WASHINGTON, D.C. — Honduras and Nicaragua have asked the Organization of American States for technical and financial assistance for a border project that would help promote better relations between the two countries. In a statement, the organization said the two countries issued a joint request to acting Secretary-General Luigi Einuadi for assistance in resolving problems caused by the diversion of the Rio Negro. The river diversion is a result of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated Central America in October and November 1998. An organization spokesmen said the Rio Negro makes up a significant area of the international border between Honduras and Nicaragua. The requested assistance would go toward the project to protect and fully develop the river's basin. Einaudi said "the fact that the two countries jointly made the request assures favorable acceptance" by the organization’s Fund for Peace, which is involved in fostering confidence-building measures that would reduce tensions and maintain peace. The United States has provided financing for the fund's effort involving Honduras and Nicaragua and also for the fund's work on resolving a border dispute between Belize and Guatemala. Other contributors to the fund have included Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Mexico and Spain. |
The OAS said that in February 2001
tensions surfaced between Honduras and Nicaragua around claims and
counterclaims of violations of the confidence-building measures. The OAS
was able to complete a technical verification agreement that more clearly
defined existing confidence-building measures and established additional
measures to reduce tensions between the two countries.
The border project between Honduras and Nicaragua, called the Binational Border Development Plan, would promote education, social development, environmental conservation and the "economic integration" of the region. The organization has said that the commitment of both Nicaragua and Honduras to settle past boundary disputes peacefully has, with the support of the international community, helped transform a crisis situation into a climate of "calm, respect, and confidence." Hurricane Mitch killed more than 9,000 people, and destroyed about 60 percent of the infrastructure in Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala, demolishing bridges and washing away many roads. About 2 million people were left homeless by the hurricane. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers has been involved in several areas of Hurricane Mitch reconstruction in Nicaragua, including dam-safety training programs, health clinic inspections, riverbed realignment, and small-bridge design. |