Lula meets with Guyana
The announcement comes on the same day that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates. In recent days, Brazil has increased its military presence in Roraima, near the triborder border.
Guyana’s government had requested interim measures to prevent Venezuela from holding a referendum on ownership of mineralrich Essequibo County. The vote will take place on December 3rd and during the ICJ session, Venezuela promised to hold its referendum.
In its arguments, Guyana calls for the preservation of its territorial integrity and border agreements that have existed since 1899.
In a session this Friday in The Hague, Justice Joan Donoghue, President of the Court, read out the Court’s order and noted that Guyana’s argument of sovereignty over the established territory was “plausible.”
The judge noted that this was not a final decision on the dispute that began in court five years ago. But there is a risk of “irreparable damage” with the referendum, which is why interim measures must be taken. “There is urgency,” he said.