Section 6
United Nations and its Specialized Agencies

6.10. World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It was established in 1950. It is the UN system’s authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth’s atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans.

Activities in 2022

WMO (1) organized the 75th Session of the WMO’s Executive Council to discuss how to further develop the Global Framework for Climate Services, as well as the research and scientific vision for WMO. The Council also endorsed the establishment of a Consortium of WHO Education and Training Collaboration Partners (CONET) intended to broaden the engagement of education and training institutions in WMO activities (June 20-24); (2) launched a new web-portal to make key meteorological analyses and forecast products more readily accessible; (3) jointly with WHO, launched the first global knowledge platform dedicated to climate and health (ClimaHealth.info) in response to growing calls for actionable information to protect people from the health risks of climate change and other environmental hazards.

Projects in CA and Afghanistan. Continued: (1) “The Central Asian Flood Early Warning System”; (2) “Afghanistan Early Warning System project” ($2.4 million); (3) “Hydromet and Early Warning Services for Resilience” ($3.7 million); (4) “Uzbekistan Climate Data Restoration Project”.

Publications. WMO Bulletin Vol. 71 – “Early Warning and Anticipatory Action”; 2022 WMO State of Climate Services: Energy report. Other publications can be found on library.wmo.int.

Source: ÂÌÎ

6.11. International Fund for Agricultural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a multilateral financial institution established in 1977. It mobilizes resources to eliminate malnutrition and improve agricultural productivity and incomes for rural poor in developing countries. It provides direct financing in the form of loans and grants, attracts additional resources to implement projects and programs. Currently it has a number of ongoing projects in Central Asia.

Activities in 2022

Kyrgyzstan

Since 1996, IFAD has invested $124.9 million in rural development in Kyrgyzstan. IFAD activities in the Republic are based on the Kyrgyz Republic Country strategic opportunities programme 2018-2022. The goal is to support inclusive rural transformation that enables smallholders to reduce poverty and strengthen livelihood resilience. This goal will be achieved through two interrelated strategic objectives: (1) increase smallholders’ equitable and sustainable returns through the improvement of services and development of livestock product value chains that enable rural producers to capitalize on market opportunities; and (2) enhance smallholders’ resilience to climate change through the implementation of innovative approaches that strengthen resilience and ensure sustainable incomes from diversified livelihoods systems.

The implementation of the “Access to Markets” Project continued (2016-2024, IFAD input - $21.17 million). The Project aims to raise incomes and enhance economic growth in Kyrgyzstan's pastoralist communities.

The “Regional Resilient Pastoral Communities” Project (2021-2026) totals $31.28 million in funding from IFAD for farm development (it is expected to reach at least 398,000 rural households).

Tajikistan

The total amount of IFAD funding in Tajikistan is $115.16 million. The organization's activities are based on the program titled "Strategic Opportunities of the Country for 2019-2024". The Program is aimed at reducing rural poverty and strengthening national food security in rural areas of Tajikistan. This is to be addressed under two strategic goals: (1) promoting inclusive agriculture-based economic growth in poor rural communities; and (2) increasing the resilience of smallholder producers to climate change.

“Community-Based Agricultural Support” Project continued. “Community-based Agricultural Support Project ‘plus’” was approved (2021-2027, IFAD’s contribution - $37.85 million).

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan joined to IFAD in 2011. Since 2014, IFAD has been financing three investment projects totaling more than $435.3 million (IFAD’s contribution – $128.7 million) and directly targeting about 105,000 rural families. IFAD projects work to enable sustainable income growth for rural people through viable small-scale agricultural production and rural enterprise systems, with a specific focus on dekhan farmers, rural women and youth

Implementation of Dairy Value Chains Development Program and Agriculture Diversification and Modernization Project continued A new program titled "Strategic Opportunities of the Country for 2023-2027" was developed by IFAD with direct involvement of the Uzbek Ministry of Agriculture was presented to the Government of Uzbekistan. IFAD will invest in climate smart agriculture and sustainable land management approaches that increase productivity.

Source: IFAD

6.12. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It coordinates international cooperation in these areas. Established in 1945, it includes 193 member-states. UNESCO's programs contribute to the achievement of the SDGs defined in the Agenda 2030. Key areas of activity include the following five program sectors: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and communication and information.

