As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) deliberates on the merits of the 1899 Arbitral Award Case brought by Guyana against Venezuela, the Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM, Elizabeth Solomon, today reaffirmed the Regional Bloc’s support of Guyana in advocating for a “legal resolution” to the longstanding border controversy.

In her address at the opening ceremony of the Centre for International and Border Studies Conference at the Herdmanston Lodge, the CARICOM Assistant Secretary General said CARICOM is “unwavering” in its support for Guyana.

“CARICOM remains firm in its support for the judicial process before the International Court of Justice and continues to advocate for a peaceful, legal resolution that respects Guyana’s territorial integrity and maintains our region as a zone of peace,” Solomon said.

Ms. Solomon told the conference that sovereignty is not a static achievement, but is a continuous work of diplomacy, intellectual rigor and national resilience.

Solomon’s remarks come just days after the ICJ concluded public hearings on the merit of the case, in which Guyana has asked the Court to affirm the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the land boundary between then British Guiana and Venezuela.

Though it actively participated in the case, which has been before the ICJ since 2018, Venezuela maintains that it does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Court to adjudicate over the controversy.

But Guyana’s Attorney General Anil Nandlall has said whenever the Court hands down its ruling; it will be “legally binding on both parties.”

According to the Attorney General , the Court’s ruling will bring an end to the controversy that arose in 1962, when Venezuela, for the first time, challenged the lawfulness of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the international boundary it established, ultimately laying claim to two-thirds of Guyana’s territory.

Minister Nandlall said failure to abide by the ruling of the ICJ would constitute a breach of International Law, and would be rejected by the international community.

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