Delimitation of borders is what? Delimitation of the state border

A world without borders is a beautiful dream , but still an impossible dream. The cordons between the powers, apparently, will continue to exist for a long time. Delimitation of borders is the main procedure necessary for their arrangement.

About borders

The well-known Ukrainian writer Nechuya-Levitsky has a wonderful story "Kaydasheva family." The events described in him, though sometimes causing laughter, are deeply tragic. Heroes, a peasant family of Kaidashi, are known for their eternal bickering with each other. Beginning with domestic squabbling between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, sworn feuds then cover all relatives. And although the old Kaidash separates the eldest son, having settled in the neighborhood, this does not soothe the warring. Continuing constant abuse and fights, countless dirty tricks and even self-mutilation - that because of accidentally running into the neighboring courtyard of the hen, because of the eggs carried away by her. And the main reason for the discord is the old pear growing from the fence between the related sites. Because of its harvest, the most fierce battles took place, which subsided only when the tree was withered.

On the delimitation of borders

If even close relatives are characterized by such quarrels, then what to say about states, conflicts between which can be really bloody? Correct division is one of the conditions to rid them of border confrontation. Delimitation of borders is the establishment of actual lines separating neighboring states. There is a term from the Latin delimitatio, which is translated - "the establishment of the border." Neighboring countries through negotiations determine where the division between them, its general position and directions will pass.

The process of delimitation

Delimitation of borders is either an integral part of treaties between the powers-neighbors, or a special agreement establishing (changing) the state border. To implement the delimitation, a large-scale map is used, which details all the details of the terrain, as well as the settlements. A line agreed upon by both sides is held on it, and detailed descriptions are given. Then the map with the border is signed by the representatives of the contracting parties, sealed, then it is an inseparable part of the concluded agreement.

On the demarcation of borders

Delimitation of the state border is a fuss with documents, not accompanied by immediate actions on the arrangement of the dividing line. But in the agreements on delimitation, there are certainly obligations of the parties to postpone the "paper" border into realities, that is, about its demarcation, within a reasonable time.

Demarcation is the special marking on the terrain of the dividing line between the powers and its designation with the help of boundary signs. The basis for demarcation is a document on the delimitation of borders. The work is carried out under the supervision of a mixed commission of representatives of neighboring countries. In the process of demarcation, a survey of the border area is carried out, a detailed map is drawn up, border poles (or other separating signs) are installed. Any action on the demarcation of the border is recorded (described) by drawing up documents, to which are attached diagrams and photographs of fences. Unauthorized movement of boundary signs are not allowed.

Maritime delimitation

If the state has access to the sea, the question arises also about its maritime boundaries. It is more difficult to designate them than land ones, and by no means because of the insidiousness of the sea element. When the territorial waters of states adjoin, the decision on their delimitation must be taken on the basis of a mutual agreement, which is not always achieved. The "UN Convention on the Law of the Sea", adopted in 1982, marked a new practice of delineation of water space, which is distinguished by ambiguity in the issue of sea cordons. And although the aim of the convention is to develop an equitable solution, the lack of common principles often makes it difficult to reach a compromise and has already generated a number of interstate disputes. The delimitation of sea areas is more difficult the more the economic or political component influences the solution of the issue, for example, the presence on the shelf of the explored reserves of hydrocarbons.

About the law of the sea

The fundamental principle of the law of the sea is the freedom of the high seas. This provision on the universal accessibility of the sea space was adopted centuries ago and includes the freedom of navigation and fishing, flights, etc. If only all this was done for peaceful purposes. The sea is open to all, including for states that do not have access to it. At the same time, the UN Convention provides for the regulation of such aspects of the issue as territorial waters and the adjacent space, the continental shelf, and the size of the exclusive economic zone. The issue of delimitation at sea is in fact the definition of that part of the sea and the continental shelf to which the coastal countries extend their sovereignty. But since any state has a tendency to grab a bigger piece, numerous disputes about maritime boundaries are regularly considered by the international court of the United Nations. When the issue of segregating the coastal marine space is resolved, the established boundaries are drawn on the maps.

On border disputes

Delimitation in international law is also an opportunity to resolve once and for all the border disputes that have ever arisen between states. These disputes are of a different nature, but in all cases their basis is territorial claims to the neighboring state.

The countries-competitors try to substantiate their position in the dispute with the help of various arguments. Often, these are historical and cultural circumstances: a long-time belonging to another state or ethnic affinity with the people living there. Such considerations occasionally push Germany to speak of its right to Silesia or East Prussia. And Romania for the same reason periodically recalls Northern Bukovina or Bessarabia. But often interstate disputes give rise to fuzzy delimitation and demarcation of the border: for example, between Russia and China, Paraguay and Argentina.

About the republics of the former USSR

They did not escape the border conflicts and the state of the former Soviet Union. With the collapse of the USSR, the outlines of the newly formed countries coincided with the old administrative borders, and in a number of cases it served to hide the hidden ethnic conflicts with special force. Some of the nations were geographically divided: Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, residents of South Ossetia. Mechanical separation along the borders of the former USSR led to the formation of exclaves - sections of the territory surrounded by another state. Should we talk about inconveniences for the population of isolated areas, for example, the Kaliningrad region?

But the results of the division were felt more heavily by the population of the Central Asian states. It's about the Ferghana Valley. In the Soviet years, this area, almost always before being a single whole, suddenly turned out to be divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Plus, an already uneven outline of the boundaries in the valley and its environs formed a number of exclaves. On the territory of Kyrgyzstan were Uzbek settlements, and part of the Tajik settlements are clamped on the lands of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This has already led to a series of acute skirmishes between states related to grazing, water consumption, etc.

Delimitation of borders is the way to peace

Human nature is always the same - whether it is a question of quarrelsome little-cultural Kaidashi or responsible government leaders. Everyone defends the interests of his side, everyone strives for justice (of course, in his own understanding). Therefore, clarification of relations between states is inevitable. The subjects of the dispute are anything: the fate of strategic territories like Gibraltar, the ownership of oil found on maritime border shelves, or a war contract concluded after wars that decades later seems unfair to the descendants. Even the belonging of eternal ice is disputed. It seems that a little time will pass, and mutual claims to the Moon and the Sun will be discussed in international courts .

It remains only to pray to God that all conflicts are resolved peacefully and bloodlessly, exclusively in the negotiation process. Delimitation and demarcation, of course, do not guarantee humanity protection from wars, and yet this is an essential step on the road to peace. Perhaps, someday, the bright dream of mankind will come true, and all the dividing cordons between states will disappear. But in the current realities, the arrangement of borders is a necessary procedure in ensuring good-neighborliness.