This archive report was first published on 8 August 2019.
Published on August 8, 2019, Kenya's National Assembly has taken a surprising turn in the maritime border dispute with Somalia.
Leader of Majority Aden Duale tabled a resolution on Wednesday, arguing that Somalia had failed to exhaust alternative dispute resolution mechanisms under international laws of the sea before taking the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague.
Kenya claims that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which both countries are signatories, requires them to settle boundary disputes outside the court.
Instead, Duale and minority counterpart John Mbadi want the boundary dispute to be settled through diplomacy and dispute resolution mechanisms available under the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), and East African Community (EAC).
They propose that IGAD and EAC be the first point of call for such disputes, rather than the ICJ where Somalia has taken the matter.
