. In this way, a situation of certainty will be enhanced offering reassurance to Ghana’s international partners in the petroleum industry that the boundary is where Ghana says it is.”
Mrs Appiah-Oppong said the lines drawn up decades ago show clearly that the disputed area falls within Ghana’s territory.
“Indeed the line is drawn according to internationally accepted principles of drawing maritime boundaries or delimiting maritime boundaries which is the equidistance line,” she asserted.
Ghana initiated arbitration proceedings under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) after years of negotiations failed to resolve the dispute.
In 2010, Ivory Coast petitioned the United Nations to complete the demarcation of the Ivorian maritime boundary with Ghana days after the American exploration firm Vanco discovered oil in the Dzata-1 deepwater-well.
The issue attracted considerable media attention, and some local media claimed that the petition was an attempt by Ivory Coast to lay claim to Ghana’s oil.
A former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Alhaji Inusah Fuseini in November 2013 had warned that the dispute between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire may end up at the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
That notwithstanding, a joint committee was set up by both countries to address the matter early this year. Ghana reposed confidence in the joint committee to resolve the dispute peacefully by the middle of the year, but that did not happen, compelling it to refer the matter for arbitration.
“Having failed to reach a settlement after successive negotiations and exchange of views over an extended period of time, Ghana has elected to submit the dispute concerning the determination of each maritime boundary with Cote d’Ivoire to the arbitral procedure provided for under Annex VII of UNCLOS,” Ghana’s statement of claim noted.
African Eye News
