Peace at stake if justice does not prevail in Guyana- Venezuela border controversy- Pres. Granger
President David Granger addresses world leaders at the 72nd General Assembly of the United Nations being held in New York
President David Granger addresses world leaders at the 72nd General Assembly of the United Nations being held in New York

President David Granger has warned that peace in the Caribbean Region will be at stake if justice does not prevail in the Guyana- Venezuela border controversy.
The Guyanese leader was at the time addressing world leaders at the 72nd General Assembly of the United Nations being held in New York. He said Venezuela must not be allowed to thwart the process of judicial settlement

“Guyana looks to the international community to ensure that Venezuela is not allowed to thwart the processes of judicial settlement which is the clear and agreed path to peace and justice,” the head-of-state said.
The President recalled that last September, he detailed the danger faced by Guyana on its borders as a result of the territorial claims made by its western neighbour, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

“I laid before the world’s nations the peril Guyana was enduring on its borders at the hands of Venezuela,” he said.
The claims to Guyana’s territory have not diminished or diverted but have rather intensified and remains a threat to the peace of the Caribbean Region.
“The Venezuelan claim to Guyana’s territorial integrity, however, would be a threat to that zone. Venezuela is more than four times the size of Guyana. Venezuela, however, claims two-thirds of Guyana’s territory including our maritime space.”

It was noted that an eminent international Arbitral Tribunal provided ‘a full, perfect and final settlement’ 118 years ago in 1899. However, Venezuela denounced that Arbitral Award in 1962 at the Decolonisation Committee of this Assembly as British Guiana strove for its Independence.

“Four UN Secretaries-General have been seized of the Venezuelan claims. The choice has become one between just and peaceful settlement in accordance with international law, and a Venezuelan posture of attrition that is increasingly more blustering and militaristic. In this matter, protraction is the enemy of resolution and the ally of sustained conflict,” President Granger explained.

In keeping with a commitment made by the former Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and current Secretary General António Guterres, the President said Guyana looks forward to matter being referred to the International Court of Justice if significant progress is not made by December 2017 at the level of the Good Offices Process.

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