Iraqi water policy expert Ramadan Hamza
Iraqi expert defends maritime map deposit as routine legal step amid Gulf objections
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi water policy expert pushed back Tuesday against the political reaction to Iraq’s deposit of its maritime boundary maps with the United Nations, describing the move as a routine legal measure tied to the country’s Development Road project.
Ramadan Hamza said Baghdad is documenting coordinates and sovereign rights ahead of operationalizing the route, which begins at the coast near Faw Port.
“What Iraq has done by depositing the maps with the United Nations is a legal act and a sovereign, documentary procedure of Iraqi coordinates, and they are sovereign rights,” Hamza said.
Iraq announced on Feb. 21 that it had formalized its maritime boundaries and deposited the maps with the U.N. secretary-general on Jan. 19 and Feb. 9, pursuant to the 1982 Law of the Sea convention. The filing defines straight baselines and the limits of Iraq’s territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
The announcement prompted objections from several Gulf states, which called on Iraq to withdraw the filing and respect Kuwait’s maritime boundaries. Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar expressed solidarity with Kuwait, saying the filing affects its sovereignty over certain maritime areas and features, including Fasht al-Aij and Fasht al-Qaid.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s The Reconstruction and Development Bloc, meanwhile, framed the deposit as an achievement for his government.
“We did not have maritime borders or sovereignty over our maritime boundaries,” the bloc said at a press conference. “Depositing the maps is not a simple technical procedure but a confirmation under international law of Iraq’s rights in its territorial waters.”
The bloc said the filing was the first of its kind by an Iraqi government and would allow the Oil Ministry to conduct exploration and give Iraq “a strong legal basis in negotiation.”
The Development Road project, intended to integrate a high-speed railway and highway network spanning more than 1,200 kilometers, is designed to turn Iraq into a land bridge between Asia and Europe and reduce dependence on maritime shipping through the Suez Canal.