UN Court Grants Equatorial Guinea Control over Three Oil-Rich Islands, Settling Disputes with Gabon

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The countries brought their dispute to the International Court of Justice in 2021, asking judges to determine what legal agreement resolves the possession of the oil-rich islands.

Judges at the top U.N. court sided with Equatorial Guinea in a dispute with neighbouring Gabon over which treaty settled the ownership of three largely uninhabited oil-rich islands. The decision effectively hands the islands to Equatorial Guinea.

The countries brought their dispute to the International Court of Justice in 2021, asking judges to determine what legal agreement resolves the possession of the oil-rich islands. The 15-judge panel found that a 1900 treaty between Spain and France, which divided colonial holdings, is the ultimate authority.

A later agreement, known as the 1974 Bata Convention, which gives the islands to Gabon, was dismissed as “not a treaty having the force of law,” Judge Julia Sebutinde said. Equatorial Guinea contested the document, and Gabon did not produce an original copy for the court.

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Equatorial Guinea controlled the territory until 1972, when Gabon took over the largest island, Mbanie, in a military skirmish. When oil was discovered in coastal waters, the dispute reignited. Both countries are highly dependent on oil, but production from existing areas has been in decline in recent years. The countries asked the court to settle the ownership question after repeatedly failing to find a diplomatic solution.