Guyana denounced this Tuesday before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) an “existential threat” to its territory and asked to impose measures to stop the referendum called by Venezuela for December 3 on the controversy. for a territory of almost 160,000 square kilometers west of the Essequibo River.
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In a hearing before the ICJ in The Hague, Guyana’s agent Carl Greenidge stressed “the urgency” of imposing provisional measures because Caracas “publicly declared plans” that pose “an existential threat to Guyana and more than two-thirds of its territory.” that he is exposed to “not only irreparable harm but permanent loss.”
“The referendum is designed to obtain an overwhelming popular mandate for the (Venezuelan) government to reject the jurisdiction of the court, prevent a future ruling by the Court and, in doing so, undermine the authority and effectiveness of the United Nations’ main judicial body. United,” Greenidge said.
Furthermore, he warned that, with the referendum, Venezuela “intends to annex and incorporate the entire Essequibo region of Guyana into its own territory,” and “grant Venezuelan nationality to its population,” tal and as senior Venezuelan military and civilian officials “have openly and boldly stated in their public statements”said.
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In its campaign for a citizen mobilization to participate in the referendum, Venezuela called on citizens to answer “five times yes” to the five questions that will be asked in the consultation, among them whether or not they agree with the annexation of the territory. to Venezuela, with the creation of a state with the name of Guayana Esequiba.
Venezuela, which has its turn to speak before the ICJ this Wednesday, has already said that it recognizes the Geneva Agreement, signed in 1966 with the United Kingdom (before Guyanese independence), as the only legal instrument to resolve this controversy, and that it establishes bases for a negotiated solution, but negotiations dragged on for more than two decades without results.
Furthermore, the Venezuelan executive vice president, Delcy Rodríguez insisted yesterday that Venezuela maintains its historical position of being governed by this 1966 agreement. and “does not recognize the mandatory and automatic jurisdiction” of the ICJ, a court that declared itself already competent to resolve the dispute itself.
Greenidge wondered “what will become of Guyana’s rights” to the Essequibo region “once Venezuela creates a new State, has annexed this territory, and grants Venezuelan nationality to the population,” since Caracas already rejects the validity of the decisions of the ICJ.
The intention is to open a door that the Government of Venezuela has already said in public statements that it is eager to cross, with the popular blessing of the Venezuelan public.
“We still have time to act to protect the authority of the Court and stop Venezuela,” said the Guyana agent, pointing out that the court is “the only way to achieve a fair, definitive, binding solution in accordance with international law.” for this controversy with Venezuela.
He added that it is the Court that is “between that solution and chaos, a chaos that would threaten the peace and security of Guyana and the Caribbean region and beyond” and considered it “naive to pretend that an affirmative vote in the Venezuelan referendum is avoidable, taking into account the choice of questions and their formulation.”
“The intention is to open a door that the Government of Venezuela has already said in public statements that it is eager to cross, with the popular blessing of the Venezuelan public. Only this Court is the guardian of that door, only the Court can protect Guyana and its rights,” Greenidge said.
Venezuela claims the Essequibo region, around 70% of Guyana’s territory, including offshore oil reserves, arguing that the 1899 arbitration award is null and void because it “fraudulently affected 159,500 square kilometers of the territory” of the Guayana Esequiba, as the Venezuelan Government calls it.
ANDIn 2018, Guyana, a former British colony, filed a lawsuit against Caracas at the ICJ to resolve the territorial dispute between both States over the region. of Essequibo, and last April, the ICJ declared itself competent to rule on the case, which was a blow to Caracas, since it had tried to have this case declared “inadmissible.” The move by the Government of Nicolás Maduro has also triggered diplomatic tension.
Organizations such as the Caribbean Community (Caricom), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Commonwealth (commonwealth of former British colonies and protectorates) reject the referendum – which does not imply “per se” a real change in the territory -, and the Chavismo staunchly defends that this hydrocarbon-rich area “belongs” to Venezuela.
EFE
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