ICJ to rule on Guyana’s application for protective measures against Venezuela’s Referendum set for Friday - Director of Frontiers, Donnette Streete

ICJ to rule on Guyana’s application for protective measures against Venezuela’s Referendum set for Friday – Director of Frontiers, Donnette Streete

Nov 28, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Borderline Facts Pt 1…

By Kiana Wilburg

Introduction

Kaieteur News – Venezuela is set to host a Referendum on December 3, 2023 which seeks to galvanize the support of its people to abandon the process before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which has been asked to adjudicate the Guyana-Venezuela controversy.

Director of Frontiers, Donnette Streete

The referendum challenges the ICJ’s jurisdiction and signals Venezuela’s intent to assert claims over the Essequibo Region, a territory internationally recognized as part of Guyana since the 1899 Arbitral Award.

In response to these events, Kaieteur News is launching an incisive and informative series titled “Borderline Facts.” This daily editorial initiative is designed as a comprehensive awareness and sensitization campaign, offering readers an array of updates and essential insights on the developments concerning the case at the ICJ.

This first installment will focus on the damning questions Venezuela has put before its people for a vote on December 3 as well as the protective measures Guyana has sought.

Director of the Frontiers Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, Donnette Streete, revealed on Monday that the International Court of Justice will deliver its ruling on December 1, 2023 regarding Guyana’s application for protective measures against the current form of Venezuela’s December 3 Referendum.

Streete made the revelation during a special broadcast on Kaieteur Radio. That programme was dedicated to providing insights on the Guyana-Venezuela Controversy. It will be replayed this morning at 11 am and tomorrow at the same time.

The Director revealed that the questions which form part of Venezuela’s Referendum are as follows:

“Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently interposed by the 1899 Paris Arbitration Award, which seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?”
“Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?”
“Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?”
“Do you agree to oppose, by all legal means, Guyana’s claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation, illegally and in violation of international law?”
“Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for comprehensive care for the current and future population of that territory, which includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and identity card? Venezuela, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and International Law, consequently incorporating said state on the map as Venezuelan territory?”

The Director of Frontiers said the Guyana Government approached the ICJ on October 27, 2023 for provisional measures. Streete said these measures are generally granted under “special circumstances”, including the situation’s urgency.

Kaieteur News understands that the Guyana Government has applied to the ICJ to ask that Venezuela should not include any question within the consultative referendum, or any other public referendum, that encroaches upon the legal issues that are to be determined by the Court in its judgment on the merits.

This includes, but is not limited to, matters concerning the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Award, sovereignty over the territory between the Essequibo River and the boundary established by the 1899 Award and the 1905 Agreement, as well as the purported creation of the State of ‘Guayana Esequiba’ and associated measures such as the granting of Venezuelan citizenship and national identity cards.

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Director of Frontiers, Donnette Streete, galvanize, referendum, Venezuela

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