Colombia denounces Pact of Bogota: President Santos .

Colombia denounces Pact of Bogota: President Santos .
Wednesday, 28 November 2012 11:34 Caitlin Trent

In response to the ICJ's verdict granting maritime rights to Nicaragua, President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday announced Colombia's withdrawal from the Pact of Bogota that obliges Colombia to abide by UN decisions and settle territorial disputes peacefully.

Colombia on Wednesday officially renounced the 1948 Pact of Bogota, also known as the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement, protesting the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) November 19 territorial ruling that granted Nicaragua maritime rights to previously Colombian waters.

"I have decided that the highest national interests require that territorial and maritime boundaries be established through treaties, as it has been the legal tradition in Colombia, and not by judgments handed down by the International Commission of Justice," Santos stated.

Although Colombia claims that it will respect the ICJ's decision, which upheld Colombia's territorial rights to the San Andres archipelago but granted Nicaragua maritime jurisdiction, Santos announced via Twitter that "limits should be set by the States themselves not by a court."

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/27207-colombia-denounces-pact-of-bogota-santos.html