US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA2952

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002952 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, AND L 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PBTS, KTIA, PREL, PGOV, ES, HO 
SUBJECT: ICJ REJECTS EL SALVADOR'S APPLICATION FOR REVISION 
ON BORDER DEMARCATION WITH HONDURAS 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 2221 
     B. TEGUCIGALPA 2757 (ALL NOTAL) 
 
1. On December 18, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) 
in The Hague, by a vote of 4-1, rejected El Salvador's 
September 10, 2002 application for revision of the Court's 
original 1992 decision demarcating the land and maritime 
border between El Salvador and Honduras as "inadmissible." 
The ICJ's latest judgment is final, without appeal, and 
binding on both parties.  At issue were 74 square kilometers 
lying between Los Amates and the Gulf of Fonseca in a region 
known as Goascoran. 
 
2. El Salvador's application for revision was based on the 
Government of El Salvador's (GOES) assertion that, under 
Article 61 of the Statute of the Court, El Salvador had 
"discovered" new facts of a decisive nature that were unknown 
to the Court and the GOES when the original judgment was 
rendered.  In its finding, the Court determined that El 
Salvador's newly presented evidence did not meet the 
"decisive factor" threshold, and thus could not be considered. 
 
3. The ICJ's decision, while expected (ref A), was met with 
jubilation and exhilaration in Honduras. In remarks to the 
Honduran press, President Maduro characterized the Court's 
decision as "historic", marking a momentous day in Honduran 
history.  For others at the MFA, yesterday's ICJ decision 
marks the end of some 50 years of working to resolve 
Honduras' border dispute with El Salvador.  The Government of 
Honduras (GOH) has been anxious to move forward on border 
demarcation with El Salvador (ref B), and the ICJ's latest 
decision removes the final legal obstacle delaying El 
Salvador's compliance with the original ICJ decision.  The 
GOH now looks forward to moving expeditiously on completing 
the border demarcation process. 
 
4. During that same evening, Ambassador attended a ceremony 
hosted by President Maduro to mark the ICJ's decision.  Among 
those present was the El Salvadoran Ambassador to Honduras. 
Palmer