Editing Foreign relations of Niger (section)

==Border disputes==
[[Libya]] has in the past claimed a strip along their border of about 19,400&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in northern Niger. There have been several decades of unresolved discussions regarding the [[boundary delimitation|delimitation]] of international boundaries in the vicinity of [[Lake Chad]] between Niger, [[Nigeria]], [[Chad]], and [[Cameroon]]. The lack of firm borders, as well as the receding of the lake in the 20th century  led to border incidents  between Cameroon and Chad in the past.  An agreement has been completed and awaits ratification by [[Cameroon]], [[Chad]], Niger, and [[Nigeria]].

Niger has an ongoing conflict with Benin over [[Lété Island]], an island in the [[River Niger]] approx. 16 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide, located  around 40 kilometers from the town of Gao, Niger. Together with other smaller islands in the River Niger, it was the main object of a territorial dispute between Niger and [[Benin]], which had begun when the two entities were still under French rule. The island, and seasonally flooded land around it is valuable to semi-nomadic [[Fula people|Puel]] cattle herders as a dry season pasturage. The two countries had almost gone to war over their border in 1963 but finally chose to settle by peaceful means. In the early 90s a joint delimitation commission was tasked with solving the issue but could not reach an agreement. In 2001 the two parties chose to have the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) decide on the matter once and for all.  In 2005, the ICJ ruled in Niger's favour.<ref>Fabio Spadi (2005) [http://www.ljil.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?m=5&c=186 The ICJ Judgment in the Benin-Niger Border Dispute:  the interplay of titles and ‘effectivités’ under the uti possidetis juris principle, ''Leiden Journal of International Law''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929032048/http://www.ljil.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?m=5&c=186 |date=2006-09-29 }} 18: 777-794</ref>

Niger has ongoing processes delimiting sections of their borders with [[Burkina Faso]] and [[Mali]], disputes which date back to the colonial period.  These entities, along with [[Benin]] and other nations which do not border Niger, were semi independent elements of [[French West Africa]].  Within the colonial administration, borders were frequently changed, with [[Niger colony]] once possessing large portions of what is now Burkina Faso and Mali, as well as much of northern Chad, later associated with [[French Equatorial Africa]].  Disputes between these post-independence nations have been minor and peaceful.