Nothing will stop Venezuela’s planned referendum – Country’s VP tells ICJ

Nov 16, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

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Kaieteur News – Vice President (VP) of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday that nothing will stop the Bolivarian Republic from proceeding with its December 3, 2023, referendum.

This, despite arguments presented by Guyana’s legal team on Tuesday that the move is part of a plot by the Bolivarian Republic to annex the Essequibo region. Rodriguez said too Venezuela’s appearance before the ICJ did not constitute it  recognizing the jurisdiction of that court but opted to present its arguments to counter “Guyana’s childish manipulation of her country’s historic legal position.” “Without prejudice to our position, and doctrine on jurisdiction. We come before this court to defend independence, sovereignty and self-determination as the inalienable rights of our nation,” she said.

As a result, the VP noted that regardless of what the ICJ says the government will act in accordance with what the people of Venezuela decide.“No one can deny or divide this right finally, the state of Venezuela will not turn its back on what the people decide during the referendum,” added Rodriguez.  She told the ICJ that Guyana’s move to the World Court to seek to curtail the referendum was “abhorrent and illegal behaviour.” Labelling Guyana as an aggressor state, a predator of natural resources, and a violator of international law, the Venezuelan VP accused Guyana of planning to attack Venezuela with the help of the United States.

Meanwhile, International Law Professor Makane Moïse Mbengue who appeared before the court on behalf of Venezuela said that “the referendum is an internal domestic matter and is not meant in any way to result in the annexation of the…territory.”

According to the Mbengue, given that the referendum is a domestic matter, its domestic consequences are not and cannot be the subject of the proceedings before the court or the merits of the case which are “purely about the validity of 1899 Arbitral Award.”

As such, the Professor argued that Guyana’s request for provisional measures should therefore be rejected. “Nothing in international law allows Guyana to dictate to Venezuela, through the court, how its constitutional bodies should perform their functions…It would be unprecedented for one state to force another to forego a domestic popular consultation and for the court to indicate to a state not to consult its population on such a crucial matter,” he stated.

Mbengue said too that though Venezuela plans to issue IDs to the people of the Essequibo region, this would benefit the population in the border communities rather than disrupt it. ”“This would benefit the frontier population, particularly those who engage in commercial and day-to-day activities, and will ensure the free movement of persons in the area,” he claimed

On Tuesday, lawyers representing Guyana at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) submitted evidence showing the increased military presence of Venezuelan soldiers at the border near Guyana as that neighbouring country moves towards voting in a referendum to seize the Essequibo Region.

Attorney-at-Law, Paul Reichler said that Guyana’s decision to seek provisional measures swiftly is necessary to block the referendum because of the implications for Guyana’s continued control of Essequibo. “Urgency is shown by the impending referendum to be held less than three weeks from now, which would be the trigger for the execution of Venezuela’s annexation plans and by the preparations of the national Bolivarian Armed Forces to secure Venezuela’s claim to the territory,” he said.

The lawyer for Guyana said the country’s right to Essequibo would be “irreparably prejudiced” and would suffer “irrecoverable loss of the territorial rights” even if the ICJ finds that Venezuela has no rights to the country.

Reichler submitted evidence, comprising newspaper articles, video recordings, and statements issued by the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, the Minister of Defense for the National Armed Forces of Venezuela, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, and Colonel Juan Gutierrez Ortiz, of the country’s plan to seize control of two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and reject the Court’s authority to resolve the controversy.

“Venezuela has made clear that after the referendum, it will count on its armed forces to defend its annexation of its new state of Guyana Esequiba. Military preparations have already begun,” Reichler said while adding that “Venezuelan armed forces are now constructing a military airfield to carry out the government’s plans for the Essequibo Region of Guyana,” he said.

Guyana wants the Court to provide 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 the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Award;
4. sovereignty over the territory between the Essequibo River, and the boundary established by the 1899 Award and the 1905 Agreement; and the purported creation of the State of ‘Guayana Esequiba’ and any associated measures, including the granting of Venezuelan citizenship and national identity cards.
5. Venezuela shall not take any actions that are intended to prepare or allow the exercise of sovereignty or de facto control over any territory that was awarded to British Guiana in the 1899 Arbitral Award.
6. Venezuela shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.”

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• Bolivarian Republic, Delcy Rodriguez, International Court of Justice (ICJ), jurisdiction, Vice President (VP) of Venezuela

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