Guyana updates Commonwealth nations on border controversy with Venezuela

…as 56 Foreign Ministers meet in London

Guyana on Wednesday used the opportunity of the 22nd Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM), at Marlborough House, London, to update fellow Commonwealth nations on its border case against Venezuela.
On Wednesday, CFAMM got underway in London, bringing together 56 countries. Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd, who was present, used the occasion to highlight Guyana’s policy direction as well as its border case with Venezuela.

He informed the meeting that the Government is prioritising democracy, good governance and the rule of law. The importance of this was explained by the Minister as being in order to ensure development is sustainable.
“The meeting focused on several areas of priority, including building resilience for peaceful, just and stable societies; financing for climate resilience and Environmental Sustainability; and leveraging Intra-Commonwealth Trade and Digital Connectivity,” an information note from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
“Minister Todd, during his intervention, stated that the Government of Guyana is prioritising democracy, good governance, human rights, and the rule of law as fundamental elements in its developmental approach.”
Todd also informed his peers of the status of Guyana’s case currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ is expected to rule on Venezuela’s preliminary objections to Guyana’s case, in the first half of 2023. Further, Todd lauded the Commonwealth for its steadfast support of Guyana’s efforts to preserve its territorial integrity.
Guyana has approached the ICJ, seeking a final and binding ruling that the 1899 Arbitral Award which demarcates the boundaries between Guyana and Venezuela is valid. This is after the Spanish-speaking nation had laid claim to more than two-thirds of Guyana’s landmass, the Essequibo.
Incidentally, Essequibo is where most of Guyana’s natural resources are found, and a portion of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) offshore is where some 10 billion barrels of oil have been discovered over the past seven years.
However, Venezuela has been seeking to block Guyana from having its substantive application before the World Court heard, on spurious grounds that include its claims that the United Kingdom should have been made a party to the case instead of Guyana.
The Venezuelans have argued that the 1899 Arbitral Award was signed between Venezuela and the then Great Britain. Venezuela has also claimed that the 1899 arbitral award is void due to what it claims was fraud by the UK at the time.

Outcomes
Chairman for CFAMM and the Foreign Affairs Minister for Rwanda, Dr Vincent Biruta, meanwhile shared some of the expected outcomes of the meeting. As he explained it, they will be reviewing progress since the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda.
“During this meeting, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth will review the actions to take forward and commitments made during the last CHOGM held in Kigali in June 2022,” Minister Biruta said.
“We will, among other (things), explore additional measures that may be deployed to aid Commonwealth countries in accessing climate finance, and as mandated by leaders in Kigali at CHOGM 2022, we will discuss the modernisation of the Commonwealth, and new ways of working together.”
Guyana is a frontrunner when it comes to accessing climate financing, being the first country to complete the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) process of certifying its forest carbon.
These serialised credits, listed on ART’s Public Registry, are available to buyers on the global carbon market, including for use by airlines for compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s global emissions’ reduction programme, CORSIA, as well as for use toward voluntary corporate climate commitments.
Guyana’s completion of the ART process paved the way for other Governments that are looking to receive carbon market finance for success in protecting and restoring forests. At the time Guyana was issued with the credits, 14 other countries and large sub-national jurisdictions are working towards their own issuances of TREES credits.
Last year, Guyana also signed a historic, multi-year US$750 million agreement with Hess Corporation for the purchase of 37.5 million carbon credits. Only recently, 240 indigenous community bodies received payments ranging from $10 million to $35 million, courtesy of the first set of payments from this deal.
A total of $4.7 billion (US$22 million), which is 15 per cent of US$150 million, is earmarked for distribution to these villages. In fact, this number may increase as other agreements for the sale of the remainder of Guyana’s credits are concluded. (G3)