Commonwealth Secretary-General issues statement in support of Guyana

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, has echoed the alarm of Dr Irfaan Ali, the President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, after a coast guard vessel from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela entered the waters of Guyana on Saturday.

President Ali, in a news conference, stated that a Venezuelan coast guard vessel had entered the maritime waters of Guyana, approached lawfully operating assets there and transmitted a radio message declaring that they were in ‘disputed international waters’, when they were within Guyana’s territory.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General has condemned this action in the strongest possible terms and urged the international community and the Commonwealth family to continue to support Guyana. The Secretary-General also praised Guyana’s response, saying that it exhibited restraint and responsibility by engaging in diplomatic actions to address the crisis.

This recent action by Venezuela runs counter to the spirit of the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela, signed on December 14, 2023, where both states agreed to use international law and diplomatic means to address the controversy and to refrain from escalating the conflict.

The Secretary-General encouraged Venezuela to respect international law and to adhere to the unanimous Order on Provisional Measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of December 1, 2023 that provided that, pending the Court’s final decision in the case, “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall refrain from taking any action which would modify the situation that currently prevails in the territory in dispute, whereby the Co-operative Republic of Guyana administers and exercises control over that area.”

The Secretary-General pointed to the Leaders’ Statement and Samoa Communiqué of the recently held Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa, last October, where Leaders unanimously “reiterated their continued support for the ICJ, which has accepted jurisdiction over the controversy, to resolve the matter fully and finally by means of its binding legal judgment.”  The Commonwealth Heads of Government also “reaffirmed the Commonwealth’s unswerving support for the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana.”

The Commonwealth Secretary-General urged the Government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to abide by the principles of international law and to refrain from actions that threaten the peace and stability of the Caribbean region.

The Secretary-General reiterated President Ali’s request, made on Saturday, that “Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is respected and honoured”.

She referred to her recent statements of April 6, 2024,  November 1, 2023 and December 1, 2023 on the matter and to the September 3, 2024 Outcome Statement of the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana (CMGG) that all reflect the Commonwealth’s consistent and unequivocal support for Guyana. (PR)