BOGOTA, Colombia: Colombia and Nicaragua went before the International Court of Justice on Monday to present their arguments in a long-running dispute that the Nicaraguan government has accused of violating its sovereignty in the western Caribbean.
The case was initiated by Nicaragua in 2013, and is now reaching the stage of public meetings, where lawyers from both countries present their arguments before a panel of 15 judges in court in The Hague, Netherlands.
Legal experts say the case could help illustrate the rights of the two countries in a region of the Caribbean that is home to a UNESCO-listed biosphere reserve inhabited by dozens of endangered species.
The area has long been claimed by both countries, and Nicaragua gained fishing rights over a large portion in a 2012 decision by the Hague Court. But Colombia’s navy continues to patrol the waters, which are also used by drug smugglers to smuggle drugs into Central America.
On Monday, Nicaragua argued that Colombian naval ships were violating their fishing rights by patrolling the area granted to Nicaragua as an exclusive economic zone under the 2012 regime. It also alleged that the Colombian Navy has barred vessels with Nicaraguan fishing permits from operating in the area, while providing protection to ships with Colombian permits.
Colombia, which owns the islands of San Andres and Providencia 110 kilometers (about 70 miles) off the Nicaraguas coast, denies those allegations.
Colombia says its navy is patrolling the region as it seeks to meet international commitments to fight drug trafficking and protect the Seaflower Marine Reserve, which is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve’s global reserve. The list contains a territory created by Colombia and overlaps the economic zone granted to Nicaragua in 2012. ruling.
Colombia accused the Nicaraguan Navy of interfering with the ancestral fishing rights of residents of San Andres and Providencia, and of unilaterally trying to expand its maritime borders through a law in the Nicaraguan Congress.
The court will take several months to deliver the verdict.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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