Venezuela-Guyana border dispute to be heard by International Court of Justice

United Nation’s International Court of Justice said on December 18 that it would intervene to settle a longstanding border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana. Both the Latin American nations are battling for a Tunisia-sized swath of jungle located west of the Essequibo river.  Earlier this year, Venezuela opposed the world court decision stating that it did not have the jurisdiction to decide the matter.

The Dispute

The border dispute first began in 1899 when an arbitration award by an international tribunal drew borders between the two South American nations. The arbitration was rejected by Venezuela which stated that a 1966 agreement nullified original arbitration. The matter was then taken to the ICJ in 2018. For years, the eastern region, which makes up 40 percent of modern-day Guyana, has been referred to on Venezuelan maps as a "reclamation zone" and denoted with diagonal lines.

Commenting on the matter, the President of ICJ Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, said that "the court concludes that it has jurisdiction to entertain Guyana’s claims concerning the validity of the 1899 award ... and the related question of the definitive settlement of the land boundary dispute between the territory of the parties."

The United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council elected five judges to serve at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a term of nine-year, UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir declared after the completion of the vote count. All the five candidates have obtained an absolute majority in both bodies i.e UN General Assembly and Security Council, Bozkir said. It is on these judges so as to settle the decade-long dispute stirring the region. 

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