[1/6]A government supporter holds a sign reading: “The Essequibo is ours, vote YES five times” as he attends an event to collect signatures for a referendum on Venezuela’s rights to Guyana’s potentially oil-rich Esequiba region in Caracas collect , Venezuela November 15, 2023…. Acquire license rights Read more
THE HAGUE/CARACAS, Dec 1 (Portal) – World Court judges ordered Venezuela on Friday not to take any action that would alter the situation on the ground in a potentially oil-rich territory that has a border dispute with Guyana, which is the territory controlled.
The court did not explicitly ban Venezuela from holding a referendum on Sunday on its rights to the Esequibo River region, as Guyana had requested.
But the judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – as the world court is officially known – decided that any attempts to change the status quo should be stopped.
“The court notes that the current situation in the disputed area is that Guyana administers and exercises control over that area,” said presiding judge Joan Donoghue.
“Venezuela must refrain from taking any action that would alter this situation,” she added.
Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali welcomed the court’s ruling, while Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said it was a victory for her country.
“As the Court has made clear, regardless of the outcome of the December 3 referendum, Venezuela is prohibited from annexing or entering Guyanese territory or taking any other action that would alter the status quo in which Guyana administers the Esequibo Region and “controlled,” Ali said in a statement.
The five-question referendum will take place, Rodriguez said on state television, adding that Venezuela wants a negotiated solution to the dispute.
The vote “will confirm that our rights to the Guiana Esequiba are irrevocable and indisputable,” Rodriguez said.
The vote on the 160,000-square-kilometer (61,776-square-mile) area, largely made up of dense jungle, has caused concern in Guyana, and the government is urging citizens to remain calm.
Venezuela has reactivated its claim to the area in recent years following the discovery of offshore oil and gas. The maritime border between the two countries is also controversial.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has loudly encouraged voters to approve the referendum, which political analysts say is a test of the government’s support ahead of planned presidential elections in 2024.
Venezuela’s dispute with Guyana could impact the elections, said security analyst Rocio San Miguel of the Security, Defense and Armed Forces Citizen Watchdog.
“If the elections pose a threat to Maduro’s power, this is how he will suspend them,” she said, calling the dispute “a perfect diversionary tactic.”
She said that while Venezuela has significantly more military power than Guyana, it is unable to stand up to Guyana’s allies, which include the United States.
The referendum, which is “consultative” and can be approved by a simple majority, will ask Venezuelans, among other things, whether they agree to the incorporation of the region and the creation of a state called Guayana Esequiba.
Political analysts expect voters to approve the proposal because there is no “no” campaign and the likelihood that voters who oppose it will stay home.
Friday’s ruling is the latest development in the larger border dispute. The ICJ said in April that it had jurisdiction over the case, but a final decision could be years away.
Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Bart Meijer; additional reporting by Kiana Wilburg in Georgetown and Vivian Sequera in Caracas; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Alex Richardson and Grant McCool
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