ICJ rules Bolivia cannot force Chile to grant ‘sovereign access’ to Pacific Ocean
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| PC- NOAA |
The International Court of Justice ruled [judgment, PDF] that landlocked Bolivia cannot force neighboring, coastal Chile to grant it access to a portion of the Pacific Ocean Chile presently controls.
ICJ “The Court is unable to conclude, on the basis of the material submitted to it, that Chile has the obligation to negotiate with Bolivia in order to reach an agreement granting Bolivia a fully sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean,”
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Bolivia surrendered most of its former coastline to Chile in a 1904 treaty following the War of the Pacific. The day has since been commemorated each year by grieving Bolivians, and the nation has attempted to renegotiate water rights for over 100 years.
Earlier Bolivian President Evo Morales suggested giving Chile an equal portion of Bolivian territory in exchange for some coastline, but Chile rejected the offer. “The government affirmed that “the seas and oceans are the common heritage of humanity and in their immensity can only be compared to the Bolivian desire to return to the sea.”
The ruling of ICJ is a blow to the Bolivian president, who has bolstered his popularity with the nationalistic bid for sea access ahead of a bid for a controversial fourth term next year.
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