Bolivia bases its defense against Chile over the Silala River on scientific studies

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Bolivian government assured on Wednesday, March 9, that its defense in the dispute with Chile at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over the waters of the Silala is based on independent scientific studies.

This position was made known by the Bolivian Foreign Minister, Rogelio Mayta, and the secretary-general of the Strategic Directorate of Maritime Claims (Diremar), Emerson Calderón, after learning that the high court of the United Nations set dates for oral hearings within the process initiated in 2016.

“Bolivia’s position since the beginning of this dispute has always been based on what science provides.” On scientific studies made years ago and other more recent ones, Calderón told the media.

Calderón gave a detailed report on the foreign professionals, lawyers, and scientists hired by the country to complement the work of the Bolivian team in charge of this claim.

According to the official, the studies made in the past on these waters by local state and private entities were presented in the written pleadings “as evidence available to Bolivia” in its dispute over the nature of the waters of the Silala.

Faced with the need to “deepen”, update these reports, and produce new ones, the Bolivian government hired the Denmark-based non-profit institute DHI, which specializes in water resources research, Calderón said.

The DHI team in charge of the Bolivian case includes Danish engineers Roar Jensen and Torsten Jacobsen and U.S.-based Michael Gabora.

“This is the scientific team working on behalf of Bolivia’s interests, but it is important to note that their work is independent,” he added.

BACKGROUND

Chile sued Bolivia in 2016 before the ICJ to prevent Bolivia from interrupting the flow of the waters into its territory by arguing that the Silala is an international river between the two countries.

Bolivia replied in 2018 with three counterclaims by considering that the waters were originally springs born in its territory but were channeled to the border by a Chilean railroad company in the 1920s.

The Silala rises in Bolivia and crosses the border to flow into another channel in Chile, but its use and status have eroded relations between the two in the last twenty years.

Relations have already deteriorated due to the centuries-old Bolivian maritime claim for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, lost in a war at the end of the 19th century, which also reached the court in The Hague.

The court informed today that it had summoned both countries for oral hearings between April 1 and 14 to deal with Chile’s initial complaint and Bolivia’s counterclaim.

These hearings will have a “hybrid” format due to the covid-19 pandemic, which means that delegations will be able to intervene in person or videoconference.

In his appearance before the media, Foreign Minister Mayta limited himself to confirming the holding of the hearings and reviewed the actions taken by Bolivia so far.

“We are not going to make evaluative assessments of any nature about the specific case due to the court’s restrictions and out of prudence,” he added.

The Bolivian agent, in this case, is the diplomat Roberto Calzadilla. In the foreign team, there are also lawyers from France, the United States, Italy, Spain, and Nicaragua, according to Bolivian authorities.

With information from EFE