Centre for International Border Studies hosts seminar on territorial integrity

Aug 01, 2024 News

…points to need for rigid analysis of hemispheric issues

Kaieteur News – The Centre for International Border Studies, on Tuesday, hosted a seminar on ‘Borders, Sovereignty, and Territorial Integrity in the Caribbean’ which featured speakers from several nations, including a delegation from Nigeria.

CIBS Director, Dr. Mark Kirton, gives his opening remarks at Tuesday’s seminar.

The event marked the organisation’s first public event since it was christened just over two months ago.

The matters focused on by CIBS and discussed at the seminar are of marked importance to Guyana and its welfare due to the nation’s current geopolitical affairs. As such, the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute was at the core of most discussions, and almost all of the presenters referenced it directly and comparatively to their respective nations/subjects.

Speaking to the purpose of the organisation and the event, CIBS Director, Dr. Mark Kirton pointed out a need for serious analysis of both national and regional issues, particularly in recent times.

“We committed ourselves to engaging in evidence-based, data-driven research and providing recommendations and options to policy makers, stakeholders in Guyana and the international community. We’ve seen that this is a changing geopolitical environment, and I think there needs to be more rigid and rigorous analysis of some of the issues that confront our hemisphere,” he said.

He continued, “This is our first public event and we thought we should start [with the Guyana-Venezuela border issue] because that’s a significant issue for us as a people and for the Caribbean. We thought we should have presentations on the experiences of other states through their border disputes.”

One of the featured presentations was given by Admiral Olumuyiwa Morakinyo Olotu, who visited Guyana with a delegation from the National Defence College of Nigeria.

Admiral Olotu lectured on ‘Leveraging Nigeria’s Conflict Management Experiences for Resolution of Territorial Disputes in the Caribbean and Beyond’, and his presentation gave a thorough overview of Nigeria’s border disputes and outlined ways in which Guyana and the Caribbean could learn from them.

The presentation shed light on some of the similarities between Africa, particularly Nigeria and its neighbours, and Guyana, with respect to colonialism, resources, and conflict resolution.

Olotu, and the other presenters that discussed Guyana’s border controversy in some capacity, stressed the importance of not resolving the dispute via military or other violent means.

Mr. Carl Greenidge, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and current Government of Guyana Advisor on Borders opened the presentations with a brief explanation and overview of the Guyana-Venezuela controversy and its proceedings in the International Court of Justice.

Other presenters included CIBS Fellows Dr. Kai-Ann Skeete of Barbados, Professor Paulo Gustavo Correa of Brazil, and Dr. Clement Henry of Guyana. Additionally, Dr. Jorge Santibanez Romellon, Director General of Liaison at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Mexico where he spoke to the issue of borders and territory through the lens of the Mexico-United States border.

Responding to a question about the role of youth in the organisation’s vision, Dr. Kai-Ann Skeete, who is an educator at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill campus in Barbados, underscored the importance of the younger generation’s involvement in international relations, particularly in the Caribbean.

“When the Centre was conceptualized, one thing that we all agreed on was that we need to mentor other students and other persons. It’s one thing to publish and get the word out there but you still want to bring more people into the field of international relations and spread the passion and the love for it, because [the youth] are the future and what they say and do will define the future. They now get to redefine their narrative and the conversation for the future,” she said.

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CIBS Fellows Dr. Kai-Ann Skeete of Barbados, Director General of Liaison, Dr. Jorge Santibanez Romellon, Hemispheric, Professor Paulo Gustavo Correa of Brazil

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