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However in practice, this right of access must be agreed upon with the transit neighbor (Article 125(2) and (3)): The terms and modalities for exercising freedom of transit shall be agreed between the land-locked States and transit States concerned through bilateral, sub regional or regional agreements. Transit States, in the exercise of their full sovereignty over their territory, shall have the right to take all measures necessary to ensure that the rights and facilities provided for in this Part for land-locked States shall in no way infringe their legitimate interests. Thus a right of access is given to the landlocked country, but such a right is conditioned by the need for the transit country to grant such a right. Whether a transit country can legally deny the right of access is discussed in detail in the legal literature (Pechata 1973), but the case studies of this report show that transit access is in practice determined by the relationship between the landlocked country and its transit neighbor. Worst Affected Areas The landlocked countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia have been most acutely affected by international disputes and ongoing tensions. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the former republics were divided according to previous administrative boundaries. Such boundaries have been the source of many disputes. As a result, borders are regularly defended with landmines and physical blockades, and regional cooperation has failed. Uzbekistan, for example, suffers from strained relations with four of its five neighbors – the fifth being Afghanistan. In the Caucasus, fighting between the two landlocked countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan has not only closed the Armenia-Azerbaijan border but has also led to the closure of the Armenia-Turkey border. Armenia’s only alternative routes, through Georgia and Iran, are restricted due to geographic obstacles (mountains) and relatively poor infrastructure (Tavitan 2001). Ethiopia, too, has suffered immensely from direct conflict with its transit neighbor, Eritrea. The conflict has restricted Ethiopia’s access to the Eritrean port of Assab where most Ethiopian trade (75%) passed through duty-free until 1997. There has now been a major shift of trading routes used by Ethiopia, away from Assab to the port of Djibouti, which now handles the large majority of Ethiopian trade. The Djibouti corridor, however, is hampered by an unreliable and poorly functioning railroad and limited port facilities. Relations with neighboring countries need not be openly hostile to severely hamper a landlocked country’s economy. For example, as Nepal’s sole transit neighbor, India blockaded the border between the two countries in 1990, an action cited as a major cause of overthrow of the Nepalese panchayat government. 6 Moreover, between 2001 and 2002, India instituted significant trade restrictions on Nepal during the negotiation of a bilateral trade agreement. These restrictions were alleged to have been to extract concessions in negotiations. In the case of Bolivia, the effects of weakened international relations are even more subtle. For example, long standing tensions with neighboring Chile have recently delayed the export of newfound gas reserves as the Bolivian people protest the use of Chilean ports. 6 Transit through China is effectively impossible due to the Himalayan Ranges - 9 -
1.2.3. VULNERABILITY TO CIVIL CONFLICT WITHIN TRANSIT COUNTRIES Even if a country has very good relations with its transit neighbor and core infrastructure in both countries is sound, it is still vulnerable to civil conflict within the transit country and consequent border closures. Not only can such conflict result in the closure of vital corridors, but it can also severely weaken the transit infrastructure for future use. Worst Affected Areas The landlocked countries of western Africa have been particularly affected by civil war. Mali, for example, has been recently recognized for its political stability and commitment to democracy, but has suffered tremendously from regional conflict and instability. Each of Mali’s coastal neighbors has been engaged in some form of violent civil conflict in the last decade, often making transport routes unusable: Togo was devastated by violent political protests and deep internal conflict in the early 1990s; Algeria was involved in a bloody civil war for much of the same decade; Ghana suffered from ethnic violence primarily between 1993-1994; Sierra Leone’s ten year civil war has just recently come to a tenuous settlement; Guinea has been stricken by a series of coups and rebel wars; Liberia has spent most of the decade in violent civil wars which have threatened to spillover into neighboring countries, thus jeopardizing regional stability even further; finally, and most importantly for Mali, Cote d’Ivoire has recently fallen into a devastating political crisis, with severe effects on Mali’s most important corridor to the sea. The landlocked countries of southern Africa, most notably Malawi, have also suffered significantly from the surrounding civil wars in Mozambique, Namibia and Angola. As a result much of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) trade has been forced along longer north-south corridors, largely relying upon the port of Durban in South Africa. During the Mozambican civil war, Malawi was forced to reroute its freight, 95% of which normally passed through the ports of Beira and Nacala, to the much more distant ports of Durban and Dar es Salaam. It is estimated that the average surface costs to these ports are more than double those to Nacala and Beira via the traditional rail routes. The average transit times to Durban (7 days) and Dar es Salaam (6 days) are also nearly double that to Nacala (4 days) and Beira (3 days). The unavoidable rerouting cost Malawi an additional US$50m-80m (4 - 6% of GDP) per year, with insurance and freight costs doubling from 20% of the import bill in the early 1980s to 40% by the latter half of the decade (World Bank 1995). While the corridors to Beira and Nacala have recently been reopened, infrastructure damage from the war has thus far limited their use. Civil conflict has also been a significant impediment in central Asia and the Caucasus, where the dissolution of the Soviet Union has led to several internal conflicts. The Georgian civil wars of the 1990s have had dramatic effects on the region by severely hampering the vital corridor link across the Caspian Sea. These wars not only required that trade be rerouted during the war, but have also destroyed much of the internal infrastructure and significantly weakened the port of Poti. Least Affected Areas There have been few developing landlocked countries which have been unaffected by civil conflicts in neighboring countries. Bolivia and Paraguay have been the most fortunate in this - 10 -
