Guyana and Venezuela – Peace under law

By Sir Ronald Sanders

 [An 1897 treaty obliged Venezuela and Guyana (then British Guiana) to accept the result of an 1899 arbitration, setting their present boundaries, as a “full, perfect and final” settlement.  The boundaries were accepted by Venezuela for 63 years until 1962, as British Guiana moved towards independence, when Venezuela claimed it was “robbed” by the arbitral award.  A 1966 Agreement, signed by the governments of Britain, British Guiana and Venezuela in Geneva and filed with the UN, acknowledged not a “border dispute” but a “controversy” based on the new Venezuelan assertion of nullity.
The 1966 Agreement provides for the resolution of the controversy by actions of the UN SG under Article 33 of the UN Charter.  After 49 years, including 25 years of the SG’s efforts at mediation and conciliation through a ‘good offices’ process, no resolution has been found.
The exhaustion of other options now leaves a ‘judicial settlement’ open to the SG.  Such a judicial settlement by the International Court of Justice would settle the issue peacefully, binding both Guyana and Venezuela.  That would be the peaceful, legal and internationally acceptable way to end the controversy once and for all, allowing the Guyanese and Venezuelan people to co-exist in peace and co-operate as neighbours for their own well-being and in the interest of their neighbours.]