Declaration of 6 April 1977 setting the territorial waters at 12 nautical miles and the economic zone at 200

Declaration by the Haitian Government of 6 April 1977 establishing the boundary of the territorial waters of the Republic of Haiti at 12 nautical miles and that of its Economic Zone at 200 nautical miles The Government of the Republic of Haiti, exercising its full national sovereignty and the rights and powers conferred upon it by the Constitution and the laws, and desiring to preserve the territorial integrity and to defend the higher interests of the nation in its relations with the other Caribbean States. Bearing in mind the need to ensure the exclusive exploitation, preservation and management of the natural, living, mineral and other resources of the seabed, the subsoil and the adjacent waters of the Republic of Haiti, Declares that the administration, management and exploitation of the economic zone are within the exclusive and sovereign competence of the Haitian authorities; Reaffirms as principles of its international policy its sovereignty and exclusive jurisdiction over the waters washing the coasts of the Republic; ... decides that its exclusive economic zone expands to 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured. The Republic of Haiti exercises exclusive sovereignty over the air space above its territory and above its jurisdictional waters up to the boundaries established above. These provisions shall enter into force upon the publication of this Declaration and they shall be notified through the diplomatic channel to the Governments of the States concerned. The Government of the Republic of Haiti, which has always demonstrated its devotion to the Panamerican ideal and advocated effective hemispheric solidarity, remains ready to enter into bilateral or multilateral negotiations with the Governments of the neighbouring countries concerned.