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The Worldwide Court docket of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ordered Colombia to “instantly stop” patrolling and interfering with fishing in components of the Caribbean inside Nicaragua’s unique financial zone.
The ICJ “finds that by interfering with fishing and marine analysis actions of Nicaraguan-flagged vessels … in Nicaragua’s unique financial zone … Colombia has violated Nicaragua’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” presiding decide Joan Donoghue mentioned.
The court docket dominated by 9 votes to 6 that Colombia ought to be ordered to cease this conduct, she mentioned on the court docket’s headquarters in The Hague.
The judges additionally ordered Colombia to vary a 2013 presidential decree that established a zone round Colombian islands within the disputed space. The court docket mentioned that the zone as outlined by the decree was too giant and the powers Colombia claims to have within the doc weren’t in accordance with customary worldwide regulation.
What’s the dispute about?
Nicaragua, which in 2012 gained a big swath of maritime territory from Colombia on the court docket, lodged a recent case there the next 12 months, accusing Colombia of ignoring that ruling.
It alleged Bogota had threatened to make use of pressure to push by means of its claims within the area, which has wealthy fishing grounds and oil and gasoline deposits.
Managua additionally requested the ICJ to pressure Colombia to pay compensation for “the risk or use of pressure by the Colombian navy towards Nicaraguan fishing boats.”
Colombia denied the accusations and mentioned its presence within the waters was primarily for the needs of worldwide maritime rescue and the combat towards drug trafficking.
Bogota additionally claimed that Managua was interfering with Indigenous fishing rights owing to the 2012 ruling, an argument rejected by the court docket.
Nicaragua’s declare for compensation was additionally not granted in Thursday’s ruling.
Though there aren’t any land borders between Nicaragua and Colombia, in South America, bilateral ties have been strained for nearly a century amid the row over maritime limits.
What did Colombia say?
Talking after the ruling was handed down, Colombia’s consultant, Carlos Gustavo Arrieta Padilla, informed journalists exterior the court docket he nonetheless believed “the ruling is principally in favor of Colombia.”
“They (the judges) didn’t ask us to stop our presence in Nicaraguan waters … They by no means ordered us to go away … the realm,” Arrieta mentioned.
“The court docket has maintained the potential of the Colombian navy being there and doing operations within the combat towards organized crime within the space,” he mentioned.
Arieta (R.) is seen right here greeting Nicaragua’s ambassador, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, on the court docket in 2016
He additionally mentioned that Colombia couldn’t implement features of the ruling earlier than going by means of a “particular process.” Bogota has argued that it might probably change its borders solely by bilateral treaty and it can’t due to this fact totally implement the court docket’s 2012 ruling.
Attorneys for Nicaragua declined to touch upon the ruling.
Judgements by the ICJ are closing and can’t be appealed. If a rustic does refuse to implement them, as not often happens, the complainant nation can refer the matter to the UN Safety Council for additional motion.
tj/nm (dpa, Reuters)
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