Activities in 2022

Second International Conference on Water, Megacities and Global Change was held online on January 11-14. The goal was to address the main challenges faced by megacities in coping with the effects of global change on water issues.

UNESCO hosted the UN-Water first Summit on Groundwater on 7-8 December 2022 at its headquarters in Paris (December 7-8). One of important results of the Summit was the launch of the transboundary water cooperation coalition. This is a multistakeholder partnership of more than 30 governments and institutions making a commitment to promote and support transboundary water cooperation at all levels worldwide.

Publications: (1) report “Groundwater, making the invisible visible” (prepared by UNESCO World Water Assessment Program (WWAP) on behalf of UN-Water). Groundwater already provides half of the volume of water withdrawn for domestic use by the global population, including the drinking water for the vast majority of the rural population. Globally, water use is expected to grow by roughly 1% per year over the next 30 years. Reliance on groundwater supplies is likely to increase as surface water resources become more limited due to climate change; (2) report “World heritage glaciers: sentinels of climate change” (based on a study by UNESCO in partnership with IUCN). The report shows new data that highlight the accelerated melting of glaciers in World Heritage sites. Glaciers in Western Tien-Shan (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan) have shrunk by 27% since 2000. Glaciers in a third of sites set to disappear by 2050. But it is still possible to save the glaciers in the remaining two thirds of sites if the rise in temperatures does not exceed 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period. This will be a major challenge for COP27.

UNESCO Projects launched in CA: (1) “Promoting bio- and geodiversity for sustainable societies in Central Asia” (2022-2023); (2) “Advancing water science for societies in Central Asia” (2022-2023); (3) “Integrated water resources management in Uzbekistan” (2022-2023); (4) “Strengthening the resilience of Central Asian countries by enabling regional cooperation to assess glacio-nival systems to develop integrated methods for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change” (2022-2026).

UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty

Projects. As part of the “Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in Central Asia: Knowledge Management Platform” (GLOFCA), the following events were organized: (1) a training on numerical modeling of rapid mass movements and glacier lake outburst floods (July); (2) a four days joint field visit was conducted to the lakes close to the Adygene research station in the valley of Adygene, a western tributary to the Ala Archa river (August, Kyrgyzstan); (3) a second regional workshop on “Assessment of downstream GLOF hazard and community hazard mapping” (October 31 – November 1, Almaty, Kazakhstan), summing up project’s first year. Experts drafted the first chapter of the guidelines on best practices in reducing vulnerability to glacier lake outburst in CA. This document is to be presented on the international arena as a CA experience in this field.

The third meeting on collaboration was held as part of "The governance of groundwater resources in transboundary aquifers (GGRETA)" project and was aimed at strengthening the joint management of the Tashkent area Transboundary Aquifer (November 2, Almaty, Kazakhstan).

On 6 June 2022, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, UNESCO Almaty Office together with UNRCCA and in partnership with the Committee for Environmental Protection and the Center for Glacier Studies at the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan convened the Forum on “Water and Mountains Towards Sustainable Development” within the framework of the second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028 (June 6, Dushanbe, Tajikistan). The Forum was focused on the challenges related to glacier melting in CA, as well as on water security in the context of climate change. The Forum provided a platform for exchanging experiences and best practice, familiarizing with specific case studies and projects from high mountain regions, including from Central Asia.

UNESCO Office in Tashkent

The work on the Water Security Outlook in Uzbekistan has been completed. This was the first quantitative and qualitative assessment of water management in administrative territories. The work was implemented by SIC ICWC upon UNESCO’s request. The water security assessment was completed for Navoiy, Samarqand and Khorezm provinces.

Source: UNESCO

6.13. Food and Agriculture Organization

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was established in 1945. Nutrition, climate change, gender equality, social protection, and decent rural employment are cross-cutting issues of FAO activity in the Central Asian region

FAO Activities in CA States in 2022

Kazakhstan

Ongoing projects: (1) “Elaboration of the 2022-2026 State Program (including the Concept) of Agro-Industrial Development” (2020-2022, $370,000); (2) “Supporting investments in smallholders inclusive agrifood value chain development in Kazakhstan” (2020-2022, $474,400); (3) ”Kazakhstan resilient agroforestry and rangeland management project” (2022-2026 $1.9 million); (4) “Promoting the development of land market and supporting the development of small family farms” (2022-2023, $275,000); (5) “Technical support to the development of an International Agrifood Hub” (2022, $95,000); (6) “Preparation of GCF project CN on sustainable and CC resilient development” (2022, $60,000).

