The Commonwealth Secretariat yesterday issued a statement in support of Guyana, calling on Caracas to abide by the principles of international law. This is in response to Venezuela’s promulgation of the ‘Organic Law for the Defence of Guayana Esequiba’, which Guyana had highlighted in a recent letter to a number of states and international bodies.
“Venezuela’s latest actions appear to directly contravene the ICJ Order and also the spirit of the 14 December 2023 Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela where both states agreed to use international law and diplomatic means to address the controversy and to refrain from escalating the conflict,” a statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat quoted its Secretary-General Patricia Scotland as saying.
“The Commonwealth affirms that the ICJ process is the appropriate and lawful means to address the matter under international law,” she added.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd yesterday told the Stabroek News that this country is grateful for the Commonwealth SG’s support and that it will continue to keep the international community abreast of the current affairs.
Todd said that following Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s law signing and the subsequent gazetting of the Act the same day, Guyana was swift in dispatching letters to a number of states, international bodies and individuals, informing of Caracas’ bold actions. “… We wrote to CELAC and the current Chair who is the President of Honduras, CARICOM, the OAS, the UN Security Council…,” he said.
He pointed to the government’s statement which condemned Caracas’ violation of the Argyle Agreement, signed in December last year, noting that this country is monitoring Caracas’ actions and would not tolerate violations.
Georgetown had on Wednesday last put Caracas on notice that it will not countenance any decision that impugns this country’s sovereignty.
“The Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana has taken note of the action taken today, April 3, 2024, by the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to promulgate ‘the Organic Law for the Defence of Guayana Esequiba’. This attempt by Venezuela to annex more than two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory and make it part of Venezuela is an egregious violation of the most fundamental principles of international law enshrined in the United Nations Charter, the Charter of the Organisation of American States and customary international law,” the government said in a statement through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“It also contradicts the letter and spirit of the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela agreed to on December 14, 2023 in St Vincent and the Grenadines. This unlawful act calls into question Venezuela’s obligation to abide by the principles of that declaration. In this light, the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana wishes to put on notice the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the governments of the Caribbean Community and the Latin American and Caribbean community of nations, as well as the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Secretary General of the Organisation of American States, that it will not countenance the annexation, seizure or occupation of any part of its sovereign territory,” the statement added.
Lawmakers in Venezuela allied with the Maduro regime had last month approved the creation of a new state in Essequibo, despite an ongoing international court case. Reuters had reported that the approval was in line with the rhetoric from Maduro about his country’s supposed right to govern the 160,000 square km (62,000 square mile) Essequibo region, but will have no immediate practical effect.
The two countries agreed last December to avoid any use of force and not to escalate tensions after a meeting between Maduro and President Irfaan Ali, brokered by Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves.
Since Maduro’s actions last Wednesday, this newspaper reached out to Gonsalves through his office, but calls and messages to both him and his Press Officer Shervell McMillan went unanswered.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, according to the 56-member association statement, said that Scotland echoed the concern of President Ali on Maduro’s actions.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General said: “President Ali is concerned that Venezuela’s next move would be to implement its plan for the seizure of Guyana’s sovereign territory.”
The statement pointed out that by this new law, Venezuela purports to exercise control over two-thirds of the sovereign territory of Guyana. This legislation appears to create a new state in Venezuela, the Head of State of Venezuela will have the power to elect a governor, and the National Assembly of Venezuela will have legislative functions in this territory. Also, all political maps of Venezuela will now include the ‘state of Guayana Esequiba’.
The Commonwealth SG noted that the ICJ, on 1 December 2023, unanimously indicated its Order on Provisional Measures on the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana.
That order states that pending the ICJ’s final decision in the case, “the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Co-operative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area.”
The Secretary-General, the statement said, pointed to her earlier statements made in November and December of last year.
“She also referenced the Concluding Statement of the Sixty-Fourth Meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, issued on 12 March 2024, and the Secretary-General noted, ‘I am encouraged by the firm and consistent support from the entire Commonwealth family for the Government and people of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. I also call on member states to give whatever support they may feel appropriate to Guyana in this time of need. I offer my continued support, and that of the Commonwealth, to help resolve the matter by peaceful means’,” the release said.
It is as a result of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, to which Venezuela and Guyana are parties, the government pointed out, that the International Court of Justice has ruled that it has jurisdiction to make a decision on the case brought before it by Guyana regarding the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which definitively settled the land boundary between the two countries.
“The court’s decision will be final and binding on both parties. If Venezuela wants to contest title to the territory in question, the proper forum is the International Court of Justice, which will decide the issue objectively and according to the law,” the government said.