‘We stand with the people of Guyana’

Nov 02, 2023 News

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– Commonwealth says in condemning Venezuela’s referendum

Kaieteur News – The Commonwealth is an association of 56 independent and equal sovereign states, with a combined population is 2.5 billion, of which more than 60 per cent is aged 29 or under.

In a statement released on Wednesday Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland expressed deep concern at the 21 September decision of the Venezuelan National Assembly to undertake a referendum on the status of the Essequibo region, part of the sovereign territory of Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, set for 3 December.

Speaking on the escalation the Secretary-General said, “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”.

According to the Commonwealth, 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. “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 Commonwealth Secretary General.

She noted that at the last meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana, held on 17 September 2023, the Group, “Reaffirmed its unwavering support for the judicial process underway before the International Court of Justice, chosen by the Secretary General of the United Nations under the 1966 Geneva Agreement, and the Group continues to encourage Venezuela to participate in the said process.” The International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined in April of this year that it had legal jurisdiction over this longstanding issue and the Commonwealth says it supports the use of the ICJ to adjudicate on the matter. The referendum, to be held one month before Presidential elections in Venezuela, goes against the spirit of peaceful dispute resolution.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana constituted in 1999 by the Heads of Government of the 56-Member countries, is composed of Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. At the Meeting, chaired by Hon Dr A. K. Abdul Momen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, the Group welcomed the ruling by the International Court of Justice on the admissibility of Guyana’s case before it, seeking to settle the boundaries between Guyana and Venezuela.

Meanwhile, in response to Venezuela’s sinister plan to seize Guyanese territory, the Government of Guyana on Tuesday wrote the International Court of Justice (ICJ) requesting provisional measures to protect it. In its request, the government sought an order preventing Venezuela from taking any action to seize, acquire or encroach upon, or assert or exercise sovereignty over, the Essequibo Region or any other part of Guyana’s national territory, pending the Court’s final determination of the validity of the Arbitral Award that established the land boundary between the two States, as the final and binding nature of that boundary.

The government in a statement said Guyana has no doubt of the validity of that Arbitral Award and the land boundary, which Venezuela accepted and recognised as the international boundary for more than 60 years. “Given the urgency of the matter, Guyana has asked the ICJ to schedule oral hearings on its Request at the earliest possible date in advance of December 3, 2023, the date Venezuela has fixed for its “sham referendum”.

Guyana insists, as does CARICOM, the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and Organization of American States, and the entire international community, that the controversy over the validity of the Arbitral Award and the land boundary must be resolved by the ICJ which will assure a just, peaceful, binding and permanent solution to this matter, in accordance with international law.

In fact, the Government noted further that the Court itself has determined, in two separate Orders, that it has the exclusive jurisdiction to resolve this matter, and that it will do so.

“Twice Venezuela has formally objected to the Court’s jurisdiction, and both times the Court overwhelmingly rejected Venezuela’s objections. In the interim, pending the oral hearing on its request and the issuance of the Court’s Order, Guyana urges CARICOM and the international community to continue reminding Venezuela of its obligations under international law, including its obligation to accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction, plead its case to the Court, and comply with the Court’s rulings and Judgments,” the statement said.

The Government of Guyana had previously issued a statement denouncing the aggressive new measures taken by Venezuela in furtherance of its territorial claim to Guyana’s Essequibo Region. These new measures included a purported national referendum to ratify the Venezuelan government’s apparent decision to withdraw from the present judicial proceedings in the ICJ, and proceed unilaterally to incorporate the Essequibo Region into its own national territory as an integral part of Venezuela.

Guyana properly characterized this naked threat of territorial aggression as: “nothing less than the annexation of Guyana’s territory, in blatant violation of the most fundamental rules of the UN Charter, the OAS Charter and general international law.” Guyana’s statement added that: “Such a seizure of Guyana’s territory would constitute the international crime of aggression. Following Guyana’s statement, CARICOM issued a strongly worded denunciation of Venezuela’s measures, fully supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana.

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• Commonwealth-Secretary General, Essequibo, Guyana, Patricia Scotland, referendum, Venezuela

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