Peace, security needed for Guyanese to have ‘the good life’
– Granger ups call for UN- backed protection in face of Venezuela’s threats
October 25, 2015, Source
PRESIDENT David Granger Saturday evening repeated his call for the United Nations to protect small states such as Guyana in the face of constant threats from neighbouring Venezuela.“Guyana seeks the peace that only this international organisation could promise. It seeks the collective security measures that only the United Nations could provide,” Mr Granger said at an event in Georgetown to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations.
His call comes on the heels of an announcement Thursday that Venezuela has threatened legal action against a mega gold mine in the Cuyuni- Mazaruni region.
The owner of the mine, Canadian mineral exploration company Guyana Goldfields, has called Venezuela’s threat “unfounded.”
Venezuela’s Ambassador to Ottawa sent a letter to the company on October 13th saying that the opening of the gold mine would be ‘Infringing on the territorial sovereignty of Venezuela and committing unlawful actions which could incur legal consequences.”
“As such, you are hereby fully given notice of the respective legal actions that could herein occur,” the letter to Guyana Goldfields stated.
“The Venezuela-Guyana border dispute was resolved and agreed upon by all parties under the 1899 Arbitration Agreement and any claims made outside of such agreement violate international law,” the company said in response.
“The matter is currently before the United Nations, however Venezuela’s border claim is widely viewed by the international community to be without merit,” Guyana Goldfields said in a statement published on its website.
In his address to Parliament, President David Granger said Venezuela’s claims are not only illegal, but are injurious to the economic development of Guyana.
Guyana Goldfields has been developing the Aurora mine in Guyana since 1996. It announced its first gold production in early August and said it expects to produce between 30,000 ounces to 50,000 ounces of gold in 2015 and approximately 120,000 ounces to 140,000 ounces of gold in 2016.
Last evening, the President said that Venezuela has been in breach of the UN charter.
“The Cooperative Republic of Guyana, a small state, has seen foreign investors intimidated; it has seen foreign petroleum exploration terminated by gunboats from the east and from the west; and, even now, it is enduring the painful and illegal occupation of its territory.
The President reiterated Guyana’s complete commitment to the aims and the purposes of the United Nations Charter, which in Article 2 states as one of its principles: “All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
He said that the Charter, the birth of which was celebrated last evening, is meant to provide the peace and security that the world needs.
“It is meant to provide the peace and security that Guyana needs if its citizens are to have a safe and good life.”
Mr Granger applauded the UN’s recognition that peace is linked with respect for human rights and the promotion of the “economic and social advancement of all peoples.”
He added that Guyana applauds the promulgation, by the United Nations, of three significant legal instruments, which have expanded the scope of rights, namely, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
These legal instruments, the President said, have advanced the cause of human rights around the world.
Mr Granger stated that Guyana is supportive of the levels of international cooperation and collaboration achieved by the United Nations and its agencies in the promotion of sustainable development.
“The adoption in 2000 of the Millennium Development Goals and, just last month, of the Sustainable Development Goals is testimony to the importance that the United Nations has attached towards developing templates to advance the cause of sustainable development around the world.
“Guyana is committed to achieving the targets adopted at the recent Sustainable Development Summit. These are all in conformity with our own national development objectives.”
