In its contribution to an open debate in the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Guyana has underlined the need for respect of sovereignty and the vital roles of institutions such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in what will be seen as veiled references to stepped up aggression by Venezuela since May last year over the border controversy between the two countries.
Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, George Talbot delivered the presentation at the meeting at UN Headquarters in New York which was chaired by Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN, Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno.
Earlier this week, the David Granger administration accused Venezuela of using its presidency of the security council to further its position on the border controversy with Guyana.
While Talbot’s address touched on several areas germane to Guyana’s position on the controversy, he made no mention of Venezuela except to congratulate it on its holding of the presidency of the security council.
Speaking on the theme ‘Maintenance of international peace and security: respect for the principles and purposes of the UN Charter’ Talbot said “For us, as a small developing state, the current theme permeates our very existence both as the credo of our foreign policy and the standard which we expect others to observe in their conduct toward us”.
He stated that respect for sovereign equality, sovereignty and territorial integrity, the settlement of international disputes peacefully and refraining from the threat or use of force in international relations are among the cardinal underpinnings of the international order of today.
“They afford to all states, in particular the small and vulnerable, the prospect of protection in the face of a diverse array of threats of increasing complexity, including climate change, the vagaries of transnational criminal networks, the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons and drugs, the spread of disease and the scourge of terrorism”, he said.
Since May when Venezuela issued a maritime decree seeking to claim almost all of Guyana’s Atlantic waters, Guyana has faced unusual troop movements across the border and incursions into its waters. A Venezuelan helicopter recently landed on the Guyana side of the border.
Talbot said “It is incumbent on this Council, charged with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and by extension its members, to be exemplary in such adherence, and to eschew conduct inimical to the pursuit of this mandate, thereby providing a basis for enduring confidence in the efficacy and legitimacy of the actions of the Council in the eyes of the world community. But no member of the international community is exempt from the imperative of similar adherence. The Council and Member States all should be held accountable for compliance with the provisions of the UN Charter”.
Adverting to the organs of the UN – the General Assembly, the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the Security Council in particular, Talbot said that members should not discount the important role that the Secretary-General can play in upholding respect for the values of the Organisation through the exercise of his good offices.
Guyana has written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to clear the pathway towards a juridical settlement of the border controversy with Venezuela. Caracas is not in favour of this. The UN Secretary General has since had missions mounted to both Georgetown and Caracas to listen to the two sides and decisions are expected to be made in the coming months.
Talbot pointed out that the Charter is but a framework of values which has to be given expression by member countries and is the cornerstone of the rule of international law,
In this respect, he said that the International Court of Justice, set up as one of the pillars of this system in 1945, has a significant role to play in contributing to the respect for the UN Charter “affording recourse to the peaceful settlement of disputes and controversies where they exist, and facilitating the peace of the civilised”.
Guyana’s desire for a juridical settlement would require the matter being taken before the ICJ, a move that Venezuela opposes.
Talbot further pointed out that the world has built a monumental legal framework further codifying the rights and responsibilities of states in keeping with UN Charter principles. One such, he noted, is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea – The Constitution of the Oceans. He described this as “one of the great achievements of the United Nations – subscribed to by the vast majority of the world’s nations”. Venezuela is not a signatory to the Law of the Sea Convention. If it were, some issues with Guyana could be referred to the body administering the law of the sea convention. Guyana had approached the Hamburg, Germany-based UN Convention on the Law of the Sea tribunal in relation to a maritime dispute with Suriname and won its case.
“The Convention, including the International Tribunal established thereunder, has made and continues to make an important contribution to international cooperation, dispute resolution and peace.
“In this connection, Mr President, Guyana calls attention to the importance of respect for the sanctity of treaties without which the world falls apart”, Talbot told the gathering.
The Guyana Ambassador further said that as one of the smallest countries in the hemisphere, Guyana looks to the United Nations for “protection from all who would do us harm or in any way threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity with which we have been endowed. The Charter is not for big countries only; it is for small ones like mine. Its principles and purposes are not only for the rich and powerful; but for the poor and the powerless; it is the weak who need it most and whose adherence to it is often truest”.
Particularly since May last year, Guyana has stressed the need for the UN to ensure the security of small states facing various threats including aggression in relation to territorial matters.
President David Granger this week told Caricom Heads that Guyana faces a grave threat from Venezuela in relation to its sovereignty.
