Military

DATE=03/05/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=NIGERIA / CAMEROON BORDER (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-313843

BYLINE=CARRIE GIARDINO

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A delegation from Cameroon, Nigeria and the United Nations Friday embarked on a week-long tour of western countries to drum up financial backing for a commission set up to mark the disputed border between Nigeria and Cameroon. Carrie Giardino reports from the V-O-A West Africa Bureau in Abidjan.

TEXT: The mixed commission was set up in November 2002 to implement a ruling by the International Court of Justice that awarded much of the disputed land to Cameroon, and delineated the border between Nigeria and Cameroon.

The two countries went to war in late 1993 over the border area, which includes the Bakassi Peninsula, a swampy piece of land believed to be rich in oil.

Since the court ruling in October 2002, the two countries have agreed to exchange ambassadors and turned over more than 30 villages. They also contributed six-million dollars to the mixed commission's border demarcation budget -- about one-half of what the commission says it needs.

At a meeting with U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan in late January, the presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon agreed to introduce joint security measures along the border, and negotiate a friendship and non-aggression treaty.

The delegation, made up of senior government officials from the two countries and a special U-N representative, hopes to raise more money for the mixed commission and mobilize diplomatic support for its work. Its message to international financial institutions and to western governments is that demarcation of the border will, in the U-N's words, contribute decisively to peace and development in the two countries. (SIGNED)

NEB/CG/MAR/TW/FC