World Court Sides With E Guinea in Gabon Island Dispute

The United Nation’s top court has sided with Equatorial Guinea in a row with Gabon over three islands in potentially oil-rich waters.

The two Central African countries have been arguing over the isles – Conga, Mbanié and Cocoteros – since the early 1970s.

The islands are virtually uninhabited but are in a maritime zone thought to contain significant amounts of hydrocarbons.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Equatorial Guinea’s claim – based on a 1900 treaty dividing up French and Spanish colonial assets – should be honoured.

Gabon had argued that a more recent treaty – the 1974 Bata Convention – switched the islands’ sovereignty in its favour.

Source: BBC