BOLIVIA made an emotional appeal today for the International Court of Justice to order Chile to enter talks over granting the landlocked country access to the Pacific Ocean, saying the dispute will remain a source of conflict if it’s not resolved.

Bolivia lost its only coast to Chile in a war from 1879 to 1883 and has been demanding access to the Pacific for generations. Bolivia also accuses Chile of reneging on pledges to negotiate.

“For 139 years, Bolivia has suffered the historical injustice of becoming landlocked,” former president Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze told judges at the Peace Palace.

“Restoring Bolivia’s sovereign access to the sea would make a small difference to Chile, but it would transform the destiny of Bolivia.”

Chile argues that its border with Bolivia was settled in a 1904 treaty, but Professor Payam Akhavan, a lawyer representing Bolivia, said that, despite this, Chile had made repeated pledges to find a solution to the dispute.

Mr Rodriguez said that Bolivia’s GDP growth could be a fifth higher if it had access to the sea.