13th AMUN ICJ

ICJ

The Court's article is already available at the bottom of this page!

Case – Ecuador vs. Colombia: The Environment and the Fight against Drugs

When we think about the contemporary environmental situation several paradoxes come to mind: the clash between the right to development and the duty to protect the environment, the effects of globalization and its positive and negative impacts on the environment. There is even a considerable frame of the agenda that discusses the possible negative effects of environmental policies on the environment. In another perspective, when we consider the international outline of the debates regarding human rights, it is clear to realize how acute the arguments concerning narcotics have been to the subject, not only considering the illegal trade of narcotics but also the disease of drug addiction and its consequences to society. The International Court of Justice in this edition of AMUN will gather important pieces of each of these topics towards the resolution of the contentious case of Aerial Herbicide Spraying, Ecuador vs. Colombia.

The participants in the Court will represent the 15 most important judges in the whole international system in an important yet unsolved case by the Court. In Colombia’s last attempt to tackle the escalade of narcotic related issues in its country, Bogota decided to launch a series of unarmed flights with the objective of spraying, with noxious herbicides, drug crops in a region close to the border with Ecuador. The Ecuadorian government, however, decided to apply a case against Colombia in the ICJ due to supposed human, environmental and propriety damages that the herbicides caused within its country’s borders.

Throughout the last decade, Colombia has experienced an average economic growth of 6,8% per year, commuted with an overall feeling of confidence and stability by the international community, particularly after the election of president Mr. Álvaro Uribe in 2002. The history of the country, however, is reckoned to be filled with several unpleasant marks regarding the production of illicit drugs.

Colombia is still the leading coca cultivator in the world, with 167,000 hectares of coca crops in 2007, which represents the potential of production of 535mt of pure cocaine. To help worsen this scenario, this illicit field of commerce finances the outrageous actions of the guerrillas which are responsible for a wave of violence in Latin America that is incompatible with the development shifts the whole continent is willing to promote. When looking deep into the past decade, the end of this situation seems to be one of the milestones yet to be set towards the definitive settlement of Colombia as a fully trustworthy nation within Latin America.

Considering this scope, the case applied by Ecuador to the Court presents a complicated question to be faced and analyzed by the judges: although extremely important not only to Colombia, but to Latin America as a whole, the war on drugs must be coherent with the goals it is trying to reach. It will be undoubtedly a difficult matter to discuss. As being the judges of the highest capability we expect them to aim at the completion of a sentence based upon the most accurate understanding of the international law and the political aspects it involves, regardless of any residual interference they have as citizens of a determined country. As judges they will be embodying the law and the law only.

We expect you to measure up to that and take this responsibility. We will see you in July.