Today has taken place the session of oral arguments of Equatorial Guinea before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body of the United Nations, in the case that faces Equatorial Guinea against France, before the denunciation of our country by which the French country would have violated the diplomatic immunity of Vice President Teodoro Obiang Mangue.
After the intervention yesterday from France, today it was the turn of our country, led by the Ambassador to the Netherlands, Carmelo Nvono-Ncá, agent of the case, who opened the day with a sharp speech, which has made clear that “Equatorial Guinea does not criticize France, but accuses it directly of not respecting International Law”.
The French court opened a suit in 2016 against the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, for which he was sentenced last October to three years in prison and 30 million euros in fines, in a case called “ill-gotten property”. This demand, as stated by Nvono-Ncá in his speech, “hinders the ability of Equatorial Guinea to manage its international relations, with all the right and all the legitimacy that our total Independence gives us.”
With this demand and condemnation, France not only has not respected the Vienna Convention that confers diplomatic immunity to Teodoro Obiang, but has not respected the diplomatic status of the building that houses the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Paris and that France had tried to seize . In this regard, the Ambassador to the Netherlands has stated that “there is no doubt as to who owns the building of the Avenue Foch number 42 in Paris. I would like to remind the French delegation that Equatorial Guinea is a country that enjoys total independence. That is precisely why we buy our goods with our money: to have the legitimate right over them. ”
Also, the Equatoguinean diplomat has assured that Equatorial Guinea has tried, and continues to do so, “resolve the dispute bilaterally through political contacts with the French authorities.” However, as he added, “hitherto we systematically hit the same wall. They tell us that the Executive can not intervene even when the French courts misinterpret international law. ”
This second round of allegations before the ICJ will continue until February 23. It is expected that France will intervene tomorrow before the Court and that the Equatoguinean country closes the sessions next Friday.
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