Iraq submits coordinates of its maritime zones to the United Nations to support the Khor Abdullah file
Iraq submits coordinates of its maritime zones to the United Nations to support the Khor Abdullah file
2026-02-21 04:05
Shafaq News – Basra
Iraq recently deposited a map of its maritime zones, with all precise coordinates, with the United Nations, in a move aimed at strengthening the country’s maritime rights and bolstering its negotiating position on issues related to maritime borders.
The Director General of the General Company for Iraqi Ports, Farhan Al-Fartousi, told Shafaq News Agency that “Iraq’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations officially deposited the map on February 18, and it was circulated to member states after continuous technical efforts in which multiple Iraqi committees participated over a long period.”
He added that “the General Company for Iraqi Ports contributed its technical expertise in preparing the documents, which made it possible to provide accurate information on all maritime areas, including inland waters, territorial waters, contiguous waters, and the special economic zone.”
Al-Fartousi pointed out that “this step supports Iraq legally and technically in any international discussions related to the demarcation of maritime borders, especially with regard to the Khor Abdullah file after pillar 162, which enhances Iraq’s ability to protect its maritime rights at the international level.”
The agreement to regulate navigation in Khor Abdullah, concluded in 2012 between Iraq and Kuwait, is a technical and administrative treatment of the effects of Saddam Hussein’s regime’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the resulting demarcation of borders under Security Council Resolution No. (833) of 1993, as its sixth article confirmed that the agreement “does not affect the borders between the two parties in Khor Abdullah established under Security Council Resolution No. (833) of 1993.”
The Iraqi Council of Ministers approved the draft ratification law at the end of 2012, and the House of Representatives approved it by a simple majority under Law No. (42) of 2013, and then it was published in the Iraqi Gazette in issue (4299) dated 11/25/2013.
The Federal Court issued its decision No. (21/Federal/2014) dated 12/18/2014, distinguishing between the law regulating the process of ratifying treaties, which requires a two-thirds majority according to Article (61/Fourth) of the Constitution, and the law ratifying a specific agreement, which is approved by a simple majority according to Article (59/Second).
Diplomatic tensions between Iraq and Kuwait have escalated recently, against the backdrop of the maritime border demarcation issue beyond marker 162, which is the maritime extension that has not been completed between the two countries since the issuance of Security Council Resolution 833 in 1993.
Recently, several sources revealed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not send the map of the maritime areas to the United Nations for the purpose of depositing and archiving it to preserve Iraq’s borders.
shafaq.com
