Strict application of int’l law has been Guyana’s armour, shield against Venezuela’s aggression – Pres Ali tells UN

…reaffirms commitment to peaceful resolution

President Dr Irfaan Ali has said strict application of international law has, for several decades, been Guyana’s armour and shield against Venezuela’s aggression, even as he reaffirmed the country’s commitment to peaceful settlement of the ongoing border controversy with that neighbouring nation.
During his contributions to the ongoing general debate of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, the Head of State highlighted the more than 50 years of aggression Guyana has endured at the hands of Venezuela.
“Guyana is a small state that has had to contend with aggression from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for all 58 years of our nationhood. International law and its strict application have been our armour and our shield in our determination to protect ourselves from this aggression,” he expressed.
In fact, President Ali pointed to the intervention of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has had to issue provisional measures back in December after Venezuela had intensified its aggression towards Guyana.
The World Court has ordered: “Pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Co-operative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over the area.”
During Wednesday’s address, the Guyanese Leader reminded the UN General Assembly that the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela was “fully, finally, and perfectly” settled in the 1899 Award by an international tribunal of which the Spanish-speaking nation was a part.
“Venezuela was fully represented in that tribunal, whose award it proclaimed in its own Congress and welcomed for more than six decades before reopening the issue on the eve of Guyana’s independence, claiming two-thirds of our territory,” President Ali stated.
According to the Head of State, based on a decision by the then UN Secretary General, Guyana approached the ICJ back in 2018 for a legal and peaceful settlement of this border controversy.
On this note, President Ali welcomed Venezuela’s participation in the case.
“After years of refusing to participate in the proceedings of the ICJ and stating that it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Court, the Venezuelan Government has now submitted a counter memorial to Guyana’s submission,” he said.
“We welcome Venezuela’s decision to participate in the Court’s proceedings, and express the hope that Venezuela will accept the decision of the Court as Guyana has long pledged to do. I reaffirm Guyana’s unwavering commitment to a peaceful resolution of this longstanding controversy in full conformity with international law and the principles set forth in the United Nations Charter,” the Guyanese Leader has said.
The case is currently before the ICJ, where Guyana and Venezuela have respectively been given until December 9, 2024 and August 11, 2025 to make a second round of written submissions. While both sides have agreed that a second round of written pleadings is necessary, the two sides have differed on the time period to submit them. Guyana had proposed a six-month period from April, while Venezuela had requested a 12-month period. Venezuela had claimed that the 12-month period was necessary, given the case’s complexity. This, however, was in spite of the ICJ’s procedural rules which generally favour shorter time limits. Guyana’s side argued that this request was excessive.
This case has been before the ICJ since it was brought there in 2018 by Guyana, after then United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Gutterres had forwarded the case to the world court, as per the procedure adumbrated in the Geneva Agreement. The Secretary-General chose the ICJ as the means to resolve the controversy legally, in keeping with the dispute mechanism outlined by Article 33 of the UN Charter.
Guyana submitted its memorial since March 2022, with Venezuela given until April 2024 to submit its own counter-memorial. It did so on the very last day. This came after two attempts by Venezuela to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter had been overturned.
The Government of Guyana has meanwhile had cause to inform all relevant international bodies, allies and other partners about Venezuela’s threatening actions at the border, where the Spanish-speaking nation has been building up its military.
Earlier this year, Venezuela’s National Armed Forces built a bridge connecting Venezuela to Ankoko Island in the Cuyuni River as it allegedly advances towards Guyana’s Essequibo region. Ankoko Island is shared by the two countries, with each owning half, but Venezuela illegally took over the entire island and also established a military base in 1966 after Guyana gained independence.
This occurred despite the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace signed between the two countries in December 2023, which states, inter alia, that they would not threaten or use force against each another.
The presidents of both countries also engaged each other, at the time, under the mediation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who hosted the dialogue in hope of advancing bilateral relations outside of the substantive border controversy.