Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

The Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana is gravely concerned over the adoption of a law by the Venezuelan National Assembly declaring the Essequibo region of Guyana, which constitutes more than two thirds of its national territory, to be a constituent part of Venezuela.

This is in flagrant violation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and is in breach of the fundamental principles of international law enshrined in the United Nations Charter. It is also an egregious violation of the Order on provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice on December 1, 2023 and it is a violation of the Argyle Declaration of December 14, 2023 agreed to by the leaders of CAR1COM and Brazil, the representative of the United Nations Secretary General and by the Presidents of Guyana and Venezuela.

Guyana remains committed to peace on its borders and in the region. It will not allow its sovereignty and territorial territory to be usurped. Guyana will exert all of its efforts under international law to ensure that its sovereignty and territorial integrity remain intact.

Guyana calls on the international community to uphold the rule of law by rejecting Venezuela’s illegal expansionism and by insisting that Venezuela revert to the International Court of Justice which has before it the case for a full and final resolution of the controversy over the land border between the two countries.