President John Mahama
The Government of Ghana has officially notified the Government of Togo about its decision to pursue an international arbitration over a maritime boundary dispute between the two West African neighbours.
This is pursuant to the delimitation of marital boundary between the two nations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
A statement issued by the Minister for Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said the move follows attempts at negotiating a boundary which have gone on for the past eight years but have not resulted in an agreed outcome.
“Ghana has taken this step in order to avoid an escalation of incidents that have created tensions between some of our institutions and to promote an amicable resolution, thereby contributing to the continued good relations between our two countries,” the statement added.
This is not the first time Ghana is resorting to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the delimitation of maritime dispute.
In 2014, Ghana initiated arbitration proceedings against Côte d’Ivoire following the discovery of oil in 2007, which the country’s western neighbour laid claims to.
Multiple attempts to resolve the issue amicably failed, leading Ghana to file a case at the ITLOS in 2014 to rule on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries.
The tribunal, in its judgement in 2017, unanimously ruled that Ghana did not violate the rights of Côte d’Ivoire in oil exploration within and beyond 200 nm (nautical miles).
It also ruled that Ghana is not entitled to pay any reparation to Côte d’Ivoire for the exploration of oil within the disputed boundaries in the Atlantic Ocean.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak