What can happen to the Hague ruling in the dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua

A few days ago, the Colombian Foreign Ministry informed in a statement that there is already a date to hear the ruling of the International Court of Justice, a tribunal attached to the UN and based in The Hague (Netherlands), on two lawsuits imposed by Nicaragua and Colombia. The decision will be announced on April 21, 2022.

This news is important for the parties because it is a decision that interferes with the importance of sovereignty and maritime spaces in the Caribbean Sea. This is because, since 2013, the Daniel Ortega regime has accused the Colombian State of having violated this right, mentioned in the agreements signed in international treaties by both countries.

According to Nicaragua, the Colombian National Navy continues to operate in waters of the Caribbean Sea that are no longer part of its jurisdiction. In addition, it states that the issuance of Decree 1946 of 2013, which establishes the Integral Contiguous Zone of the Archipelago, the Government of Colombia omits the changes that should have occurred in the map after the ruling.

But Colombia denies these incidents and, as evidence of this, maintains that there have never been any seizures or seizures in this part of the maritime border. He even made a counterclaim in which he warned: “Nicaragua has violated the artisanal fishing rights of the inhabitants of the archipelago, in particular the Raizal community, to access and operate their traditional fishing banks.”

In Nicaragua, moreover, a decree would have been issued that would be contrary to international law and would be seeking to add even more marine areas than it had already won in court, to the detriment of Colombia.

In this regard, it must be clarified, the ruling will not focus on making modifications to the maps and delimitations of the countries, because in the 2012 ruling certain limits had already been issued that indicated that the San Andrés archipelago belonged to Colombia, just as all the keys belonged to Colombia, including the Quitasueño one.

In order to make a decision, the Court has listened to both sides. For Colombia, the vice-president and chancellor, Marta Lucía Ramírez, the governor of the department of San Andrés and Providencia, Everth Hawkins Sjogreen, the National Navy and the representative of the raizal community, Kent Francis James, have spoken directly because one of the activities on which they economically depend is fishing ancestral and this was affected by what was decided by the Court in 2012. For its part, the Central American country has delivered the evidence that would support its claim showing non-compliance with the norm and what was issued by the Court in 2012.

As El Tiempo mentioned, the decision will have wide repercussions on the next government, which will have to address the issue and decide the right strategy before this international court and against Nicaragua. Well, in the case of Colombia, the decision not only affects the issue of sovereignty but also a key economic income for the communities of the San Andrés Archipelago.

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