As Guyana awaits the decision of the International Court of Justice in the case it filed against Venezuela seeking a final judicial settlement of the border controversy, President Irfaan Ali believes the Court’s judgment will bring an end to the controversy.

That judgment is expected by the end of January 2027.

The President’s statement was made this afternoon at a press conference, just over a week after the Acting Venezuelan President made it clear to the International Court that its decision will not end the controversy.

President Ali said Guyana will abide by the Court’s decision and is confident that its pleadings will be successful.

“The Court’s judgment 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. After accepting, respecting and complying with the award and the boundary without protest for 63 years, the oral arguments established made this very belated protest precisely at the time Guyana was nearing its independence. British troops would be departing and Venezuela would have a significant advantage with which to press its unfounded claim to nearly three-quarters of Guyana’s territory, the very claim that a tribunal of five preeminent arbitrators rejected in 1899”, he said.

Oral hearings in the border case ended last week before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The case was filed in 2018 following the advice of the United Nations Secretary General after the Good Offices process had failed to arrive at a solution after decades.

Guyana in its arguments to the Court made it clear that has Venezuela has never had any ownership or governance over the Essequibo region.

President Ali said Guyana will now await the final decision of the Court.

“We await the Court’s final judgment with on the merits with patience, dignity and optimism. We will continue to address Venezuela in the spirit of peace, cooperation, and friendship and as sovereign equals. We respect Venezuela’s sovereignty as we have always done and we insist that Venezuela refrain from trespassing on, or threatening Guyana’s sovereignty”, the President said.

He added that any move by Venezuela not to accept the Court’s decision would amount to a breach of international law.

According to the President, “we have heard the statements of Venezuela’s officials that they do not accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction and will not abide by its rulings. This would be a breach of its most solemn obligations under the United Nations Charter, the Charter of the Organisation of American States and the general International law. It will be tolerated by the International community which demands a world order based on law. It is our fervent hope that Venezuela’s expression of disrespect for the Court and for international law reflects the emotions that often accompany litigation of this kind. We hope that after passions recede and responsible Government officials reflect, they will conclude as we have done, that both states are best served by an end to this longstanding conflict and the only way to secure a just and lasting peace and enduring friendship is by respect for and compliance with the Court’s final judgment whatever it may be as is required by the United Nations Charter”.

Guyana has had cause to repeatedly inform the international community about Venezuela’s acts of aggression. Even during the course of the hearing, there were incidents of the Venezuelan navy crossing over into Guyana’s waters and questioning captains of the oil ships in Guyana’s waters.

Just recently, Guyana filed a diplomatic complaint with Venezuela after a group of Guyanese soldiers patrolling the Cuyuni river came under gunfire from the Venezuelan side of the border.

Guyana maintains that its case is grounded in evidence and facts.

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