Kazakhstan has been selected as a pilot country for a FAO project to test, develop and improve RS-based tools and methodologies for monitoring agricultural land and crop yields.

The project “Contribution to development and further scaling up of healthy nutrition” is to be started next year (2023-2025, $465,000).

Capacity building. FAO: (1) completed an inventory of obsolete pesticides in the pilot Karaganda, Akmola and Pavlodar provinces; (2) organized trainings for national teams on FAO methodologies for pesticide inventory, data processing and storage. The trainings also focused on development of a roadmap and identification of ways of cooperation among agencies to provide administrative and technical support in the inventory process.

Five-day training was held for 14 representatives of credit associations, SMEs and Kazakh National Agrarian Research University on FAO "RuralInvest" toolkit to raise financial and investment awareness of farmers.

Kyrgyzstan

The FAO Country Programming Framework in Kyrgyzstan for 2023-2027 was signed, with key points related to improving food security and nutrition, stimulating agricultural development and promoting organic agriculture, improving, increasing household sustainability, improving environmental protection, enhancing the sustainable management of natural resource and adaptation to climate change, and boosting digitalization.

Ongoing projects: (1) “Support for development of sustainable value chains for climate-smart agriculture” (2021-2023, $350,000); (2) “Promoting accelerated green investment in agriculture through capacity building of national financial institutions” (2021-2023, $300,000); (3) “Assessment and improvement of institutional capacities on food control, food safety management systems and international standards” (2021-2022, $75,000); (4) “Enhancing capacity for food safety management in the Kyrgyz fruit and vegetable industry” (2020-2022, $570,000); (5) “Supporting the implementation of organic agriculture policies and increasing the capacities of farmers in the Kyrgyz Republic – Component 1: Support to establish the legal and institutional framework for organic farming in the Kyrgyz Republic” (2019-2022, $500,000); (6) "Strengthening capacities of public and private sector for regulation, certification and marketing of organic products" (2022-2024, $300,000); (7) "Support to revision of the Land Code and to development of agricultural land markets" (2022-2023, $50,000); (8) “Carbon sequestration through climate investment in forests and rangelands in the Kyrgyz Republic” (2022-2030, $30 million).

Planned projects: “Contributing to the sustainable development of the beef sector” (2023-2025, $200,000); "Introduction and promotion of innovative approaches for adopting best technologies for horticulture" (2023-2025, $120,000).

Capacity building. FAO and the Kyrgyz Ministry of Agriculture organized an event to raise awareness about fisheries and the benefits of fish consumption within the framework of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.

To improve veterinary services' capacities in epidemiology, risk assessment and emergency response preparedness, FAO organized a two-day simulation exercise to respond to the outbreak of bovine lumpy skin disease in Bokonbaevo village in Issyk-Kul province.

Tajikistan

Ongoing projects: (1)“Support of warm-water fishery sector” (2021-2023, $95,000); (2) “Introduce innovative approaches for adopting best technologies for apricot production in Sughd” (2021-2023, $92,000); (3) “Provision of Technical Assistance on E-agriculture to the Ministry of Agriculture” (2021-2023, $90,000) - a multilateral workshop was held, with the Korean experts sharing knowledge and experiences in digital agriculture policies, programs and methods ; technical assistance was provided to the Ministry in the development of the National Roadmap for boosting digitalization; (4) “Agrobiodiversity conservation for food security and livelihood improvement” (2021-2023, $91,000); (5) “Enabling market access for Tajik agricultural products through improved food safety systems” (2018-2022, $197,000); (6) “Support to export increase of agrifood products through green development and enhanced market access” (2022-2024, $88,000); (7) “Strengthening capacity on promotion of conservation agriculture among farms at Romit Reserve" (2022-2023, $39,000); (8) “Support to agricultural sector reform and improvement of the investment climate” (2022-2023, $95,000); (2022-2023, $95,000); (9) “Cooperative development and strengthening of rural institutions under the Agrarian Reform Programme" (2022-2023, $96,000); (10) "Strengthening resilience of the agriculture sector (2022-2026, $2.4 million); (11) "Facilitating agrobiodiversity conservation and sustainable use to promote food and nutritional resilience in Tajikistan " (2022-2025 , $1.7 million); (12) “Strengthening the capacity of the Republic of Tajikistan to comply with the Enhanced Transparency Framework under the Paris Agreement” (2022-2023, $50,000).

