CARICOM Heads have signalled their support for a judicial decision to bring the Guyana-Venezuela controversy to an end.
The communique released yesterday from the just-concluded summit in Georgetown said that the Heads “signalled their full confidence in the Secretary-General to exercise urgently his authority under the 1966 Geneva Agreement for a choice of options that would bring the controversy to a definitive and judicial conclusion that would be beneficial not only to Guyana but the Caribbean Community as a whole.”
The reference to a judicial conclusion would be seen as a key development for Georgetown which has been pressing for such an option over the last year following stepped up Venezuelan aggression.
Georgetown had emphasised that it was seeking strong support from CARICOM Heads for its territorial integrity. While the language of the statement attached to the communique was measured, the reference to a judicial decision would fortify Guyana’s position as Caracas has been lobbying heavily for the UN Good Officer process to continue.
The statement issued yesterday said that the Heads received a report on recent development in the relations between Guyana and Venezuela and also received a report on the current efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon proposing a way forward to the two countries towards a decisive end to the controversy.
“Heads of Government noted with appreciation that the SG of the United Nations attaches the highest priority to finding a solution to the controversy which arose out of Venezuela’s contention that the Arbitral award of 1899 which definitively settled the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela is null and void…
“Heads of Government reiterated their full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all CARICOM States and their entitlement to rights regarding maritime zones under international law”, the statement Usaid.
The latter statement is also significant for Guyana as it has been arguing that the maritime claims made by Caracas against George-town also infringe on a number of other CARICOM countries.
