ICJ REJECTS EL SALVADOR'S APPLICATION FOR REVISION

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002952 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, AND L E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PBTS KTIA PREL PGOV ES HO SUBJECT: ICJ REJECTS EL SALVADOR'S APPLICATION FOR REVISION ON BORDER DEMARCATION WITH HONDURAS REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 2221 ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 2757 (ALL NOTAL) ¶1. On December 18, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, by a vote of 4-1, rejected El Salvador's September 10, 2002 application for revision of the Court's original 1992 decision demarcating the land and maritime border between El Salvador and Honduras as "inadmissible." The ICJ's latest judgment is final, without appeal, and binding on both parties. At issue were 74 square kilometers lying between Los Amates and the Gulf of Fonseca in a region known as Goascoran. ¶2. El Salvador's application for revision was based on the Government of El Salvador's (GOES) assertion that, under Article 61 of the Statute of the Court, El Salvador had "discovered" new facts of a decisive nature that were unknown to the Court and the GOES when the original judgment was rendered. In its finding, the Court determined that El Salvador's newly presented evidence did not meet the "decisive factor" threshold, and thus could not be considered. ¶3. The ICJ's decision, while expected (ref A),was met with jubilation and exhilaration in Honduras. In remarks to the Honduran press, President Maduro characterized the Court's decision as "historic", marking a momentous day in Honduran history. For others at the MFA, yesterday's ICJ decision marks the end of some 50 years of working to resolve Honduras' border dispute with El Salvador. The Government of Honduras (GOH) has been anxious to move forward on border demarcation with El Salvador (ref B),and the ICJ's latest decision removes the final legal obstacle delaying El Salvador's compliance with the original ICJ decision. The GOH now looks forward to moving expeditiously on completing the border demarcation process. ¶4. During that same evening, Ambassador attended a ceremony hosted by President Maduro to mark the ICJ's decision. Among those present was the El Salvadoran Ambassador to Honduras. Palmer