Capacity building. FAO is setting up agrometeorological stations throughout the country to help farmers predict the weather more accurately. This includes a pilot agrometeorological network covering three crops - vineyards in Tursunzade district, apricots in Kanibadam district and cotton in Jaloliddin Balkhi district.

FAO provided 40 removable solar dryers for fruits and vegetables to eight farmer groups in four districts of Khatlon province; allocated $20,000 to the most vulnerable 40 female-headed households in Yavan district; established eight farmer field schools and distributed 340 kg of high quality legume seeds; organized a series of capacity building activities for 268 farmers, 61% of whom were women; and assisted cooperatives and informal production groups in seed multiplication in six districts of the country.

FAO introduced simulation exercises for veterinary services responding to lumpy skin disease and distributed reference literature. 5 water tankers, 2 jet sprayers, 12 showers and 343 camping items were delivered to combat a possible locust infestation; support was provided for the development of a regional monthly bulletin on locust control and 2 transboundary locust surveys in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

FAO Tajikistan organized three side events within the framework of COP27 on regional cooperation on climate change and the role of agrobiodiversity and climate finance in climate change mitigation.

Turkmenistan

Among the highlights of FAO’s work in Turkmenistan in 2022 were improvements to the cotton value chain, increased capacity of lumpy skin disease resistance, and increased sustainability in agrifood.

Ongoing projects. Under the project "Integrated natural resources management in drought-prone and salt-affected agricultural production landscapes in Central Asia and Turkey" (CACILM-2), experts are drafting a law related to soils have prepared a report on early warning systems, disaster risk management and agrometeorological services. The project built 2 plant nurseries and a demonstration plot for reclamation measures to reduce soil salinization and procured 25,000 fruit tree seedlings to expand horticultural areas in various soil-climate conditions.

Capacity building. FAO assisted in improving cotton value chain efficiency and sector sustainability. Two reciprocal field visits of cotton experts from Turkey and Turkmenistan were organized; workshops were held on improving cotton production and mechanized harvesting. Under an agreement with the Turkish Nazilli Cotton Research Institute, work on a gender-sensitive strategy for accelerating the mechanization of the cotton industry is ongoing.

FAO organized a monthly online course for 400 veterinarians at the FAO Virtual Training Centre designed to help veterinarians better detect, prevent and control lumpy skin disease.

In March, FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan held the 5th Meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of Central Asia. Participants discussed how integrated natural resources management contributes to agricultural sustainability and learned about FAO tools, initiatives and projects that support its implementation.

Uzbekistan

FAO's activities in Uzbekistan are supported by FAO-Uzbekistan Country Programming Framework (CPF) for 2021-2025. The total funding budget for the implementation of the CPF is expected to be approx. $ 17 million

Ongoing projects. In agriculture and natural resource management: (1) "Recovery and development of the potato sector in response to COVID-19" (2021-2023, $195,000); (2) “Strengthening sustainable food systems through geographical indications” (2021-2022, $250,000) – support was provided to the Intellectual Property Agency under the Uzbek Ministry of Justice in drafting a new law on geographical indications, which was adopted on March 3, 2022; (3) “Rice crop production and management support” (2020-2022, $100,000); (4) Support in implementation of inclusive agricultural policies (2020-2022, $100,000) – draft strategy was developed on gender equality for the Ministry of Agriculture; assistance was provided for improving three legal instruments related to agriculture; (4) “Preparing the grounds for digital transformation of agriculture” (2022-2023, $315,000); (5) “Support to country program development on sustainable agriculture" (2022-2023 $50,000); (6) Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program (2022-2026, $6 million); (7) “Capacity building to establish an integrated and enhanced transparency framework in Uzbekistan to track the national climate actions and support measures received”(2022-2025, $1.3 million); (8) “Multi-faceted response to the food and energy emergency in Uzbekistan” (2022, $80,000).

