Somalia Declines Kenya’s Request to Solve the Maritime Border Dispute outside ICJ

President Mohamed Farmajo yesterday declared that Somalia will pursue a solution for the ongoing maritime dispute through the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

This is after Kenya sought an out-of-court settlement, which she believed was necessary for a longterm and peaceful solution. Somalia argues that bilateral negotiations were unfruitful, resulting in the need to settle the border disagreements in the UN court.

The final hearing of the case will take place in the first week of November 2019. The extension gave Kenya an additional two months to recruit a legal defense team. Farmajo expressed Somalia’s willingness to accept the court’s judgment on the matter, therefore solving the age-old differences.

“Somalia has pledged to comply with the court’s final judgment…” said President Farmajo. ” We will accept the boundary delimited by the law. As a matter of international law, the judgment will be binding to Kenya.” He added.

Kenya had earlier expressed interest in solving differences in the interpretation of its border with Somalia at the AU or IGAD. However, UN Peace and Security council concluded that the AU does not have the power to intervene in this case.