The Governments of Georgetown and Caracas agreed this December 14 that they will not threaten or use force due to bilateral conflicts, such as the current one over the sovereignty of Essequibo, which led their respective leaders to negotiate this Thursday in a meeting in San Vicente and the Grenadines and mediated by this country.
A handshake and a summit that ends with the promise not to use force to resolve disputes between both neighboring South American countries.
Guyana and Venezuela agreed to avoid any escalation of the conflict amid an increase in tensions over Essequibo, a disputed border territory, according to what was reported by the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, host of the meeting between the presidents. of Venezuela and Guyana that took place this Thursday.
The Essequibo region, of about 160,000 square kilometers, and whose current administration is in the hands of Georgetown, has been in dispute between both countries since the 19th century, however Venezuela revived its claim on this territory in recent years, after the discovery of large oil reserves.
They agreed that “any dispute between the two States will be resolved in accordance with international law, including the Geneva Agreement of February 17, 1966.”
However, the minutes of the meeting reflected the differences between both States regarding a process being carried out by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on this conflict, with respect to which Guyana declared itself “committed”, while Venezuela expressed “lack of of recognition of the ICJ and its jurisdiction in the border controversy”.
This Thursday's summit was held after several meetings with leaders of the Community of Caribbean States (Caricom) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), promoters of the meeting and after several weeks of tension between Caracas and Georgetown.
#The photo 📸 | Handshake seals the willingness of Venezuela and Guyana to continue the dialogue, in order to resolve the controversy in relation to the Essequibo territory. pic.twitter.com/zIuAj3rKBG
— Presidential Press (@PresidencialVen) December 14, 2023
“I come to look for, in the only way there is, effective solutions. I bring with me the facts. I come with the mandate of the people of Venezuela, with a word of dialogue, with a word of peace, but to defend our rights,” the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, had said upon arriving in the country.
For his part, the Guyanese president, Irfaan Ali, insisted on the resolution of the Essequibo conflict through a ruling by the ICJ. “I made it very clear that Guyana has every right (…) to facilitate any investment, any partnership (…), the issuance of any license and the granting of any concession in our sovereign space,” he declared.
What is the Essequibo and why is it in dispute?
Also known as Guyana Esequiba, it is a territory in northern South America that includes 159,500 square kilometers in a sector that is also rich in natural resources.
In that area of land are ten regions that constitute part of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and more than a third of its 800,000 inhabitants.
Because it is one of the oldest formations on Earth and has little human intervention, this region is mined for natural and mineral resources that are attractive for various industries.
The territory has an approximate exploitation area of more than 111,800 square kilometers in which there are large reserves of gold, copper, diamonds, iron and aluminum and has the Omai gold mine, one of the largest in the Guiana Shield and a area that has become the main driver of Guyana's income. In the period between 1993 and 2005 alone, Omai produced more than 3.7 million ounces of gold.
One can also speak of oil in the territory, since precisely in the territorial waters of the disputed area there are substantial reserves of this resource, from which both countries seek to benefit.
This oil wealth has made Guyana, a country that does not even have a million inhabitants, position itself as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In 2022, for example, its expansion was close to 60%.
Actors who have history in the region also enter the dispute. Hundreds of years ago, when Spain founded the General Capital of Venezuela, the Esquivo was part of the territorial entity, then independence came, in 1811, and Venezuela managed to retain control of its sovereignty.
Later on, one of the most talked about actors currently becomes relevant: the United Kingdom, which sponsored and signed an agreement with the Netherlands to acquire around 51,7000 square kilometers to the east of Venezuela.
By 1899, the United Kingdom and Venezuela were already having a dispute over who actually owned the Essequibo area and, with the mediation of the United States, they decided to abide by what international entities determined.
However, in that same year, the Paris Arbitration Award gave the United Kingdom sovereignty of the area and, later, this would pass by default to Guyana when it became independent.
In 1962, Venezuela decided to denounce to the UN that such arbitration procedure was not completely clean and considered it “null.”
Four years later, Guyana, Venezuela and the United Kingdom managed to agree on a document they signed that recognized the existence of a controversy in the territory.
A process opened in the International Court of Justice
After the dialogue processes between the parties were unsuccessful in March 2018, Guyana decided to go before the International Court of Justice, the legal branch of the United Nations, requesting “the legal validity and binding effect” of the Arbitration Award decision. Paris of 1899, which Venezuela rejects.
That same year, in June, Venezuela also went to the international legal entity and delivered a letter in which it argued that the ICJ lacked jurisdiction to rule on the matter and that, for this reason, it was not going to participate in the procedure. However, the Court ruled in 2020 that there is jurisdiction to evaluate the case.
Nicolás Maduro presented law to create the state of Essequibo
In October, after the National Assembly of Venezuela called citizens to a referendum on Essequibo, which was held on December 3, Guyana once again went to the ICJ and asked for an intervention so that the consultation was suspended.
Guyana's argument at that time was that the objective of the process was to “prepare the ground” and the conditions for Venezuela to achieve the accession of Essequibo with the support of the population.
Currently, the UN court has said that the process could “take several years” and, prior to the referendum, said that “Guyana administers and exercises control” over the disputed area and that, until there is a final decision , “Venezuela must refrain from taking any action that modifies said situation.”
With AP and local media
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