Forest management projects: “Sustainable management of forests in mountain and valley areas of Uzbekistan” (2018-2023, $3.2 million) to sequestrate carbon and improve the quality of forests and tree resources; (2) “Sustainable forest and rangelands management in the dryland ecosystems of Uzbekistan” (2022-2026, $3.8 million).

Continued projects on the Aral Sea continued: "Unleashing young people’s and vulnerable citizens’ creativity and innovation of the Aral Sea region" (2020-2023, $180,000) and "Empowering youth towards a brighter future through green and innovative development of the Aral Sea region" (2022-2023, $23,000).

Capacity building. FAO is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Agriculture for the development of a program to identify key priority areas and activities to accelerate the digitalization of the sector and strengthen agricultural knowledge and information systems.

FAO is helping smallholder farmers in three communities produce more food with less pesticides, fertilizers, water and labor, using low-cost digital and non-digital technologies. During the first crop cycle, farmers achieved a 90% increase in tomato production and a 140% increase in sweet pepper production.

FAO built three fruit tree nurseries in three households in the Muynak, Kungrad and Bozatau regions of Karakalpakstan and planted more than 3000 seedlings. An aquaculture pond was established in Bozatau region, and two more ponds are being established in the Muynak and Kungrad regions.

FAO at the regional level

Completed projects: (1) “Developing capacity for strengthening food security and nutrition in selected countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia” - final project report is available in English; (2) Central Asian Desert Initiative/CADI – over 6 years a wide package of measures was implemented to conserve and use sustainably cold winter deserts in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Among the multiple project outputs are the following: establishment of new protected areas; nomination of the Cold Winter Deserts of Turan as UNESCO World Heritage Site; organization of Farmer Field Schools to strengthen the capacities of farmers for a sustainable use of deserts, support young scientists within the CADI Fellowship program, and generate many new baseline data and knowledge about the vulnerable and endangered ecosystem of cold winter deserts.

Ongoing projects: (1) “Improving national and regional locust control in the Caucasus and Central Asia” aimed at safeguarding rural population food security and livelihoods.: annual regional workshop on locust data collection, analysis, forecasting and reporting was held (February 16-18, online); cross-border survey between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan was conducted (March 28-April 2); regional training of trainers on locust control took place (October 17-28, Samarkand); 3rd meeting of the Steering Committee, which approved the workplan for the third year including the 2023 national anti-locust campaign (December 14, online). The report of the annual Technical Workshop on locusts in CA was published (November 21-24, Dushanbe); (2) “Integrated natural resources management in drought-phone and salt-affected agricultural production landscapes in Central Asia and Turkey” , Phase II of the "Land Governance Initiatives of CA countries”: 2nd regional workshop titled "The Road Ahead after COP26: Enhancing Targets and Compliance with Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) for Agriculture and LULUCF" was organized; (3) ”Lifecycle management of pesticides and disposal of POPs pesticides in Central Asian countries and Turkey” supported by GEF; (4) “Strengthening regional collaboration and national capacities for management of wheat rust diseases and resistance breeding in Central Asia and the Caucasus”.

Source: FAO

6.14. International Law Commission

The International Law Committee (ILC) is a subsidiary body of UNGA, consisting of thirty-four members of recognized competence in international law who sit in their individual capacity and not as representatives of their governments. The task of ILC is encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification. It was established in 1947. The Commission has no representatives of the Central Asian states in its composition.

During the 73rd session of ILC in 2022, reports were presented on the following topics: "Immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction", "Peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)", "Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts", "Succession of States in respect of State responsibility", "General principles of law", etc.

The Commission considered the third report of Special Rapporteur on "Protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts" (A/CN.4/750 + Corr.1 + Add.1) as well as comments and observations received from Governments and international organizations and other parties (A/CN.4/749). The Commission adopted, on second reading, the entire set of draft principles on protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts including a draft preamble and complete set of 27 draft principles together with commentaries to this set.

