Venezuela and Guyana to Maintain Direct Dialogue Amid Essequibo Dispute

On Thursday evening, both nations published the “Joint Declaration of Argyle for Peace Between Guyana and Venezuela.”* The eleven-point document establishes that neither nation will threaten the use of force against the other, that both committed to “resolving controversies in accordance with international law” and to “refrain[ing] from escalating any conflict.”

…

The first block of talks included the participation of CARICOM, the regional body of Caribbean states that includes and backs Guyana’s position that would have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) settle the territorial dispute over the Essequibo region.** Venezuela holds “observer” status in CARICOM.

Caracas, on the other hand, views the 1966 Geneva Agreement,** which commits the countries to work out a mutually satisfactory solution, as the only binding instrument to solve the border issue.

…

The Guyanese president added that he viewed the intervention of the ICJ as “part of the Geneva agreement” since the case was taken to the World Court following a referral by the United Nations secretary general.**

Related:

*The joint declaration of Argyle for dialogue and peace between Guyana and Venezuela

Guyana and Venezuela declared as follows:

1. Agreed that Guyana and Venezuela, directly or indirectly, will not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances, including those consequential to any existing controversies between the two States.

• Agreed that any controversies between the two States will be resolved in accordance with international law, including the Geneva Agreement dated February 17, 1966.**
• Committed to the pursuance of good neighborliness, peaceful coexistence, and the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Noted Guyana’s assertion that it is committed to the process and procedures of the International Court of Justice for the resolution of the border controversy. Noted Venezuela’s assertion of its lack of consent and lack of recognition of the International Court of Justice and its jurisdiction in the border controversy.**
• Agreed to continue dialogue on any other pending matters of mutual importance to the two countries.
• Agreed that both States will refrain, whether by words or deeds, from escalating any conflict or disagreement arising from any controversy between them. The two States will cooperate to avoid incidents on the ground conducive to tension between them. In the event of such an incident the two States will immediately communicate with one another, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC), and the President of Brazil to contain, reverse and prevent its recurrence.
• Agreed to establish immediately a joint commission of the Foreign Ministers and technical persons from the two States to address matters as mutually agreed. An update from this joint commission will be submitted to the Presidents of Guyana and Venezuela within three months.
• Both States agreed that Prime Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves, the Pro-Tempore President of CELAC, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, the incumbent CARICOM Chairman, and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil will remain seized of the matter as Interlocutors and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres as Observer, with the ongoing concurrence of Presidents Irfaan Ali and Nicolas Maduro. For the avoidance of doubt, Prime Minister Gonsalves’ role will continue even after Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ceases to be the Pro-Tempore President of CELAC, within the framework of the CELAC Troika plus one; and Prime Minister Skerrit’s role will continue as a member of the CARICOM Bureau.
• Both States agreed to meet again in Brazil, within the next three months, or at another agreed time, to consider any matter with implications for the territory in dispute, including the above-mentioned update of the joint commission.

1. We express our appreciation to Prime Ministers Gonsalves and Skerrit, to President Lula and his Personal Envoy Celso Amorim, to all other CARICOM Prime Ministers present, to the officials of the CARICOM Secretariat, to the CELAC Troika and to the Head of the CELAC PTP Secretariat in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, His Excellency Dr. Douglas Slater, for their respective roles in making this meeting a success.
2. We express our appreciation to the Government and people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for their kind facilitation and hospitality at this meeting.

Dated this 14th day of December, 2023.

**It was the UN Secretary-General that sent the case to the ICJ

Haz, on MOATS, claims that Guyana did so, under pressure from Exxon. [1]

The 1966 Geneva Agreement, section 4, [2] refers to Article 33, of the UN Charter, as the means to resolve the dispute. Article 33, section 1, states that the disputing parties “shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice.” Section 2, of Article 33, says that the “Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.” [3]

Jesus said that the problem was that the secretary general of the UN [António Guterres]* sent the resolution to the ICJ, without the consent of Venezuela, shortly after ExxonMobil discovered oil in the Essequibo in 2015. [4]

Article 4, section 2, of the Geneva Agreement states, “if the means so chosen do not lead to a solution of the controversy, the said organ or, as the case may be, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall choose another of the means stipulated in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, and so on until the controversy has been resolved or until all the means of peaceful settlement there contemplated have been exhausted.” [2]

“Article 4 of the Agreement entailed that if a fair and satisfactory solution could not be reached within the period, both countries could appeal to one of the instances provided for settlement of international disputes in Article 33 of the United Nations Charter, namely, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretary General. However, the Agreement expressly called for both parties to agree about appealing to one of the aforementioned instances.” [5]

*António Guterres was the one who sent it to the ICJ. [5]

It was in “1967 when Guyana granted a concession to a US-Canada consortium to explore oil in the Essequibo territory”. [5]

Sources:

[1] Haz

[2] Geneva Agreement

[3] United Nations Charter, Chapter VI: Pacific Settlement of Disputes Article 33

[4] Jesus

[5] Essequibo and Other Border Issues: Venezuela’s Territorial Losses to Imperialist Powers Through the Centuries (Part 2)