Annexation by Law

Apr 16, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – The recent passage and signing into law of Venezuela’s Organic Law for the Defence of the Essequibo, by its National Assembly, effectively amounts to a legislative annexation of the Essequibo. It is a provocative act which poses a significant threat to Guyana’s security.

The new law, mandated by last December’s referendum is also a violation of the Provisional Orders set forth by the International Court of Justice. The Government of Guyana also claims that it conflicts with the Declaration of Argyle signed late last year in St Vincent between Guyana and Venezuela. In response, Guyana’s President swiftly moved to have the threat raised at the level of the United Nations Security Council. But did Guyana blunder diplomatically in the way it raised this matter?

While the decision to hold a closed-door meeting is the prerogative of the Security Council, Guyana should have pressed for two things: first an open-door meeting and secondly for a draft resolution to be tabled. Open-door meetings are held for discussions on matters of general interest or concern, where transparency and public awareness are deemed important. These meetings are open to all UN member states, as well as non-member states, international organizations, and other stakeholders who may wish to observe or participate in the discussions. The proceedings of open-door meetings may be recorded and made available to the public through official UN channels, such as webcasts or press releases.

A closed-door meeting, on the other hand, is held when the Security Council discusses sensitive or confidential matters, such as issues related to national security, ongoing negotiations, or classified information. These meetings are attended only by the representatives of the Council’s member states, the Secretary-General, and relevant UN officials. The discussions in closed-door meetings are not open to the public or the media. No formal record of the statements made at the meeting are kept but at the end of the meeting a communique or release may be issued.

An open-door meeting would have provided Guyana with an opportunity to present its case publicly, raising awareness and mobilizing wider support from the international community against Venezuela’s annexation efforts.  It would have also allowed for a public record of the proceedings. As things now stand, there are contesting versions of what happened during the closed-door meeting.

While no record is kept of the various statements made during a closed-door meeting, a communique is usually issued advising the public about the proceedings. As at the time of writing this column, this has not been done, suggesting that Guyana was unable to even garner consensus on a press release. This must go down as major diplomatic failure on the part of Guyana.

Guyana should have sought sponsors for a draft resolution at the UNSC.  A draft resolution could have served as a formal mechanism to condemn Venezuela’s actions and mobilize international support for corrective measures. It does not appear that Guyana opted to pursue such a resolution and thus missed a golden opportunity to isolate Venezuela further on the issue and to pressure that country to comply with international law.

It remains unclear whether Guyana provided comprehensive briefs to the international community, including Security Council members, regarding Venezuela’s annexation efforts and the implications for regional security. Effective briefing could have informed and mobilized international opinion against Venezuela’s actions, highlighting the urgency of the situation and the need for collective action to uphold international law and territorial integrity. Failure to adequately brief the international community can hind efforts to galvanize support and strengthen its diplomatic position in confronting Venezuela’s annexation attempts.

But even more perplexing is the position adopted by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo at last week’s press conference. Jagdeo made a startling comment. Asked whether he is able to provide any insight into what will come out of the UNSC closed-door meeting  on the issue of the recent actions of Venezuela, Jagdeo quickly shut down the question by claiming that this is  a matter entirely for the UNSC and to say what are government’s expectations would be speculation on his part.  Promoted that it should also be a concern for the government, he said that governments also have to learn to shut-up sometimes. It is quite unlike Jagdeo to not have a say about what Guyana expected to come out of the meeting, or, for that matter, what actually emerged out of the meeting.  To date, the government has not issued any statement on the outcome of the meeting. Is this an acknowledgement that Guyana failed in terms of its expectations of the meeting?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• International Court of Justice, National Assembly, Peeping Tom, significant, Venezuela's Organic Law for the Defence of the Essequibo

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