VICE-PRESIDENT and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, reminded the world of the existential threat faced by Guyana in the ongoing controversy it shares with Venezuela when he appeared on the United Nations (UN) Live Social Media platform on Friday.
In the interview streamed live on Facebook, the Foreign Affairs Minister said while Guyanese are optimistic about the future of the country, the Guyana/Venezuela controversy remains a major concern.

Venezuela is claiming that the international Arbitral Tribunal, which provided ‘a full, perfect and final settlement in 1899, is null and avoid. The Tribunal had awarded more than 90 percent of an area to then British Guiana, which was claimed by Venezuela. Venezuela denounced that Arbitral Award in 1962.
According to Minister Greenidge, Venezuela’s claim is a unique one.
“I don’t think there is another case like this one where one country claims two-thirds of another country. That is two-thirds of the landmass, but almost all of the maritime space; Guyana would be the only country without maritime space…although it has a coast,” he said during the live interview.

Such claims by Venezuela, the Foreign Affairs Minister noted, poses a serious threat to Guyana, explaining that it is a threat to the country’s access to the ocean and all that goes with it, from fisheries to the movement of trade.
“So it is an existential threat to Guyana,” he posited.
Detailing the history of the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela, Minister Greenidge said that he solution to the problem is simple – Venezuela should respect the international treaties it signed onto.
“Venezuela signed a treaty in 1897, it’s called the Washington Treaty, because the U.S. helped to focus Britain into signing it, defining the borders. In 1899 the borders were defined by an arbitral tribunal, in 1905 they helped to mark the borders, and then in 1962 in the hype of the cold war, and we believe out of greed, they suddenly saw an opportunity to make a noise and to threaten Guiana,” he explained.

It was noted that Britain had agreed to solve the controversy made, but made it clear that is has nothing to with whether the border is located.
“That is a controversy over a status of an award, it is not about whether the border should be here or there. The 1966 Agreement only said that these two countries will talk with a view to settling, and if they don’t talk, and don’t settle, we will go to an option on the UN menu from Article 33 of the UN Treaty,” he further explained.
Minister Greenidge noted that in 51 years, the countries with mediation from the UN have exhausted all of the possible options with the exception of one – taking the matter of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his successor, Mr António Guterres, in keeping with the tenets of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, had agreed that if by the end of December 2017 significant progress has not been made towards arriving at a full agreement for the settlement of the controversy, the ICJ will be the next means of peaceful settlement, unless Guyana and Venezuela jointly request otherwise.
Norwegian diplomat, Mr Dag Halvor Nylander, who was appointed the Personal Representative of the current UN Secretary-General on the matter, has been visiting both countries as he compiles his report.

Guyana has been working assiduously with Mr Nylander. President David Granger is expected to meet with Secretary-General Guterres on Monday, during which the work his personal representative has done will come up for discussion. He is also hoping to get a clear understanding of the progress that has been made thus far. Minister Greenidge in his closing remarks said that the Caribbean Region continues to advocate for a peaceful resolution of the controversy. The Foreign Affairs Minister is accompanying President Granger to the 72nd Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.