Meeting in an emergency session yesterday, the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana (CMGG) has rejected recent actions by Venezuela that it said constitute a threat to this country’s sovereignty and it called for Caracas to fully respect the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Essequibo controversy.
Following a meeting convened by the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland KC at the request of Guyana, the CMGG in a statement urged full and proper respect for the binding 1 December 2023 Order of Provisional Measures of the ICJ that states that “Pending a final decision in the case, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Co-operative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area” and that, “Both Parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.”
The CMGG also called for a de-escalation of the tensions between Venezuela and Guyana, respect for international law, the maintenance of peace, and the “rejection of the use or threats of the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Guyana”.
The Group rejected the recent actions of Venezuela that constitute a threat to Guyana’s sovereignty and a disregard of the 1 December 2023, Order of the ICJ.
Firm and steadfast support was restated for the ICJ process underway as the appropriate and lawful means to address the matter under international law, the maintenance and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana, its “right to self-defence and the unobstructed use of its rights to develop the entirety of its territory for the benefit of its people”.
The Group reaffirmed that the position of the Commonwealth since the Group was formed in 1999 has remained unchanged, and is as expressed in 2016, “The Group reiterated the unequivocal and collective support of Commonwealth member governments for the maintenance and preservation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial borders, in accordance with the 1899 Arbitral Award, which definitively settled the land boundary between the Co- operative Republic of Guyana and Venezuela.”
The CMGG also endorsed without reservation the statements made by the Secretary-General in support of Guyana on 1 November 2023, and 1 December 2023.
It also commended the Good Offices of the Secretary-General on behalf of the Commonwealth to engage its partners to support peace and stability in the Caribbean region and encouraged the Secretary-General to continue to use her Good Offices to support Guyana in upholding its territorial sovereignty and integrity.
The Group is to also draw the conclusions of the meeting to the attention of all Commonwealth member governments.
The meeting was chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Md. Shahriar Alam, MP. The CMGG received an update from Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd which was presented by Guyana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Rajendra Singh.
Members of the Group, as constituted following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Durban, South Africa in 1999, are Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
