Foreign Affairs Minister tells special House sitting; says country stands on principles and international law
MP Walton-Desir calls for enhanced screening at borders amid influx of migrants

DURING Monday’s extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly, Guyana’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd, maintained the country’s commitment to the Rule of Law amidst Venezuela’s recent and persistent claims over Guyana’s territory.

Todd, during his address, said that Guyana has always relied on international law and justice in this matter.
For decades, Venezuela has made unjust claims to two-thirds of Guyana’s territory despite the 1899 Arbitral Award, which is established a “full, perfect and final” settlement of the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.

“Guyana has consistently requested successive Venezuelan governments to do three things: One, prove the basis of the contention that the award of 1899 is null and void; two, identify a provision in the Geneva Agreement that states that Guyana is precluded from developing Essequibo; and three, identify the article in that agreement that states that the Arbitral Award of 1899 is superseded by the Geneva agreement,” Todd told the National Assembly.

Venezuela, Todd said, has been unable to provide any facts to support its claims. While Guyana, however, has presented facts to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to dispute Venezuela’s claims.

“Venezuela has never been able to do so (present the facts) and they will never be able to do so because they are on the wrong side of history…We are on the right side of history, we are on the right side of international law” he affirmed.

Todd said history has seen Venezuela asserting claims on several other territories within the region; however, the Bolivarian Republic will not be successful in its claims over Guyana’s Essequibo territory.

“Venezuela has always been defiant; Venezuela has always been devoid of its commitment, Venezuela has always displayed not only to its own citizens but the rest of the region and world over that she is not committed to any legal process,” he posited.

With strong evidence and the support of the international partners, the Foreign Affairs Minister reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the international Rule of Law.
Guyana, he said, will not be threatened by tactics, noting: “We will not be afraid, we stand on principles; we stand on the right side of the law. Why should we be fearful? It is Venezuela who is fearful, we are not fearful. We are committed to this process, Mr. Speaker; we want to see it through to its logical conclusion that is why we are here united as a people.”

Todd, who received resounding support from both sides of the House, added that the leaders of the country have presented a united front in the matter and will together continue to refute the claims of its western neighbour.

Recently, Venezuela announced its plans to hold a referendum over Guyana’s territory on December 3, 2023. The Government of Guyana has since approached the ICJ 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 it has set November 14 for a hearing on the request for provisional measures. The court said 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.
Guyana, among other things, 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.

Both the government and the opposition have met and reaffirmed their recognition and acceptance of the 1899 Arbitral Award.
Opposition Member and Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amanza Walton-Desir, in her presentation to the National Assembly, said that leaders have a duty to the people and the united stance of the government and opposition must be acknowledged.

Walton-Desir after belting out the lyrics of “Song of the Republic,” made a call for enhanced screening at the country’s border amid the influx of Venezuelan migrants. The opposition parliamentarian called for a national conversation on migration amidst Venezuela’s threat.

President, Dr Irfaan Ali and Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton had issued a joint statement noting that they have agreed that Guyana’s sovereignty is paramount and is a matter on which the Guyanese people are all completely united.

They also condemned Venezuela’s blatant violation of the rule of law and further agreed that no effort should be spared to resist these persistent endeavours to undermine Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.