Equatorial Guinea Wins Rights to Disputed Islands From Gabon

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the islands of Mbanie, Conga, and Cocoteros belong to Equatorial Guinea, settling a decades-long territorial dispute with Gabon. The three tiny islands, which are effectively uninhabited but are located in potentially oil and gas-rich waters, have been controlled by Gabon since its troops forcibly evicted Equatorial Guinean soldiers from Mbanie in 1972.

 Equatorial Guinea challenged Gabon's claim, arguing that it relied on an authenticated photocopy of the Bata Convention that was lacking legal force. Instead, the ICJ upheld a 1900 treaty signed in Paris between France and Spain, which assigned the islands to Spain and subsequently to Equatorial Guinea upon its independence in 1968.

The ruling now compels Gabon to withdraw its military presence from Mbanie, concluding what both countries had managed as a peaceful diplomatic dispute.