The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following with concern the recent escalation of tension between Guyana and Venezuela over the border controversy between the two countries.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General said yesterday that Guterres “trusts that both parties will demonstrate good faith and avoid any action that would aggravate or extend the controversy”.
The brief statement noted that “In January 2018, after carefully analyzing developments in the good offices process that had taken place over the preceding years, the Secretary-General, in the exercise of the power and responsibility conferred on him by the 1966 Geneva Agreement, chose the International Court of Justice as the means that was next to be used for the solution of the border controversy between the two countries. The controversy is now before the International Court of Justice”.
The statement pointed out that the Secretary-General does not express a view on matters that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Venezuela has sought to pressure Guyana into direct talks on the border controversy outside of the ongoing ICJ case. Its proposed controversial referendum on December 3rd is also seen as possibly leading to the annexation of Guyana’s Essequibo region.
