Ahead of Venezuelan referendum

THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) has set November 14, to consider Guyana’s request for provisional measures to prevent Venezuela from proceeding with its planned referendum on the unlawful territorial claim of the Essequibo region.

In a statement on Friday, the World Court said that the hearing at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, will be devoted to the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Guyana on October 30, 2023.

In its request, Guyana states that “[o]n 23 October 2023, the Government of Venezuela, through its National Electoral Council, published a list of five questions that it plans to put before the Venezuelan people in a . . . ‘Consultative Referendum’ on 3 December 2023”.
According to the request before the court, the purpose of this referendum is “to obtain responses that would support Venezuela’s decision to abandon [the current proceedings before the court], and to resort instead to unilateral measures to ‘resolve’ the controversy with Guyana by formally annexing and integrating into Venezuela all of the territory at issue in these proceedings, which comprises more than two-thirds of Guyana.”

Guyana is seeking from the court an order preventing Venezuela from taking any action to seize, acquire or encroach upon, or assert or exercise sovereignty over the Essequibo region or any other part of Guyana’s national territory, pending the court’s final determination of the validity of the Arbitral Award that established the land boundary between the two states, and the final and binding nature of that boundary.

The National Assembly is expected to convene on Monday for extraordinary session to consider a motion on the ongoing Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.
This special sitting takes place prior to Venezuela’s planned referendum, which seeks to create a new state which will include the portion of the Guyana’s territory that they have laid claim to.

While the specific agenda for the session remains undisclosed, it follows a recent meeting between delegations led by President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton. Their discussions were centred on Venezuela’s upcoming referendum.
According to a recent joint statement from the opposition and government, both parties have agreed that Guyana’s sovereignty is paramount, and is a matter on which the Guyanese people are all completely united.

As such, they have condemned Venezuela’s flagrant violation of the Rule of Law, and agreed that no effort should be spared to resist its persistent endeavours to undermine Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The officials further agreed that the preservation and protection of the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty must be subserved by a vigorous and comprehensive public relations programme, and a proactive and robust diplomatic effort aimed at blunting Venezuelan propaganda and misinformation as they relate to the territorial controversy, generally, and the Geneva Agreement in particular.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has also taken note of and has publicly rejected Venezuela’s latest claims and its upcoming referendum.
In a statement, CARICOM said that two of the questions approved to be posed in the referendum, if answered in the affirmative, would authorise the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to embark on the annexation of territory which constitutes part of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and to create a state within Venezuela known as Guyana Essequibo.

The regional body reaffirmed that international law strictly prohibits the government of one state from unilaterally seizing, annexing or incorporating the territory of another state. An affirmative vote as aforesaid opens the door to the possible violation of this fundamental tenet of international law, its statement said before adding that “It is to be emphasised that the land and water in question — the Essequibo Region of Guyana — comprises more than two-thirds of the whole of Guyana itself.

FAVOURABLE RULING
Meanwhile, in April of this year, the World Court ruled that the case Guyana brought before it seeking to affirm the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award settling the boundaries between it and Venezuela was admissible.

This meant that the court could move forward with hearing the substantive case on its merits, of whether the1899 Arbitral Award settling the boundaries of the two countries is valid and binding.

The ruling marked the second time that the international court has rejected jurisdictional objections raised by Venezuela.
Guyana moved to the ICJ with its case in March 2018, challenging the non-participating Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela over its disagreement on the legal validity and binding effect of the 1899 Award.

Venezuela maintained that the ICJ was without jurisdiction to hear the case and refused to participate in the court proceedings.
The Spanish-speaking country had claimed that it is the “sole indisputable inheritor” of the Essequibo region and the Monetary Gold Principle.
Although Venezuela had claimed that the ICJ did not have jurisdiction to hear the substantive case, it made a U-turn following the court’s December 2020 ruling on that aspect of the case. Venezuela, on that occasion, contended that Guyana had no standing in the matter. The court unanimously rejected Venezuela’s objection.
Guyana is seeking a final and binding judgement that the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the location of the land boundary between then British Guiana and Venezuela, remains valid, and that the Essequibo Region belongs to Guyana and not Venezuela.