Election of Maurice Kamga to Head Sea Laws: Government Gives Support Assurances

O n October 1, 2026, Cameroo­ nian-born diplomat, legal ex­ pert, and academic Professor, Maurice Kengne Kamga was elected President of the International Tri­ bunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) during the 62nd administrative ses­ sion of the institution in Hamburg, Germany. He was elected for a three-year mandate covering 2026 to 2029. Immediately after the election in which Cameroon recorded another diplomatic victory, he came back to the country to update authorities, on the support his candidacy recei­ ved. It is against this backdrop that he was received in audience by the Minister of External Relations, Mbella Mbella on October 21, 2026 at the Ministry. During this audience, the Minister of External Relations once again congratulated the newly-elec­ ted President on behalf of the go­ vernment and assured him of the Cameroonian authorities' support for the success of his term of office as he leads this prestigious UN ins­ titution. Speaking to reporters after the event, Maurice Kamga said there was need to come and present him­ self to the Minister of External Re­ lations, after the victory at the in­ ternational scene. “As you know, since October 1, 2026, my col­ leagues who are judges at the In­ ternational Tribunal of the Law of the Sea elected me to the presidency of this institution. There was need for me to come back, especially as I am a diplomat since 1994, and show the Minister of External Relations, the government and Head of State what I was able to yield at the in­ ternational scene,” the newly-elec­ ted official, said. According to him, this move of coming to show ap­ preciation to authorities for their support which has led him to where ...