122nd anniversary of Arbitral Award: Guyana will continue to stand behind 1899 Arbitral Award – Todd

…as book released on border controversy

Today marks the 122nd anniversary of the 1899 Arbitral Award that set the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela and according to Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd, Guyana will continue to stand by the Arbitral Award.
In a video message to mark the day, Todd revealed that the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry has released a booklet entitled “IMPERIAL AMBITION: Venezuela’s Threat to Guyana”, which lays out the whole squalid story of Venezuela’s unworthy efforts to undo what unfolded in Paris 122 years ago.
“For the first time, in 1962, as the people of Guyana exercised their right of self-determination, the Government of Venezuela laid claim to two-thirds of our country – the entire Essequibo region,” the Minister said.

“Today, the Government and people of Guyana stand by the Geneva Agreement of 1966, stand by the Secretary General of the United Nations for his actions under it, stand by the International Court of Justice for its decision on jurisdiction in the matter, and stand by the whole judicial process, which upholds the rule of international law,” Todd declared.
In his video broadcast, the Foreign Affairs Minister relayed the history of the Venezuela-Guyana border controversy and the fact that Venezuela once embraced the 1899 Arbitral Award –until it no longer suited that country’s political agenda.
“October 3 is a special day to Guyana and to Venezuela. It is special to the rule of law internationally. It is special to peace and justice worldwide. One hundred and twenty-two years ago, on 3 October 1899 – on an autumn day in Paris – the Anglo-Venezuelan Arbitral Tribunal, which had met there (in the halls of the French Foreign Ministry) in the preceding three months – delivered its Award fixing the Boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana,” he said.

“It was no ordinary Tribunal. It had been established under a Treaty –- the Treaty of Washington of 1897 between Britain and Venezuela – whose purpose was to settle for all time the boundary between Venezuela and Britain’s colony of British Guiana,” he said, explaining that Venezuela and Britain had agreed in solemn terms “to consider the results of the proceedings of the Tribunal of Arbitration as a full, perfect and final settlement of all the questions referred to the Arbitrators”.
In fact, Todd noted that then Venezuelan Ambassador to Great Britain Jose Andrade (the brother of the then Venezuelan President Ignacio Andrade) hailed the Award and said “greatly, indeed, did justice shine forth. … We were given the exclusive dominion over the Orinoco, which was the principal aim we sought to achieve through arbitration”.
“The verbatim records of the work of the Tribunal fill 54 printed volumes – with arguments four hours each day, four days each week, for nearly three months. On 3 October 1899 – 122 years ago today – the Tribunal gave its decision. It was unanimous,” the Minister related.
Todd further recounted that then US President William McKinley had reported to the US Congress on December 5, 1899 that the Tribunal’s decision “appears to be equally satisfactory to both parties”. According to Todd, this was Venezuela’s official position for 63 years.
“The boundary as determined by the Tribunal’s Award of 3 October 1899 was jointly surveyed, marked on the ground, and formally mapped and agreed to in the 1905 Boundary Agreement between Venezuela and Great Britain,” the Minister explained.
“In a special moment of regional accord in the 1930s, Venezuela, Brazil and British Guiana met and marked on the summit of Mount Roraima the point where that British Guiana- Venezuela line of 1899 meets the boundary with Brazil. They called it the ‘Tri-Junction’ point – and erected a monument that defines it – a pyramid that marks where the sun sets on Guyana’s western border.”
After a failed good offices process between the two South American neighbours, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in 2018 had referred the border controversy to be resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Shortly after, Guyana filed a case seeking a final and binding judgement to reinforce that the 1899 Arbitral Award remains valid and binding on all parties, and legal affirmation that the Essequibo region, which contains much of Guyana’s natural resources, belongs to Guyana and not Venezuela.
The Spanish-speaking nation is laying claims to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass in Essequibo and a portion of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which more than nine billion barrels of oil have been discovered over the past six years.
Back in March 2021, ICJ had granted Guyana until March 8, 2022, to file its written submissions for the case, after requesting 12 months. Venezuela was given until March 8, 2023, to submit its counter-memorial. (G3)