This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On August 9, 2019, the Kenyan National Assembly directed the Cabinet to send a protest letter to the United Nations (UN) over the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) decision to settle a maritime border dispute between Kenya and Somalia.
The ICJ's ruling has been met with opposition from Kenyan MPs, who argue that Somalia failed to exhaust alternative dispute resolution mechanisms under international law before taking the matter to court.
According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, both Kenya and Somalia are bound to settle their boundary disputes outside of the ICJ. Kenyan MPs have called for the dispute to be resolved through diplomacy and mechanisms available under the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), and the East African Community (EAC).
