ECUADOR TAKES COLOMBIA TO ICJ ON SPRAYING

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000312 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2014 TAGS: PREL SNAR PHUM ICJ EC CO SUBJECT: ECUADOR TAKES COLOMBIA TO ICJ ON SPRAYING Classified By: Acting DCM Douglas Griffiths for Reasons 1.4 (b&d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Ecuador filed suit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague on March 31, seeking a decision by the ICJ that Colombian spraying violated Ecuador's sovereignty and requiring Colombia to refrain from further aerial spraying and pay reparations to Ecuadorians for alleged harm caused by the spraying. The President portrayed the action essentially as retaliation against Colombia for the March 1 attack and bilateral problems since, but the Foreign Minister tried to keep some distance between the two issues. MFA documents on the ICJ case discuss the harmful effects of glyphosate spraying, but do not specifically cite impartial scientific studies and instead point to statements by Colombian "experts". (End Summary) GOE MARSHALS ARGUMENTS AGAINST AERIAL ERADICATION ¶2. (SBU) On March 31, Ecuador filed a suit at the Hague seeking a decision by the ICJ forcing Colombia to halt spraying herbicides within six miles of the border and to pay for damages caused by the spraying. Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador stated on March 31 that Ecuador has tried to get Colombia to stop the spraying for seven years and the "diplomatic process has run out." Salvador also said that Ecuador had sufficient evidence that the aerial dispersions had crossed the border and "as a result, the health and economics of numerous Ecuadorians have been seriously affected." Ecuador has repeatedly complained that although Colombia suspended its aerial eradication program in February 2007, it has not promised it will not resume spraying in the future, and has refused to acknowledge the alleged damages caused by dispersion. Salvador called the proximity in timing with Ecuador-Colombia tensions following the March 1 Colombian incursion only a coincidence of timing. President Correa had given a very different impression during his radio address on March 29, saying the GOE would provide a "significant response" to the Colombian incursion on March 31. ¶3. (SBU) Following Foreign Minister Salvador's April 1 briefing to the diplomatic corps, the MFA provided binders of two documents, a "White Paper on Ecuador's Suit Against Ecuador" and an "Application of the Republic of Ecuador Against Colombia" (provided to the Ecuador desk via fax). The GOE invokes articles 36(1) and 40 of the Statute of the Court and Article 38 of the Rules in the Application against the GOC, and states that the ICJ has jurisdiction over the dispute by virtue of the American Treaty of Pacific Settlement of Disputes of 1948 ("Pact of Bogota"),as well as the 1988 U.N. Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. ¶4. (U) The Application claims that dispersion from the spraying program has been carried across the Ecuadorian border, and "on some occasions aircraft participating in Colombia's fumigation operations have, without authorization, crossed into Ecuadorian airspace and sprayed within the territory of Ecuador." The GOE cites specific adverse health effects and damage to crops and ecosystems. It refers to the twice convened bilateral scientific commissions, noting that the negotiations were unsuccessful. The Application states that Colombia has refused to disclose the contents of chemicals employed in its spraying program, and discusses the (allegedly) toxic effect of glyphosate, especially when used in conjunction with surfactants. ¶5. (C) The Application emphasizes Ecuador's biodiversity in the northern border region, as well as the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the indigenous peoples populating the area. The Application and White Paper also provide a brief recap of Ecuador's "attempts at a diplomatic settlement of the dispute." Note: It is interesting that the White Paper and Application fail to cite specific reports, choosing instead to refer to studies conducted within Colombia. Jewell