Latest update December 19th, 2024 3:22 AM
Jun 19, 2018 News
Venezuela says it is not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the border case filed by Guyana early this year.
In a statement yesterday by the Government of Venezuela, the country indicated that it has expressed its decision to not participate in the procedure that the government of Guyana introduced before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in relation to the “territorial dispute” over Essequibo area.
Essequibo is Guyana’s biggest county, filled with gold, diamonds and significant natural resources.
According to the Venezuela Foreign Ministry, “The Venezuelan delegation has informed the President of the court, through a letter signed by the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, of its sovereign decision not to participate in the procedure that Guyana intends to initiate, since the Court manifestly lacks jurisdiction over an action unilaterally proposed by the neighbouring country, which does not have the consent of Venezuela.”
Venezuela said that the decision was made after a meeting took place at The Hague between the Venezuelan delegation, led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. She was accompanied by Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza. They met with President of the ICJ, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.
Venezuela insisted that it has claimed a part of its territory for hundreds of years, but an agreement signed in 1966 by the United Kingdom, which was Guyana’s “then-colonizer”, granted authority of the area to Guyana.
“Upon receiving independence, Guyana continued to claim the region, sparking a diplomatic conflict over the territory.”
Venezuela said that problems with Guyana re-emerged when ExxonMobil, a US-owned oil company, found a massive oil basin in the territory.
In the statement, Venezuela said that ExxonMobil threw its weight behind Guyana, and was awarding contracts to begin drilling.
It was in late March that Guyana submitted its application to the ICJ, requesting the court to confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Arbitral Award regarding the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the application followed the decision of UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, in choosing the ICJ as the next means of resolving the controversy that arose as a result of the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 about the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela was null and void.
In its application to the Court, Guyana “highlighted that Venezuela had, for more than 60
years, consistently recognized and respected the validity and binding force of the 1899 Award and with the 1905 map agreed by both sides in furtherance of the award.”
However, Venezuela only changed its position formally in 1962 as the United Kingdom was making final preparations for the independence of British Guiana and threatened not to recognize the new state, or its boundaries, unless the United Kingdom agreed to set aside the 1899 award and cede to Venezuela all of the territory west of the Essequibo River, amounting to some two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.
The Ministry disclosed that Guyana’s application notes that while Venezuela has never produced any evidence to justify its belated repudiation of the 1899 award, it has used it as an excuse to occupy territory awarded to Guyana in 1899, to inhibit Guyana’s economic development and to violate Guyana’s sovereignty and sovereign rights.
The Ministry pointed out after the court filing that on January 30, 2018, Secretary General Guterres concluded that the Good Offices Process, in which the parties had engaged for almost 30 years, had failed to achieve a solution to the controversy, and chose the ICJ as the next means of settlement.
According to Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, in filing its application, Guyana has respected the Secretary General’s decision and placed its faith in the ICJ to resolve the controversy in accordance with its statute and jurisprudence, based on the fundamental principles of international law, including the sanctity of treaties, the maintenance of settled boundaries and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States.
Following the 2015 discovery of oil and change of Government, Venezuela had upped its claims on Guyana, with its aggression even seeing action taken to end a rice-for-oil deal to pressure this country. Guyana later that year went to the United Nations and made a complaint to the General Assembly.
Guyana has also earmarked some monies from the oil agreement with ExxonMobil, about US$18M to fight the case at ICJ.
The ICJ has its seat in The Hague, The Netherlands, and is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
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