REITERATING its support and preservation of Guyana’s territorial sovereignty, the Commonwealth Ministerial Group is standing firm with the judicial process underway before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as Guyana and Venezuela seek to settle its decades old border controversy.

Following recent threatening statements from Venezuela, the Commonwealth also called for Guyana to be able to carry out its unobstructed sovereign right to develop the entirety of its territory for the benefit of the citizens.

The following is a statement issued by the Commonwealth Ministerial Group:

The Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana was convened in New York on 17 September 2023 by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland KC, in accordance with a mandate given by the Commonwealth Heads of Government to monitor “developments in respect of the existing controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.”

The Group constituted in 1999 by the Heads of Government of the 56-Member countries, is composed of Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

At the Meeting, chaired by Hon. Dr A. K. Abdul Momen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, the Group welcomed the ruling by the International Court of Justice on the admissibility of Guyana’s case before it, seeking to settle the boundaries between Guyana and Venezuela.

Further, the Group reaffirmed its unwavering support for the judicial process underway before the International Court of Justice and reiterated its firm and steadfast support for the maintenance and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana, and the unobstructed exercise of its rights to develop the entirety of its territory for the benefit of its people.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS