The Government of Ghana has formally informed the Government of Togo that it plans to take their unresolved maritime boundary dispute to international arbitration.
On Friday, February 20, Minister for Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu said that Ghana plans to formally define its offshore boundary under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is the international legal framework for managing maritime borders and ocean matters.
The move comes after eight years of talks between the two neighboring West African countries, but they haven’t been able to reach an agreement that works for both sides. The statement says that going back and forth with diplomatic talks didn’t lead to a clear agreement.
Government officials said they went with arbitration to avoid stirring up more tension and problems between the two countries. Authorities said the decision is meant to guarantee a fair, peaceful, and legally binding solution, while keeping the friendly relationship between Accra and Lomé intact.
Second Maritime Arbitration in a Decade
This is the second time in recent years that Ghana has turned to international courts to settle disputes over its maritime boundaries. In 2014, Ghana started arbitration against Côte d’Ivoire because of disagreements in the Gulf of Guinea, especially after big offshore oil finds. The case was brought before a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) as part of UNCLOS.
In September 2017, the tribunal made a binding decision that mostly agreed with Ghana’s claims and officially set the maritime boundary using the equidistance principle. Ghana is going back to arbitration to get a clear legal answer and at the same time show it’s serious about international law and keeping peace in the region.