On the topic "Sea-level rise from the perspective of international law", the Commission reconstituted the Study Group on Sea-level rise in relation to international law, which had before it a second issue paper (A/CN.4/752 and Add.1) on issues relating to statehood and the protection of persons affected by sea-level rise. The Group exchanged views on the paper and on other issues related to the sub-themes under consideration, as well as considered a number of indicative questions prepared by the co-chairs and held discussions on the future program of work on the topic.

Source: ILC Report at the 73rd session, 2022

6.15. International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It was established in 1945. It delivers judicial and advisory functions. No judges from Central Asia sit in the International Court. Cases submitted to the Court involve a wide variety of subject matters: territorial and maritime disputes; consular rights; human rights; environmental damage and conservation of living resources; international responsibility and compensation for harm; the immunities of States, their representatives and assets; interpretation and application of international treaties and conventions.

In 2022, the Court’s list of cases included only two cases directly related to water disputes - the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros project (Hungary/Slovakia) and dispute over the status and use of the waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia). For the nature of the case and proceedings on Gabcikovo-Nagymaros project (Hungary/Slovakia), see the ICJ report.

Dispute between Chile and Bolivia over the status and use of the waters of the Silala (Chile/Bolivia): On June 6, 2016, Chile instituted proceedings against Bolivia before the International Court of Justice over the status and use of the waters of the Silala. On December 1, 2022, the Court delivered its Judgement.

In its Judgment, which is final, without appeal and binding on the Parties, the Court found that the claims made by the Republic of Chile in its final submission regarding (a) the Silala River system as an international watercourse governed by customary international law, (b) Chile’s entitlement to the equitable and reasonable utilization of the waters of the Silala River system, (c) Chile’s entitlement to its current use of the waters of the Silala River system (d) Bolivia’s obligation to prevent and control harm resulting from its activities in the vicinity of the Silala River system no longer have any object and that, therefore, the Court is not called upon to give a decision thereon.

Ïî êàæäîìó èç ýòèõ èñêîâ Ñóä îòêëîíèë âûíåñåíèå ðåøåíèé ââèäó ñáëèæåíèÿ ïîçèöèé Ñòîðîí â õîäå ïðîöåññà. Ñóä òàêæå ïðèçíàë äîñòèãíóòîå ìåæäó íèìè ñîãëàñèå ïî ýòèì âîïðîñàì è ïîñòàíîâèë, ÷òî â èõ îòíîøåíèè íèêàêèõ âîçðàæåíèé íå èìååòñÿ.

The Court reached the same conclusion on the counter-claim made by the Plurinational State of Bolivia in its final submission concerning (a) Bolivia’s alleged sovereignty over the artificial channels and drainage mechanisms installed in its territory; and (b) Bolivia’s alleged sovereignty over the “artificial” flow of Silala waters engineered, enhanced or produced in its territory.

Ñóäüè Òîìêà è ×àðëüç Âîðò ïðèîáùèëè ê çàêëþ÷åíèþ Ñóäà çàÿâëåíèå; âðåìåííûé ñóäüÿ Çèììà ïðèîáùèë ê çàêëþ÷åíèþ Ñóäà îñîáîå ìíåíèå.

In each of these claims, the Court declined to issue a decision because the positions of the Parties have converged in the course of the proceedings, the Court acknowledged the agreement between them on these matters and ruled that it was devoid of any object.

The Court found that Bolivia has not breached the obligation to notify and consult incumbent on it under customary international law, and rejected the claim made by the Republic of Chile in its final submission (e). Similarly, the Court rejected the counter-claim made by the Plurinational State of Bolivia in its final submission (c) regarding the alleged need to conclude an agreement for any future delivery to Chile of the “enhanced flow” of the Silala.

Judges Tomka and Charlesworth append declarations to the Judgment of the Court; Judge ad hoc Simma appends a separate opinion to the Judgment of the Court.

Some preliminary observations on the Silala case by legal scholars can be found on Ejil Talk

Source: Judgment 1 December 2022, Dispute over the status and use of the waters of the Silala (Chile v. Bolivia)