President gabriel boric on Thursday addressed the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on the use of water from the Silala river, which confronted Chile and Bolivia in a dispute that lasted six years. In this regard, he said that it was a “solid” ruling and “favorable to what the State of Chile has sustained.”
“Here we are honoring a tradition of excellence in our foreign policy, which is also crowned with obtaining a solid and well-founded ruling that today is manifested in a decision that is favorable to what the State of Chile has sustained,” said the President at a press point from La Moneda.
You may also like:
“The ruling that the International Court of The Hague has delivered today has been categorical. Chile went to the Court for legal certainty and obtained it,” continued the head of state.
“Firstly, it confirms that the Silala River is an international watercourse and its use in its entirety is governed by customary international law,” he said.
“In this context, I believe it is necessary to highlight that our country raised its claim for recognition of 100 years of practice regarding the joint, reasonable and equitable use of Silala,” he said.
“Secondly,” Boric said, “it is recognized, and this is very important, that the use that Chile has historically made and the use that Chile is currently making of the waters of the Silala River is in accordance with the equitable and reasonable use established by international law”.
“Thirdly, also important, it establishes that Chile does not owe any compensation to the Plurinational State of Bolivia for the use it has made of the waters of the Silala river,” he added.
