Pre Ali urges Venezuela to respect ICJ ruling for “just and lasting peace”

…says ruling will bring finality to border controversy

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday said that the International Court of Justice’s ruling will give finality to the border controversy with Venezuela, and this country will wait with patience and dignity, as he also called on Caracas to change its defiant stance and choose peace.
“Guyana has pledged repeatedly, including at these oral hearings, that it will abide by the court’s judgement, whatever it may be. Guyana is confident, in fact, that after the oral hearings, we are even more confident than ever that the Court will uphold the legal validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the finality and permanence of the international boundary between Guyana and Venezuela,” the President on Friday told a press conference he hosted at the Office of the President.
The President underscored that disputes between states must be resolved peacefully and never through military force, and pledged this country’s commitment to patience and dignity while awaiting the ICJ’s final ruling, expected, he believes, by the end of the year. “We will await the court’s final judgement on the merits with patience, dignity, and optimism. We’ll continue to address Venezuela in a spirit of peace, cooperation, and friendship, and as sovereign equals,” he said.
The ruling is expected by year-end or early in the new year.

Respect rule of law
With Venezuela maintaining its position throughout the case and Acting President Delcy Rodríguez informing the court that her country rejects any ruling it may issue and continues to insist that the court lacks jurisdiction, President Ali urged that the rule of law be upheld.
“It is our fervent hope that Venezuela’s expression of disrespect for the court and for international law reflects the emotions that often accompany litigation of this kind. We hope that after passions recede and responsible Government officials reflect, they will conclude, as we have done, that both states are best served by an end to this long-standing conflict, and that the only way to secure a just and lasting peace, and an enduring friendship is by respect for, and compliance with, the court’s final judgement, whatever it may be, as required by the United Nations Charter,” he said.
He reasoned that the very fact this case reached the ICJ and that the written and oral phases of the proceedings were carried out to completion represent a triumph for the rule of law and the rules-based international order.
Ali reminded of the genesis of Venezuela’s claim, which came more than six decades after Caracas had accepted the ruling and at a time it knew this country was nearing independence from Great Britain.
“After accepting, respecting, and complying with the award on the boundary without protest for 63 years, Venezuela made this very belated protest precisely at the time Guyana was nearing its independence,” he explained.
He noted that Venezuela’s timing coincided with the departure of British troops, leaving Guyana militarily vulnerable. “Venezuela would have a significant military advantage with which to press its unfounded claim to nearly three quarters of Guyana’s territory, the very claim that a tribunal of five preeminent arbitrators unanimously rejected in 1899,” Ali said.

Caricom’s support
Ahead of the ruling, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has reaffirmed its unwavering support for Guyana’s territorial integrity and the judicial process.
This position was conveyed by Caricom Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Solomon on Thursday during the opening ceremony of the Centre for International and Border Studies Conference in Georgetown.
“Sovereignty is not a static achievement but a continuous work of diplomacy, intellectual rigour and national resilience. Within this context, I reiterate the unwavering position of the community regarding the Guyana–Venezuela border controversy. Caricom remains firm in its support for the judicial process before the International Court of Justice and continues to advocate for a peaceful, legal resolution that respects Guyana’s territorial integrity and maintains our region as a zone of peace,” she expressed.
Guyana approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2018 to obtain a final and binding legal affirmation of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which establishes the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela. The World Court will likely deliver a ruling by year-end or early 2027, having concluded both written and oral phases of the proceedings.
Guyana has already maintained that it will abide by the judgement, noting that it is waiting with patience, decorum, dignity, and optimism.
Venezuela, on the other hand, insists that it will ignore the ruling and continues to reject the ICJ’s jurisdiction to resolve the matter, even though it participated in the proceedings.
In fact, Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez told the World Court on the final day of oral hearings on Monday that “this Court was created to resolve conflicts, not to encourage them. Only a political and negotiated solution to the territorial dispute can lay a solid and stable foundation for good neighbourliness, cooperation, shared economic development, and the promotion of secure investment in the region.”
However, Guyana has since urged respect for the World Court’s ruling, noting that the international community would not allow Venezuela “to defy the most fundamental rules of international law, which demand a world order based on the rule of law”.
Moreover, Guyana noted that it will continue to address Venezuela “in a spirit of peace, cooperation and friendship and as sovereign equals. We will respect Venezuela’s sovereignty, as we have always done, and insist that Venezuela refrain from trespassing on, or threatening, Guyana’s sovereignty.”

Diplomatic engagements
Only recently, United States Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said Washington continues to monitor the border controversy case before the ICJ while also pursuing private diplomatic engagements on the matter amid continued threats from Venezuela.
He told a news briefing in Guyana on Wednesday that “we’re monitoring that event at the ICJ very, very closely. We understand and agree that security is a precondition for prosperity, and ultimately a lot of those conversations right now will be private, and we believe that we can make progress through private conversations.”
His comments come on the heels of United States Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, issuing a statement sharply criticising Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez over continued threats to Guyana’s territorial sovereignty.
On Friday, President Ali also expressed thanks to Guyana’s legal team and representatives, whom he believes did a stellar job throughout the process.