Land-locked Bolivia has launched a case at the United Nations' highest court seeking to compel neighboring Chile to negotiate access to the Pacific Ocean.
The International Court of Justice said in a statement released Friday that Bolivia claims Chile has in the past committed to "negotiate a sovereign access to the sea for Bolivia" but has "not complied with this obligation."
Bolivia lost its Pacific coast to Chile more than a century ago and has been seeking its own outlet to the sea ever since.
Bolivia has asked the world court to declare that Chile "has the obligation to negotiate with Bolivia" about Pacific access and must do so "in good faith, promptly, formally, within a reasonable time and effectively."