The International Court of Justice (ICJ) yesterday said that it will hold public hearings on November 14 on Guyana’s request for provisional measures related to a referendum planned by Venezuela on December 3rd on Essequibo which is the substance of a case currently being heard by the Holland-based tribunal.
On October 30, Guyana requested the Court to indicate the following provisional measures:
“1. Venezuela shall not proceed with the Consultative Referendum planned for 3 December 2023 in its present form;
2. In particular, Venezuela shall not include the First, Third or Fifth questions in the Consultative Referendum;
3. Nor shall Venezuela include within the ‘Consultative Referendum’ planned, or any other public referendum, any question encroaching upon the legal issues to be determined by the Court in its Judgment on the Merits, including (but not limited to):
a. the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Award;
b. sovereignty over the territory between the Essequibo River, and the boundary established by the 1899 Award and the 1905 Agreement; and
c. the purported creation of the State of ‘Guayana Esequiba’ and any associated measures, including the granting of Venezuelan citizenship and national identity cards.
The ICJ release yesterday said that the hearings on November 14 will be devoted to the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Guyana on 30 October 2023.
The ICJ stated “In its Request, Guyana states that `[o]n 23 October 2023, the Government of Venezuela, through its National Electoral Council, published a list of five questions that it plans to put before the Venezuelan people in a . . . ‘Consultative Referendum’ on 3 December 2023’. According to the Applicant, the purpose of this referendum is `to obtain responses that would support Venezuela’s decision to abandon [the current proceedings before the Court], and to resort instead to unilateral measures to ‘resolve’ the controversy with Guyana by formally annexing and integrating into Venezuela all of the territory at issue in these proceedings, which comprises more than two-thirds of Guyana’”
Schedule for the hearings:
Tuesday 14 November 2023 10 a.m.-11.30 a.m.: Oral argument (Guyana)
3 p.m.-4.30 p.m.: Oral argument (Venezuela)
The questions being asked at the Venezuelan referendum are:
Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law the line fraudulently imposed by the Paris Arbitration Award of 1899 that seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?
Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?
Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?
Do you agree to oppose by all means in accordance with the law Guyana’s claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation illegally and in violation of international law?
Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for the comprehensive care of the current and future population of that territory that includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and Venezuelan identity card in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and international law, consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory?
The planned referendum has attracted condemnation from CARICOM which on October 25th declared that the referendum Venezuela proposes to hold on December 3rd defending its claim to Guyana’s Essequibo has no validity but can undermine regional peace and security.
“…CARICOM insists that the Referendum proposed by Venezuela has no validity, bearing, or standing in international law in relation to this controversy; the Referendum is a purely domestic construct, but its summary effect is likely to undermine peace, tranquility, security, and more, in our region’”, a statement from the regional body said.
CARICOM – of which Guyana is a member – keeps a constant watch on the border controversy with Venezuela and routinely issues statements particularly during periods of high tension.
In its statement, CARICOM noted that two of the questions approved to be posed in the Referendum, if answered in the affirmative, would authorise the government of Venezuela to embark on the annexation of territory, which constitutes part of Guyana, and to create a state within Venezuela known as Guyana Essequibo.
“CARICOM reaffirms that international law strictly prohibits the government of one State from unilaterally seizing, annexing or incorporating the territory of another state. An affirmative vote as aforesaid opens the door to the possible violation of this fundamental tenet of international law.
“It is to be emphasised that the land and water in question — the Essequibo Region of Guyana — comprises more than two-thirds of the whole of Guyana itself”, the regional body said.
CARICOM noted that the language of two questions approved to be posed in the Referendum seeks affirmation and implementation of Venezuela’s stance on the issue “by all means, according to/with the Law.”
“It is open to reasonable persons to conclude that `by all means’, includes means of force or war”, CARICOM stated.
“CARICOM earnestly hopes that Venezuela is not raising the prospect of using force or military means to get its own way in this controversy over territory. After all, it has been the long-standing position of Latin American and Caribbean counties, including Venezuela, that our region must remain a zone of peace”, the regional body, headquartered in Georgetown, said.
CARICOM reiterated its support for the judicial process and expressed the hope that Venezuela will engage fully in the proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which has determined that it has the jurisdiction in the case brought before it to determine the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which Venezuela questions.
Issuing threats
Venezuela began issuing threats to Guyana last month despite the fact that the two countries are before the ICJ on the question of the validity of the 1899 arbitral award which settled the boundaries between the two countries.
On September 18, Caracas denounced the award of offshore exploration blocks in Guyana’s waters.
On September 19, responding to the Venezuelan statement, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said: “The Government of Guyana reserves the right to pursue economic development activities in any portion of its sovereign territory or any appurtenant maritime territories. Any unilateral attempt by Venezuela to restrict the exercise by Guyana of its sovereignty and sovereign rights will be wholly inconsistent with the Geneva Agreement and the rule of international law”.
Six companies bid on September 12 for eight of the fourteen available oil blocks. ExxonMobil, French oil company Total and the state of Qatar were among the bidders.
On November 1st, Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, KC expressed “deep concern” at the September 21st decision of the Venezuelan National Assembly to undertake a December 3rd referendum on the status of Essequibo, part of the sovereign territory of Guyana.
Speaking on the escalation the Secretary-General said in a statement:
“The Commonwealth stands with the Government and people of Guyana and with our partners in CARICOM in expressing our concern over the questions in the planned referendum.
“And the Commonwealth continues to stand for the rule of law and, reaffirms its firm and steadfast support for the maintenance and preservation of the sovereign and territorial integrity of Guyana, and the unobstructed exercise of its rights to develop the entirety of its territory for the benefit of its people”.
The statement said that the five questions approved by the National Electoral Council to be included in the referendum undermine Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and their intent is contrary to international law. The statement noted that Question 5 proposes the creation of Venezuelan state of Guyana Essequibo and an accelerated plan for giving Venezuelan citizenship and identity cards to the Guyanese population.
“International law prohibits the seizure and annexation by one country of the territory of another. The language in these questions contributes to heightened tension and is a threat to peace and stability in a member state of our Commonwealth Family and indeed in the wider Caribbean region”, the statement said.
