- ICJ to hand down ruling in Guyana-Venezuela border dispute on Friday
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced Tuesday that its Order on Guyana’s request for “the indication of provisional measures” to prevent Venezuela from holding a referendum on the ownership of the mineral and forest-rich county of Essequibo would be delivered on Friday.
The International Court of Justice announced in a statement that a public sitting will be held on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. (local time), “during which Judge Joan E. Donoghue, President of the Court, will read the Court’s Order.”
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delayed its decision last week on Guyana’s claim that it had evidence that Venezuela wants to take over the mineral and forest-rich county of Essequibo through a referendum on December 3.
Both Guyana and Venezuela made presentations to the ICJ during two days of hearings into the case relating to the 1899 Arbitral Award after Guyana requested that the Venezuela government, through its National Electoral Council, publish a list of five questions that it intends to put before the Venezuelan people in a “Consultative Referendum” next month.
Guyana petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2018 to have the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the border between Venezuela and then-British Guiana, affirmed as legally enforceable. The 1899 verdict was also mentioned in this application as a’full, perfect, and final settlement’ of all concerns concerning the delineation of borders between Venezuela and the British Guiana province.
During the ICJ session, Venezuela vowed to proceed with its referendum to seize control of the Essequibo River in Guyana.
“The referendum is an internal domestic matter that is not intended to result in the annexation of the disputed territory,” International Law Professor Makane Mose Mbengue told the International Court of Justice.
The 15-member CARICOM grouping, the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Organisation of American States (OAS) have all rejected the referendum, stating that international law strictly prohibits one state’s government from unilaterally seizing, annexing, or incorporating the territory of another, and that the referendum will open the door to a possible violation of this fundamental tenet of international law.
Meanwhile, President Irfaan Ali has left Guyana to attend the Conference of Parties (COP) 28 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
According to a brief statement from the President’s Office, Ali will return home on Saturday, December 2, one day before the contentious referendum.
