This archive report was first published on 24 August 2019.
On September 9-13, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hear the maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICJ had invited both countries to a briefing, but Somalia has rejected the invitation.
According to a statement from the Somalia Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated August 21, it would be 'inappropriate' to accept the invitation while the matter is pending before the ICJ. Somalia had taken the dispute to the ICJ because it could not agree with Kenya on the maritime border.
Somalia is arguing for a diagonal line down the Kenyan Coast, which threatens to make Kenya a landlocked country and risks losing 42 per cent of its territory. Kenya, on the other hand, wants the maritime border to run along parallel latitude southeast of Kiunga.
Kenya has been pushing for a political solution to the dispute, but Somalia has expressed confidence in the ICJ to deliver a fair ruling.
On September 9, Somalia will make its submissions to the ICJ, while Kenya will respond on September 11. In the second round of oral arguments, Somalia will go first on September 12, and Kenya will give its closing submissions on September 13.
