JAMAICA | People's National Party Urges Venezuela to Abide by the ICJ ruling on Essequibo

Kingston, Jamaica. December 03, 2023: The People’s National Party (PNP) has noted the ruling of the ICJ on December 1, 2023, in the Guyana and Venezuela Border dispute involving the Essequibo region and, in good faith and in the spirit of our longstanding friendship, is requesting the Government of Venezuela to adhere to its ruling. 

The Court ruled that Venezuela should not seek to modify the situation because the status quo must remain, regardless of the outcome of its referendum on December 3. 

The PNP stands in solidarity with Guyana and the position of CARICOM that reaffirms the prohibition under international law against one State unilaterally seizing, annexing, or incorporating the territory of another State. 

The PNP is accordingly urging our longstanding and respected friend, Venezuela, not to engage in any form of aggression towards our sister Caribbean nation, Guyana.

We further call on our friend Venezuela to participate in and abide by the current international legal proceedings to resolve this dispute, and in the meantime to keep channels open for good faith negotiations towards a peaceful solution. 

The PNP is also urging CARICOM to intercede to ensure a formidable diplomatic solution that will result in a resolution in the best interest of all parties and the region. 

Our region has long been spared war or other forms of aggression between States while the world continues to witness the unyielding ravages of geopolitical turmoil. 

It would be a sad day if any precipitous act were to destroy decades of friendship between countries in our region, all of which must steadfastly commit to preserving this region as a zone of peace within the world.

This Sunday’s referendum ask Venezuelans to agree with the government in annexing  the disputed Essequibo region which represents two-thirds of the Guyana land mass and converting it into a state or province of Venezuela, and and to confer Bolivarian citizenship to the residents of the area.

Venezuelans have been asked by the Maduro government to  vote on five questions:

• Do you agree to reject by all means in accordance with the law, the line fraudulently interposed by the 1899 Paris Arbitration Award, which seeks to deprive us of our Guayana Esequiba?
• Do you support the 1966 Geneva Agreement as the only valid legal instrument to reach a practical and satisfactory solution for Venezuela and Guyana regarding the controversy over the territory of Guayana Esequiba?
• Do you agree with Venezuela’s historical position of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to resolve the territorial controversy over Guayana Esequiba?
• Do you agree to oppose, by all legal means, Guyana’s claim to unilaterally dispose of a sea pending delimitation, illegally and in violation of international law?
• Do you agree with the creation of the Guayana Esequiba state and the development of an accelerated plan for comprehensive care for the current and future population of that territory, which includes, among others, the granting of citizenship and identity card? Venezuela, in accordance with the Geneva Agreement and International Law, consequently incorporating said state on the map of Venezuelan territory?

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