UN General Assembly
1997

a war that took place just over 100 years ago, and whose adverse consequences continue to be felt in the relations between our countries. Undoubtedly, the most unjust and serious of those consequences is the geographical enclosure imposed upon Bolivia. Bolivia’s demand to return to the Pacific Ocean, with sovereign rights and a coastline of its own cannot be renounced. It is a vital condition for our national development but, above all, a historical claim that cannot be compromised. The recovery of our maritime access, temporarily lost, is an essential condition for fulfilling our continental role as a crossroads and a point of convergence. My country will turn to the international community as many times as necessary in order to call attention to a problem that has already been deemed a matter of permanent hemispheric interest in the light of its many implications for continental security and harmony. Despite everything, my Government, as always, remains ready to explore avenues of constructive dialogue with an open mind. Illicit drug trafficking unjustly distorts the reality of