Guyana, Venezuela agree to “not threaten or use force against one another”

Last Updated on Friday, 15 December 2023, 6:31 by Denis Chabrol

The President of Guyana,  Dr Irfaan Ali and Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro on Thursday night agreed to a peace accord after several hours of talks on the Caribbean island of St Vincent.

According to the declaration that was read by the Pro-Tempore President of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean Countries (CELAC), St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, that “both 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.”

The Declaration also provides for a conflict resolution mechanism that would include the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), CELAC and the President of Brazil. “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.”

Neither Presidents attended the reading of the declaration and no questions from the media were allowed.

Prior to Thursday’s Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace, Venezuela had for the past several weeks increased the number of its soldiers on their side of the border with Guyana, built a landing strip and more recently allocated funds in the 2024 National Budget for matters concerning Essequibo. The United States Southern Command recently conducted joint flight operations with the Guyana Defence Force in Guyana’s airspace.

After the December 3 referendum that had included a provision for the annexation of the 160,000 square kilometre Essequibo Region, Mr Maduro announced that that region would be his country’s newest military zone, the state oil and mining companies would explore for oil, gas and gold in Essequibo, a census of residents there would be conducted and they would be granted identification cards. Further Mr Maduro had issued a three-month ultimatum for foreign companies in concessions awarded by Guyana to leave.

Broadly, the two South American leaders, according to the Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace, agreed that any controversy between the two states will be resolved in accordance with international law including the Geneva Agreement dated February 17 1966.

No reference was made specifically to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the mechanism for settling the controversy over the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that Guyana insists finally, fully and perfectly demarcated its land boundary with Venezuela.

Also, no mention was made of compliance with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders of December 1 that state that pending a final decision in the case, Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action, which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby Guyana administers and exercises control over that area, and that Guyana and Venezuela shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the court or make it more difficult to resolve.

The declaration reflects that Venezuela does not recognise the ICJ as the means to the settle the controversy, but instead is relentless in its push for the two sides to resume decades-long fruitless bilateral negotiations in keeping with its interpretation of the Geneva Agreement.

Presidents Ali and Maduro agreed that they are committed to the pursuance of good neighborliness, peaceful coexistence and the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean.

A joint commission of the foreign ministers and technical persons from Guyana would be established to address matters as mutually agreed. “Updates from this joint commission will be submitted to the president of Guyana and Venezuela within three months.”

The Presidents of Guyana are due to meet again in Brazil in another three months.

Earlier Thursday, President Ali said, “I made it very clear that Guyana has all the right to exercise its sovereign right within its territorial space to approve of and facilitate any development, any investment, any partnership, any training, any collaboration, any cooperation, the issuing of any licence and the granting of any concession within our territorial space and within our sovereign space.”

Thursday’s talks were brokered by the Caribbean Community and CELAC and were witnessed by Mr Celso Amorim, the International Relations Advisor to his country’s President Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva, and a representative of the United Nations.

Also holding separate bilateral talks with the Guyanese and Venezuelan leaders were several CARICOM leaders including Dr Gonsalves, Mr Skerrit, the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell,  The Bahamas’ Prime Minister Phillip Davis, and the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley. All of those leaders enjoy exceptionally close relations with the Maduro-led administration.

President Ali’s delegation included Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, Foreign Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary Elisabeth Harper and Attorney General Anil Nandlall.

President Maduro’s delegation comprised of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, Foreign Minister Yván Gil, and Minister of Communication and Information, Freddy Ñáñez,