evidence: Equatorial Guinea and Gabon have a long-standing maritime and territorial dispute over the ownership of three islands Mbanie/Mbane, Cocotiers/Cocoteros, and Congas. The dispute has been simmering since 1972 when there was a small military skirmish on the island of Mbanie/Mbane. It remained in obscurity until the hydrocarbon fields were discovered in the surrounding waters. In 2004, the leaders of both States jointly pledged before the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to negotiate a joint development zone in order to exploit the oil reserves. In 2004, the Secretary-Generalinitialized mediation through his special representative, but it had to be suspended in 2010 because of the souring relationship between the new Gabonese government and Equatorial Guinea. In 2011, at the invitation of the new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the negotiations were restarted, with the aim of finding a mutually acceptable solution of the border dispute between the two parties for submission to the International Court of Justice. In 2016, these mediation efforts were successfully concluded. [...] If for this or any other reason, the 1974 Convention is considered to be valid on the basis of counter-evidence that Gabon may present, then Equatorial Guinea might be considered bound by its provisions other than Art 4 (which stipulates that it is to be finalized on a later date). In that case, the matters concerning the boundary in river Muni, the land boundary terminus, the sovereignty over islands Mbanie/Mbane, Ccoctiers/Cocoteros, and Conga, and the allocation of territorial patches along the boundary will be seen as settled.