Page 1 and 2: THE CHALLENGES FACING LANDLOCKED DE
Page 3 and 4: to link to global markets. In doing
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Page 7 and 8: PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Page 9 and 10: First, landlocked countries are dep
Page 11 and 12: together a wide variety of sources,
Page 13: infrastructure. In these cases the
Page 17 and 18: the Central African Republic - Came
Page 19 and 20: 1.3 INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT 1.3.1
Page 21 and 22: • The southern African landlocked
Page 23 and 24: PART 2: COUNTRY CASE STUDIES - 18 -
Page 25 and 26: Internal transport networks in the
Page 27 and 28: Ports Although Botswana’s geograp
Page 29 and 30: POLITICAL RELATIONS Lesotho’s int
Page 31 and 32: elatively better quality than most
Page 33 and 34: SWAZILAND Despite being landlocked,
Page 35 and 36: ZAMBIA While Zambia shares its bord
Page 37 and 38: Relations with South Africa have be
Page 39 and 40: Zimbabwe’s extensive rail network
Page 41 and 42: TRANSIT ROUTES OF ETHIOPIA The land
Page 43 and 44: UGANDA Uganda’s location allows i
Page 45 and 46: POLITICAL RELATIONS The formation o
Page 47 and 48: section on Uganda. The Central Corr
Page 49 and 50: BURUNDI In addition to lying over 1
Page 51 and 52: In 1996, after Major Pierre Buyoya
Page 53 and 54: Recognizing the dramatic effects th
Page 55 and 56: AFRICA - WESTERN TRANSIT ROUTES OF
Page 57 and 58: of transit. In fact, the landlocked
Page 59 and 60: only hindering normal road traffic
Page 61 and 62: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC With only
Page 63 and 64: Relations with the eastern neighbor
Page 65 and 66:
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE Road While
Page 67 and 68:
MALI Upon declaring independence in
Page 69 and 70:
Finally, and most importantly for M
Page 71 and 72:
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE Road
Page 73 and 74:
ASIA - CENTRAL TRANSIT ROUTES OF CE
Page 75 and 76:
TRANSIT ROUTES OF MONGOLIA As part
Page 77 and 78:
AFGHANISTAN Two decades of war, har
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Afghanistan, the first by an Irania
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Iran, Pakistan and Turkey constrain
Page 83 and 84:
KYRGYZSTAN Over 3600 km from the ne
Page 85 and 86:
POLITICAL RELATIONS Generally recog
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The country’s two major highways,
Page 89 and 90:
TURKMENISTAN With direct access to
Page 91 and 92:
Ports and Waterways Turkmenistan ha
Page 93 and 94:
Domestic transport is hampered by t
Page 95 and 96:
MOLDOVA Although the former Soviet
Page 97 and 98:
MONGOLIA As the landlocked country
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CAUCASUS TRANSIT ROUTES OF THE CAUC
Page 101 and 102:
ARMENIA While Armenia’s central g
Page 103 and 104:
With the closure of the Turkish and
Page 105 and 106:
worse (World Bank 2000). In fact, w
Page 107 and 108:
ASIA - SOUTH & SOUTH-EAST TRANSIT R
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With the exception of western Afric
Page 111 and 112:
and exports pass through the port p
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Khai (at the Thai-Laos border) to t
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NEPAL Due to the Himalayan range to
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More recently, India delayed the au
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links to the railways of Argentina,
Page 121 and 122:
developing the nation’s road infr
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PARAGUAY Dependent primarily on tra
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BOPS Break Bulk CAN CAR CEEAC/ECCAS
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GENERAL ADB (2002). Annual Report 2
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United Nations General Assembly (20
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BOTSWANA CountryWatch (2003). Botsw
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EIU (2002). Malawi Country Profile
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ZAMBIA Chikoti, V. (?). Overview of
Page 137 and 138:
AFRICA - CENTRAL AND EASTERN BURUND
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EIU (2002). Ethiopia Country Report
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Mutumba-Lule, A. (2001). 17 Firms V
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- 138 -
Page 145 and 146:
Jean-Bertin, O. (2002). Burkina Fas
Page 147 and 148:
Evlo, K. (1995). Transit Transport
Page 149 and 150:
ASIA - CENTRAL United Nations (1994
Page 151 and 152:
UNESCAP (2002). Afghanistan: Status
Page 153 and 154:
EIU (2001). Railways in Kyrgyz Repu
Page 155 and 156:
Spiegel Online (2002). Moldawien, S
Page 157 and 158:
USDA FSA (2002). Tajikistan Shippin
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CAUCASUS ARMENIA Armenia Foreign Mi
Page 161 and 162:
World Bank (2000). Project Appraisa
Page 163 and 164:
World Audit (2001). World Democracy
Page 165 and 166:
MONGOLIA Canning, D. (1998). A Data
Page 167 and 168:
WDI (2002). World Development Indic
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UN DHA (1997). Paraguay El Niño Fl
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Map 1
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Table 2: Human Development - Rankin
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Table 4: Exports per Capita (2000 c
Page 177 and 178:
Figure 1: Human Development Indicat
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