Venezuela to present at the UN its stance vis-à-vis Guyana
Venezuelan Foreign Ministry officials are optimistic and pleased with the joint declaration signed with the neighboring country
EL UNIVERSAL
Tuesday October 04, 2011 11:05 AM
Source - El Universal
Foreign Ministers Nicolás Maduro and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett along with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2009 (File photo: Paulo Filgueiras)
The Venezuelan government will communicate to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) its position vis-à-vis the Guyanese request to extend its continental shelf by 150 nautical miles, according to sources of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.
In the joint declaration signed last Friday in Trinidad by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the latter country recognized Venezuela's rights "to present its views to the Commission."
The technical teams of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry will begin to work on a paper that they will submit to the UN to make known Venezuela's position on the issue.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Foreign Ministry officials are optimistic and pleased with the joint declaration signed with the neighboring country.
In the text, Guyana acknowledged receipt of the reminder made by Venezuela on "its legitimate right to sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Atlantic Front." Further, the parties agreed that the delimitation of maritime boundaries between the two States remains an unresolved issue and reaffirmed their commitment to the Geneva Agreement.
According to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, the statements included in the declaration would refute the allegations Guyana made in the fourth item of the 16-page document submitted to CLCS. In said item, Georgetown claimed: "there are no disputes in the region relevant to this Submission of data and information relating to the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles."
In other words, the Venezuelan diplomats made all efforts to obtain a declaration in which Guyana recognized that there is a dispute and accepted that the facilitators of both countries will discuss topics related to Guyana's request to extend its continental shelf from 200 nautical miles to 350 nautical miles, which it submitted in early September.
Venezuela hopes that the Guyanese recognition serves to activate Annex I of the Rules of Procedure of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf whose paragraph five provides: "In cases where a land or maritime dispute exists, the Commission shall not examine and qualify a submission made by any of the States concerned in the dispute."
To this end, a UN subcommission appointed to study the submission, which was made in this case by the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is obliged to examine all information related to the disputes that may arise from the submission.
The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf -composed of 21 experts- will meet in April 2012 to give its opinion on the Guyanese submission, but having also heard the views of Venezuela.
Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas
Venezuelan Foreign Ministry officials are optimistic and pleased with the joint declaration signed with the neighboring country
EL UNIVERSAL
Tuesday October 04, 2011 11:05 AM
Source - El Universal
Foreign Ministers Nicolás Maduro and Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett along with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2009 (File photo: Paulo Filgueiras)The Venezuelan government will communicate to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) its position vis-à-vis the Guyanese request to extend its continental shelf by 150 nautical miles, according to sources of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.
In the joint declaration signed last Friday in Trinidad by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro and his Guyanese counterpart Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the latter country recognized Venezuela's rights "to present its views to the Commission."
The technical teams of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry will begin to work on a paper that they will submit to the UN to make known Venezuela's position on the issue.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Foreign Ministry officials are optimistic and pleased with the joint declaration signed with the neighboring country.
In the text, Guyana acknowledged receipt of the reminder made by Venezuela on "its legitimate right to sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Atlantic Front." Further, the parties agreed that the delimitation of maritime boundaries between the two States remains an unresolved issue and reaffirmed their commitment to the Geneva Agreement.
According to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, the statements included in the declaration would refute the allegations Guyana made in the fourth item of the 16-page document submitted to CLCS. In said item, Georgetown claimed: "there are no disputes in the region relevant to this Submission of data and information relating to the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles."
In other words, the Venezuelan diplomats made all efforts to obtain a declaration in which Guyana recognized that there is a dispute and accepted that the facilitators of both countries will discuss topics related to Guyana's request to extend its continental shelf from 200 nautical miles to 350 nautical miles, which it submitted in early September.
Venezuela hopes that the Guyanese recognition serves to activate Annex I of the Rules of Procedure of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf whose paragraph five provides: "In cases where a land or maritime dispute exists, the Commission shall not examine and qualify a submission made by any of the States concerned in the dispute."
To this end, a UN subcommission appointed to study the submission, which was made in this case by the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is obliged to examine all information related to the disputes that may arise from the submission.
The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf -composed of 21 experts- will meet in April 2012 to give its opinion on the Guyanese submission, but having also heard the views of Venezuela.
Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro met on Friday with his Guyanese counterpart (Photo: AVN)