Bajo Nuevo Bank

Geography

Bajo Nuevo Bank is about 26 km long and 9 km wide. The satellite image shows two distinct atoll-like structures separated by a deep channel 1.4 km wide at its narrowest point. The larger southwestern reef complex measures 15.4 km northeast-southwest, and is up to 9.4 km wide, covering an area of about 100 km2. The reef partially dries on the southern and eastern sides. The smaller northeastern reef complex measures 10.5 km east-west and is up to 5.5 km wide, covering an area of 45 km2. The land area is minuscule by comparison.

The most prominent cay is Low Cay, in the southwestern atoll. It is 300 m long and 40 m wide (about 1 ha), no more than 2 m high, and barren. It is composed of broken coral, driftwood, and sand. The light beacon on Low Cay is a 21 m metal tower, painted white with a red top. It emits a focal plane beam of light as two white flashes of light every 15 seconds. The beacon was erected in 1982, and reconstructed by the Colombian Ministry of National Defence in February 2008. It is currently maintained by the Colombian National Navy and overseen by the state's Maritime Authority.

Territorial dispute{{Anchor|Joint Regime Area}}

Bajo Nuevo Bank is the subject of conflicting claims made by several sovereign states. In most cases, the dispute stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas.

Colombia currently claims the area as a part of the department of San Andrés and Providencia. Naval patrols in the area are carried out by the San Andrés fleet of the Colombian Navy. Colombia maintains that it has claimed these territories since 1886 as part of the geographic archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia. This date is disputed by other claimant states, who argue that Colombia had not claimed the territory by name until recently.

Jamaica's claim was largely considered to be resolved since entering into several bilateral agreements with Colombia. Between 1982 and 1986, the two states maintained a formal agreement which granted regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels within the territorial waters of Bajo Nuevo and nearby Serranilla Bank.{{cite book | author-link2=American Society of International Law

In November 1993, Colombia and Jamaica agreed upon a maritime delimitation treaty establishing the "Joint Regime Area" to cooperatively manage and exploit living and non-living resources in designated waters between the two aforementioned banks. However, the territorial waters immediately surrounding the cays themselves were excluded from the zone of joint-control, as Colombia considers these areas to be part of its coastal waters. The exclusion circles were defined in the chart attached to the treaty as "Colombia's territorial sea in Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo", even though the treaty mentioned the dispute over territorial waters. The agreement came into force in March 1994.

Nicaragua formerly claimed all the islands on its continental shelf, covering an area of over 50,000 km2 in the Caribbean Sea, including Bajo Nuevo Bank and all islands associated with the San Andrés and Providencia archipelagoes. It had persistently pursued this claim against Colombia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), filing cases in both 2001 and 2007. The dispute originated in the debated validity and applicability of the Esguerr–Bárcenas treaty, exchanged with Colombia in March 1928. Nicaragua formally accepted the ICJ's 2012 ruling of Colombian sovereignty in a 2014 constitutional amendment.

The United States claim was made on 22 November 1869 by James W. Jennett{{cite book | author-link2=United States Department of State

Honduras, before its ratification of a maritime boundary treaty with Colombia on 20 December 1999, had previously also laid claim to Bajo Nuevo and nearby Serranilla Bank. Both states agreed upon a maritime demarcation in 1986 that excluded Honduras from any control over the banks or their surrounding waters. This bilateral treaty ensured that Honduras implicitly recognized Colombia's sovereignty over the disputed territories. Nicaragua disputed Honduras's legal right to hand over these areas before the ICJ.

References

References

1. [https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2019/08/14/bajo-nuevo-what-you-should-know-about-the-disputed-island-jamaica-gave-up/ Bajo Nuevo: What you should know about the disputed island Jamaica ‘gave up’]
2. International Court of Justice. (2012). "Territorial and maritime dispute (Nicaragua vs Colombia)".
3. (August 1997). "Anexo 7". Colombian Government, Ministry of National Defence.
4. (February 2008). "Contract No. 153". Colombian Government, Ministry of National Defence.
5. (May 2008). "Grupo de Señalización Marítima del Caribe". [[Government of Colombia.
6. (2008). "Historia del Departamento Archipiélago". Government of the San Andrés Department.
7. (October 2016). "Mapa Oficial Fronteras Terrestriales y Maritima Convenciones". [[Agustin Codazzi.
8. {{in lang. link. (2 September 2017 – area is under the jurisdiction of Comando Específico de San Andrés y Providencia.)
9. (December 2007). "Territorial and Maritime Dispute". [[International Court of Justice]].
10. (November 1982). "Fishing Agreement Between Jamaica and the Republic of Colombia". United Nations.
11. [https://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/JAM-COL1993MD.PDF Colombia Jamaica Joint Regime Treaty]
12. (February 1994). "Sentencia No. C-045/94". [[Government of Colombia]], Secretaría del Senado.
13. (2001). "Continental, Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of Colombia, 1 of 36". [[José Benito Vives de Andréis Marine and Coastal Research Institute.
14. [https://iilss.net/colombia-jamaica-maritime-boundary-and-the-joint-regime-area/ IILSS-International institute for Law of the Sea Studies: Colombia–Jamaica maritime boundary and the Joint Regime Area]
15. [http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?pr=567&p1=3&p2=1&case=124&p3=6 International Court of Justice: Nicaragua v. Colombia] – Press Release, 2001.
16. "Nicaragua 1987 (rev. 2014) Constitution - Constitute".
17. "Acquisition Process of Insular Areas". [[United States Government]], [[United States Department of the Interior.
18. {{in lang. es [http://www.armada.mil.co/tratados/tratcol-usa.doc Treaty of exchange between Colombia and the United States, 1972] {{webarchive. link. (24 May 2011)
19. (November 1997). "Application of the U.S. Constitution". United States Government, [[Government Accountability Office.
20. {{in lang. es [https://web.archive.org/web/20110704040518/http://200.26.152.57/SIDN15%5CArchivos%5CNormatividad%5CLegislaci%C3%B3n%20Nacional%5CLeyes%20de%20Colombia%5CLeyes%201999%20(491%20-%20552)%5CLey%20539%20de%201999%20Tratado%20l%C3%ADmites%20-%20Honduras.doc Affirmation of Maritime Delimitation Treaty between Honduras and Colombia, 1999]
21. {{in lang. es [https://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/COL-HND1986MD.PDF Treaty between Colombia and Honduras, 1986]
22. {{in lang. es [http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Honduras/hond05.html Republic of Honduras: Political Constitution of 1982 through 2005 reforms]
23. [http://www.asil.org/insights071017.cfm The American Society of International Law] {{webarchive. link. (2 September 2009 – see map at top of article.)
24. [http://www.munuc.org/munucxvii/pdfs/ICJ_A.pdf ''The Republic of Nicaragua v. The Republic of Colombia'', CCJ Case File] {{webarchive. link. (9 October 2011)
25. [http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/nicaragua-honduras.htm Nicaragua-Honduras Territorial Dispute] {{webarchive. link. (27 September 2009 De Mar, Rebecca. [[American University]], June 2002.)