The Guyana government has vehemently condemned the recent action taken by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to sign the “Organic Law for the Defense of Guayana Esequiba” on April 3, 2024.
Announcing the signing on X, Maduro said, “Sooner rather than later, we will recover Venezuela’s rights to Guayana Esequiba. So I swear and so it will be!”
This move, perceived as an attempt by Venezuela to annex over two-thirds of Guyana’s sovereign territory, has been denounced by the Irfaan Ali government as a flagrant violation of international law and existing agreements between the two nations.
In an April 4 statement, the Guyana government said that Venezuela’s actions blatantly contravened the fundamental principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, the Charter of the Organization of American States, and customary international law. Moreover, it said the move stands in stark contradiction to the spirit of the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace, agreed upon by both nations in December 2023.
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Guyana said it put the governments of Venezuela, the Caribbean Community, the Latin American and Caribbean Community of Nations, as well as the United Nations and the Organization of American States on notice, firmly stating that it will not tolerate any form of annexation, seizure, or occupation of its sovereign territory.
Referencing the 1966 Geneva Agreement, to which both Venezuela and Guyana are parties, Guyana underscored that the International Court of Justice has jurisdiction to decide on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which settled the land boundary between the two countries. It said the decision of the Court, once rendered, will be final and binding on both parties.
The government of Guyana expressed disappointment over “offensive statements” made by President Maduro about Guyanese President, Irfaan Ali.
“It is unfortunate that the commitment made at Argyle to “the pursuance of good neighborliness, peaceful coexistence, and the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean” is now again seriously threatened by President Maduro’s words and action today,” the statement said.
Guyana reiterated its commitment to resolving disputes through legal and diplomatic channels and called upon Venezuela to engage in constructive dialogue to find an amicable solution to the longstanding territorial issue.
The heart of this legal battle is the Arbitral Award of 1899, a document that settled the boundary between the two South American nations more than a hundred years ago. In 1962, some 63 years after accepting the boundary, Venezuela claimed the Award was null and void. After years of discussions between the two countries under the United Nations Good Offices Process failed to deliver a resolution, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres referred the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2018. Despite Venezuela’s preference for bilateral negotiations and its non-recognition of the Court’s jurisdiction—a stance rebuffed by a 2020 ICJ ruling confirming its jurisdiction—the process has moved forward.
