-urges adherence to ICJ ruling

THE Prime Minister of Bahamas, Philip Davis, has outright condemned Venezuela’s recent actions and called for the Bolivarian Republic to adhere to the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Emphasising that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has aided Venezuela through their desperate times, Davis said he is disheartened to see the nation trying to annex territory belonging to its western neighbour, which is a CARICOM state.

“I wish to make it clear that The Commonwealth of The Bahamas supports the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as was settled in accordance with the 1899 arbitral award. These borders have defined the territory of Guyana since its independence in 1966.”

“I am disheartened that after all that CARICOM has done to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during a most trying economic and political period in its history that Venezuela should now seek to annex territory in a CARICOM state.”

“The Bahamas demands that Venezuela respect the settled borders and abide by the 1 December 2023 ruling of the International Court of Justice and to restrain from any actions that would disturb these existing borders,” Davis said in his statement.

ICJ RULING

Despite unanimous pleas for the Venezuelan administration to abide by international law, the Spanish-speaking country has defied these calls and went full speed ahead with its referendum on December 3.

Two Fridays ago, the ICJ granted Guyana’s request for provisional measures to prevent any action by Venezuela that could lead to the annexation of the Essequibo region.

The decision was handed down by the President of the ICJ, Justice Joan E. Donoghue, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.

The court ordered that pending the decision of the substantive case, Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action that would modify the situation that currently prevails with the territory in dispute, whereby Guyana administers and exercises control over the Essequibo.

As an additional measure, the court also ordered that “both parties refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.”