The century-old territorial dispute intensifies at the International Court of Justice as Gabon and Equatorial Guinea present rival claims over three potentially oil-rich islands.
Gabon and Equatorial Guinea are locked in a heated territorial dispute over three small, oil-rich islands, Mbanie, Cocotier, and Conga, located in West African waters. On Wednesday, Gabon formally presented its case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), asserting its claim to the islands—a position contested by its neighbor, Equatorial Guinea. Both nations have sought the ICJ’s intervention in what could prove to be a critical ruling in their pursuit of lucrative offshore resources.
The origins of this territorial dispute date back to 1900 when colonial powers, France and Spain, signed a treaty delineating their respective African territories. These boundaries now define the borders of modern-day Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Gabon argues that the 1974 Bata Convention, signed between the two nations, legally resolved the issue of sovereignty over the islands in its favor. However, Equatorial Guinea dismisses the document, questioning its legitimacy and calling it an incomplete and unofficial accord.
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Marie-Madeleine Mborantsuo, Gabon’s honorary constitutional court president, took the stand at the ICJ, defending the Bata Convention as the definitive settlement of the islands’ ownership. “This treaty, which we regard as being fully valid, resolves all sovereignty issues regarding the islands and border delimitation,” Mborantsuo told the court. In contrast, Equatorial Guinea maintains that Gabon has unlawfully occupied the islands since 1972 and that the Bata Convention is not a binding document.
Equatorial Guinea’s legal representative, Philippe Sands, sharply criticized the validity of the Bata Convention. In his presentation, Sands referred to the convention as a “photocopy of a photocopy,” questioning its credibility and the lack of an original document. “If the court were to accept such a document, we would risk entering a world of implausibility and ridicule,” Sands argued, underscoring his country’s rejection of the convention as the basis for resolving the dispute.
While both nations have requested the ICJ to determine the legal standing of either the 1900 colonial treaty or the 1974 Bata Convention, neither has asked the court to directly determine sovereignty over the islands. This omission has left the core issue of ownership unresolved, and the ICJ hearings, set to continue for the remainder of the week, will focus on clarifying the legal framework rather than making a ruling on the islands’ sovereignty.
Despite the tensions, both Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have expressed their commitment to resolving the dispute through peaceful means. By referring the matter to the ICJ, the two nations hope to find a definitive, internationally recognized resolution to a dispute that has lingered for more than a century.
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A final decision from the ICJ is expected in the coming months, with far-reaching consequences for both countries’ access to potentially vast oil and gas deposits surrounding the contested islands.
