Nicaragua defies international court, says Costa Rican minister

Speaking at the United Nations on Monday, Costa Rican officials condemned Nicaragua for its alleged refusal to obey measures outlined by the International Court of Justice in an ongoing border dispute along the San Juan River, crhoy.com reported.

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Enrique Castillo said in a to the U.N. General Assembly that “Nicaragua has ignored the order” handed down from the world court in March 2011, which included a series of preventive measures regarding the ongoing border dispute. The court ordered both countries to stop sending personnel to the region.

“The Nicaraguan government has ignored the [world court] order and continues sending personnel into the [disputed] territory. They have made clear their defiance of the court,” Castillo said, according to crhoy.com.

Addressing the General Assembly, Castillo said Costa Rica is “a small country, democratic, unarmed and civil,” and that its only means of defense is a pledge to peace and international rights.

The minister also noted that what makes the situation difficult for the two countries is their location between countries of drug production to the south and “the big market” of illicit narcotics to the north, which is causing growing problems in the region.

“We are victims of a problem of which our control is minimal and our recourse is less,” he said.  For this reason “Costa Rica considers it necessary to have a more active connection with the United Nations,” in the design and application of international strategy against drug trafficking.

According to Castillo, “it is necessary that drug traffickers begin to be seen as a real threat to international peace and security.”

However, he stressed that Costa Rica “has evaded the dangerous mention of ‘war’” in the fight against drugs, and rather has combined political action in preventing consumption, as well as providing assistance for illicit drug users.