[ARCHIVO] President Bachelet receives the Memorial that Chile will submit before the International Court of Justice at The Hague
Early this morning, the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, received from the Foreign Affairs Minister, Heraldo Muñoz, and the former president of the State Defense Council and Chilean co-agent, Juan Ignacio Piña, the Memorial that our country will submit today to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, as part of the claim filed against Bolivia in 2016 regarding the differences between the two countries concerning the Silala river.
President Bachelet emphasized that “for us, protecting this water resource is fundamental as it has supplied water to several towns, including Antofagasta, Sierra Gorda and Baquedano, and is currently being used by CODELCO. Bolivia cannot seek to appropriate water that is shared.”
Chile is requesting the international court to judge and declare that the Silala river system is, along with its underground portions, an international water resource, the use of which is governed by customary international law; that Chile has the right to the equitable and reasonable use of the water of the Silala river system, in accordance with customary international law; that under the standard of equitable and reasonable utilization, Chile has the right to its current usage of the Silala river water; that Bolivia is under the obligation to take all appropriate measures to prevent and control the contamination and other types of damage resulting from its activities near the Silala river, as well as to cooperate and to promptly notify Chile about any programmed measures that could have a negative effect on the shared water resources, to exchange data and information, and to carry out, when applicable, an environmental impact assessment, that allows Chile to evaluate the possible effects of such programmed measures.
President Bachelet explained that “the decision to file the claim before the International Court of Justice was not taken quickly. We tried to settle this difference through diplomatic channels; however, in the end, we were under the obligation to take legal action to protect our rights. Chile is a country that observes international law and that deeply believes in the peaceful solution to disputes.”
Likewise, she underlined that the Memorial “is supported by very solid arguments, one of which is the fact that Bolivia recognized the international nature of the river for more than 100 years, a position that changed abruptly in 1999, without any justification. Moreover, Chile has all of the scientific background information to prove to the Court that the River crosses from Bolivia into Chile. In this respect, we have sufficient geological, hydrochemical, geomorphological, biological and hydrological evidence to affirm, without a doubt, that the Silala is an international river.”
After the Memorial has been submitted by Chile, Bolivia will need to file a Counter-Memorial by no later than July 3, 2018.
President Bachelet also highlighted “the ample support and backup that the action to take the case to The Hague has had in different sectors around the country” and thanked “those who prepared the Memorial, especially our agent Ximena Fuentes and our co-agents, María Teresa Infante and Juan Ignacio Piña, for their work”.
In conclusion, she said that “today, we are setting a new example of our confidence in the institutions that the International Community has created, precisely, to settle these disputes peacefully.”