Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez (C), The Hague, Netherlands, Nov. 17, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @isenasalud

The Hague, November 17 (RHC)-- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is holding public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by Venezuela in the case concerning the 1899 Arbitral Award whereby the United Kingdom delimited borders between Venezuela and Guyana.

As a result of the arbitrary actions of the British crown, the Venezuelan territory known as the Essequibo has been improperly occupied by Guyana.  Consequently, Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez asked the Hague Court to declare Guyana's lawsuit over the Essequibo inadmissible. 

In presenting her country's objections, she confirmed that the Bolivarian government does not recognize the ICJ jurisprudence since the 1966 Geneva Agreement establishes that Venezuela and Guyana commit to a bilateral resolution of any conflict in the Essequibo area.  Rodriguez pointed out that the ICJ is not in a position to admit the Guyana lawsuit because the U.K., the indispensable party to resolve the issue of the dispute, does not participate.

“In its pursuit of profit, the United Kingdom acted against a sovereign state” Rodriguez said when she explained the origin of the dispute over the Essequibo, a territory that the British Crown misappropriated.

Historical investigations show that the United Kingdom presented falsified maps that defined borders in its favor. Additionally, the Crown declared that its definition of borders was non-negotiable since they would be defended with the use of force.

“Homeland's territory comes before anything else.  Our life is nothing other than the heritage of our country,” Rodriguez said, adding that Guyana's malicious interpretation of the Geneva agreement affects Venezuelan territorial integrity and the rights of the people.

Rodriguez also explained that, in accordance with international law, Venezuela filed preliminary objections against the admissibility of the claim.  “For Venezuela, this question is at the very center of our Homeland. We will not allow a new territorial dispossession,” she said, emphasizing that the Court should not admit the claim.