Colombia-Nicaragua relations
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| Colombia | Nicaragua |
Colombia–Nicaragua relations entail the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Nicaragua. The relationship between the two Latin American countries has evolved amid conflicts over the San Andrés y Providencia Islands located in the Caribbean sea close to the Nicaraguan shoreline and the maritime boundaries covering 150,000 km² that included the islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina and the banks of Roncador, Serrana, Serranilla and Quitasueño as well as the arbitrarily designed 82nd meridian which Colombia claims as a border but which the International Court has sided with Nicaragua in disavowing. ,.[1] The archipelago has been under Colombian control since 1931 when a treaty was signed during US occupation of Nicaragua, giving Colombia control over those three islands but not over the rest of geographical feature nor over the maritime boundary. The ICJ will decide on those two issues.
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[edit] History
- See also: Timeline of Colombia-Nicaragua relations
[edit] War in Central America
In 1985 during the Sandinist revolution in Nicaragua, Colombia headed by President Belisario Betancur was part of the Contadora Group along Panama, Mexico and Venezuela. The United Nations supported group intended to promote peace in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, which were engulfed in internal armed conflicts.[2]
[edit] San Andres archipelago and maritime dispute
Colombia considered that the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty signed between 1928 and 1930 supported their claim on the sovereignty over the islands.[3]
Nicaragua considered the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty invalid and argued that at the time it was signed, Nicaragua was invaded by the United States. It also appealed to the Pact of Bogota of 1948, under article 31 of which both countries agreed to comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Colombia considers this pact as invalid since article 6 in the same document specifies that the pact would not apply to previously resolved disputes referring to the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty.[4]
[edit] Intenational Court of Justice case
On December 6, 2001 Nicaragua filed a complaint against Colombia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an attempt to resolve the dispute.[5]
President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega also claimed that Colombia was too far from San Andres to have sovereignty over these and also accused Colombia of being "imperialist" and "expansionist". On December 12, 2007 Ortega also ordered the Nicaraguan military to be prepared for conflict with Colombia.[6] The Colombian government answered that they would wait for the ICJ resolution and were going to ignore Ortega.
On December 13, 2007 the International Court of Justice was set to resolve at 10 AM.[7] The court finally concluded the long time dispute in favor of Colombia over the sovereignty over the archipelago but also said that it had jurisdiction over the other aspects of the maritime dispute.[8]
[edit] Unresolved maritime dispute
The Colombian newspaper El Espectador said that Nicaragua could gain territory in this way by setting a new trial to resolve the maritime borders that were not previously established in any of the accords or treaties and the Roncador, Quitasueño y Serrana banks. Regarding this Colombia used as border the 82 meridian while Nicaragua wants to expand and gain territory.[9] The ICJ has clearly stated that the 82nd meridian in no way can be considered a maritime border and the Court will define that border according to the Law of the Seas.
President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Araújo expressed that Colombia needs to prove that the banks are also part of Colombia. President Uribe said that at the moment the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty was signed there was nothing stipulated about the banks because Colombia was contesting them with the United States to resolve the sovereignty over these, but not because Nicaragua was claiming these and pointed out that Colombia had already been generous to Nicaragua by ceding the Mosquito Coast which had been previously claimed by Colombia.[10]
[edit] Ortega's humanitarian exchange remarks
On December 14, 2007 President Ortega of Nicaragua stirred controversy after making remarks over the Humanitarian exchange process the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla are undergoing to exchange hostages for prisoners. Ortega opinionated about the issue calling the FARC "brothers" to free political prisoner Ingrid Betancourt and said that Betancourt death could be use to blame it on the FARC.[11]
The Colombian government assumed these remarks as an intervention in internal Colombian affairs and issued a note of protest to Nicaragua. The Colombian government did not consider appropriate the "familiarized language" used to refer to the head of a "narcoterrorist organization".[12]
[edit] See also
- Foreign relations of Colombia
- Foreign relations of Nicaragua
- Territorial disputes of Nicaragua all written by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
[edit] References
- ^ LA Times: Border tensions rise in Central & South America
- ^ 1985 - El Grupo de Contadora (Spanish). UNESCO (June 10, 2003). Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
- ^ (Spanish) El Espectador: La Haya decide su jurisdicción en lío de isla de San Andrés
- ^ (Spanish) El Espectador: La Haya decide su jurisdicción en lío de isla de San Andrés
- ^ IOC UNESCO: Nicaragua Sues Colombia before the World Court over a dispute concerning territorial questions and maritime delimitation in the western Caribbean
- ^ (Spanish) Revista Semana: Nicaragua espera el fallo de La Haya sobre San Andrés acusando a Colombia de “imperialista” y “expansionista”
- ^ International Court of Justice: Colombia-Nicaragua case
- ^ International Court of Justice: Colombia-Nicaragua case resolution
- ^ (Spanish) El Espectador: Colombia podría perder territorio, a pesar del fallo de la Haya
- ^ (Spanish) El Espectador: Colombia ratificará soberanía sobre cayos de San Andrés
- ^ (Spanish) El Tiempo: Presidente de Nicaragua pide a sus "hermanos de las Farc" liberar a Ingrid Betancourt. El Tiempo, accessed November 14, 2007.
- ^ (Spanish) El Pais: Colombia protesta por declaraciones de Ortega
[edit] External links
- Envio: Roots of the Colombia-Nicaragua Territorial Dispute
- International Court of Justice: Colombia-Nicaragua dispute
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