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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