GUYANA remains hopeful that by December 31, Secretary-General (SG) of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres will refer the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a final ruling.

“As far as the process is concerned we are hopeful that the current Secretary General will do what the previous SG Ban-Ki-Moon had committed to do. That is, if there was no satisfactory progress between Venezuela and Guyana, by the end of this year, the matter would be referred to the International Court,” said President David Granger.

The President was at the time responding to questions on the way forward on the border controversy. He reminded that the UN SG- appointed Dag Nylander, his personal representative on the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela, to work with both Guyana and Venezuela with a view to resolving the border controversy.

Both countries have steadfastly maintained their positions but the Guyanese leader said he is hopeful that the current UN SG will. in keeping with the tenets of the 1966 Geneva Agreement, agree to refer the border controversy to the ICJ. According to the Agreement, if significant progress is not made in arriving at a full agreement for the settlement of the controversy at the level of the Good Offices process, then the ICJ shall consider and rule on the matter.

Venezuela is claiming that the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award, which had given more than 90 per cent of an area to then British Guiana (now Guyana), is null and void. President Granger said his government continues to engage in the renewed Good Offices process, noting there is strong national call for a juridical settlement of the controversy which has impaired the development of the country. Over the past two and a half years, government has been seeking to reach a peaceful resolution to the border controversy.

“We hope that the current Secretary-General would fulfill that requirement which was laid down by Mr. Bank Ki-Moon , but hope is not a good planning strategy and we are working on it,” said President Granger who noted that as far as the negotiations are concerned, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge continues to engage with UN SG’s personal representative of the Secretary -General and the SG, himself. It was in September that President Granger met with the new UN SG and he said, “If necessary, I will go and meet him again.”

“This monkey has been our backs for 51 years and we hope to go in to the New Year with a very clear idea that the matter could be resolved under the law,” the Head-of-State said noting that Guyana has every legal right in the matter as Venezuela has failed to advance any evidence to show that the 1899 Arbitral Award is null and void. Guyana strongly believes that the juridical course of action is the lone means through which the matter can be put to rest.