Caricom heads back UN plan for Guyana-Venezuela border controversy

Caricom Heads who met in Georgetown on Thursday and Friday expressed support for the latest UN plan on Guyana’s border controversy with Venezuela and voiced the hope that final settlement will release the entire Caribbean of its “unwanted implications”.

In the communique issued on Saturday, it was stated that the Heads of Government received an update from President David Granger on the most recent developments on the controversy and the efforts of former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to find a way forward under the Geneva Agreement – as they had called for at their Meeting in July 2016. They joined President Granger in acknowledging these efforts.

The communique said that the Heads welcomed the decision taken by the former UN Secretary-General before demitting Office and the “resulting prospect of 2017 as a ‘final year’ of the ‘Good Offices Process’ of the Secretary-General, to be followed by a referral of the controversy to the International Court of Justice `if, by the end of 2017, the Secretary-General concludes that significant progress has not been made toward arriving at a full agreement for the solution of the controversy’”.

The Heads also welcomed Guyana’s “unqualified acceptance of the UN Secretary–General’s decision, and expressed the hope that its implementation in good faith by both parties will lead to the resolution of the controversy and the release of the parties and of the entire Caribbean Region from its unwanted implications”.

Heads of Government also welcomed the proposal of former UN Secretary General Ban for ‘confidence building measures’ and President Granger’s assurance of Guyana’s willingness to explore all possibilities consistent with Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. To the extent that any such measures require regional support, Heads of Government offered their best efforts to that end.

Heads of Government reiterated their firm support for the preservation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the communique said.