Geneva Agreement (1966)

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Geneva Agreement
Agreement to resolve the controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana
Guyana Venezuela Locator.png
Territory in dispute (Essequibo) shown in light green with the rest of Guyana in dark green; Venezuela shown in orange.
Signed17 February 1966 [1]
Location Geneva, Switzerland [1]
Effective17 February 1966 [1]
Signatories
Parties
DepositaryFlag of the United Nations.svg Secretary-General of the United Nations [1]
Languages

The Agreement to Resolve the Controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the Frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana, better known as the Geneva Agreement, is a treaty between Venezuela and the United Kingdom, along with its colony of British Guiana (which would soon receive its independence), that was signed in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 February 1966. The treaty outlines the steps taken to resolve the controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom, arising from Venezuela's contention to the UN in 1962 that the 1899 declaration by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration awarding the territory to British Guiana was null and void, [2] following the publication of Severo Mallet-Prevost's memorandums and other documents from the tribunal that called the decision into question. [1] [3]

Contents

History

The Geneva Agreement was published in the Official Gazette of Venezuela No. 28.008 on April 15, 1966, and subsequently registered with the General Office of the Organization of the United Nations on May 5, 1966, under registration number I-8192. [4] [5] [1]

Three months after the agreement was signed, on May 26, 1966, the colony of British Guiana received its independence from Britain, declaring itself the "Republic of Guyana" (officially the Co‑operative Republic of Guyana since 1970). From that point forward, the new country joined the agreement as an independent nation alongside the United Kingdom and Venezuela, fully taking over the United Kingdom's former position in talks with Venezuela regarding the border controversy. [6]

The Geneva Agreement is a temporary agreement to come to a permanent solution, often referred to as an "agreement to reach an agreement",[ citation needed ] and although Venezuela maintains that the arbitral award of 1899 is invalid, the status quo under the agreement has endured. As a result, the Essequibo Region will remain under the authority of the government of Guyana until any other resolution is made under the treaty. As per Article V, the treaty cannot be interpreted as a "renunciation or diminution" of any basis of claim to the territorial sovereignty of British Guiana, [1] thus upholding the 1899 Arbitral Award as legally binding. The first article of the document recognizes Venezuela's claim that the 1899 court decision is null and void, but the treaty neither supports nor disputes the claim. Instead, it requires that each of the signing parties acknowledge the other's position, and seek to find a practical, peaceful, and satisfactory solution for all of the parties involved. [7]

The Geneva Agreement established the creation of a "Mixed Commission" composed of representatives of Venezuela and British Guiana (with no direct participation by the United Kingdom), which was given a period of four years to arrive at a final resolution regarding the border controversy, or else choose some other form of peaceful settlement outlined by the UN. In 1970, at the end of this four-year period, the Port of Spain Protocol was signed by Guyana, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom, in order to essentially "freeze" parts of the Geneva Agreement for twelve years. [8] In 1982, Venezuela refused to ratify an extension of the Port of Spain Protocol, bringing the original 1966 agreement back into effect.

In 1983, Venezuela proposed to make direct negotiations with Guyana, but Guyana refused and proposed three alternate routes of reaching an agreement: the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, or the International Court of Justice, each of which was rejected by Venezuela.

Later that same year, at the initiative of Venezuela, and in accordance with the provisions of Article IV-2 of the agreement and Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations regarding peaceful solutions to conflicts, the border controversy was brought under the jurisdiction of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, since the two countries were not able to reach an agreement on the means of settlement. [9]

In 1987, Guyana and Venezuela decided to accept the Good Offices method, following the General Act for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which would be put into effect in 1989. Following this agreement, a representative of the Secretary General chosen and accepted by the parties would serve as a mediator between the governments so that they reach a satisfactory solution as dictated by the treaty. [10]

The first representative brought in to maintain the Geneva Agreement was former Under-Secretary General Diego Cordovez.[ citation needed ] The final representative was the Jamaican professor Norman Girvan. Each representative was elected and accepted by both countries with the approval of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. [11] [12] [13]

Official positions of the countries

The positions of the parties arise from different interpretations of the first article of the agreement:

A Mixed Commission shall be established with the task of seeking satisfactory solutions for the practical settlement of the controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom which has arisen as the result of the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 about the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela is null and void.

To Guyana, the purpose of the agreement is to initially determine whether the declaration of the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration is null and void, and that unless Venezuela can prove its invalidity, the arbitral award of the region to Guyana is upheld.

To Venezuela, the purpose of the agreement is to commit both parties to reaching a satisfactory solution for a practical agreement between the two countries. It considers the invalidity of the 1899 arbitral award to have been explicitly stated within the document, and implicitly agreed upon through the signature of the Prime Minister of Guyana when it was still a British colony. To Venezuela, this has already been agreed upon, and it would not have been sensible for the other countries to sign the agreement if they did not agree with the statements within. [14]

On the 52nd anniversary of the international treaty being signed in Switzerland, Venezuelan Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the Geneva Agreement. President Nicolas Maduro has called on the Venezuelan people to defend their "legitimate and non-renounceable" territorial rights over the Essequibo region. Defense Minister Vladamir Padrino Lopez stresses that Venezuelans should continue to claim their territory and stated on his social media "The Sun of Venezuela is born in the Essequibo."[ citation needed ]

Criticism

Cheddi Jagan, the Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997. Cheddi Jagan Anefo.jpg
Cheddi Jagan, the Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997.

The agreement was criticized in Guyana for essentially reopening a legal case that, for them, was already closed. Notably, Guyanese politician Cheddi Jagan, the chief of the Guyanese opposition, founder of the People's Progressive Party (PPP), and eventual president of the republic, strongly opposed the agreement. In his work The West on Trial (1996), he stated his regrets about the return of the border controversy: [15]

The PNC-UF coalition government jointly signed the Geneva Agreement with the Venezuelan and British governments… and created a Mixed Commission (Guyana-Venezuela). Thus, they conceded recognition to the spurious Venezuelan territorial claims and what had been a closed case since 1899 was reopened.

Although the Geneva Agreement is currently the most valuable document for Venezuela in the negotiation process with Guyana, Venezuela recognizes that it lacks some of the concrete elements required to allow them to recover any territory from Guyana because of the conflicts between Venezuela's stance and the contents and results of the treaty.[ citation needed ]

In terms of the results of the treaty, there are several effects that harm Venezuela's position:[ citation needed ]

These results are problematic to Venezuela because it is obviously unlikely that Guyana will choose to give Venezuela three-quarters of the territory it has controlled and administered since the time of its independence, along with its ability to use resources there, regardless of its right to sovereignty over the region. In addition, when British Guiana declared itself an independent nation three months after the Geneva Agreement, Venezuela had to immediately recognize its independence as a result of the agreement, without solving the dispute with the United Kingdom first, and in spite of its continued claims to sovereignty over the Essequibo.[ editorializing ]

See also

Notes

  1. After Guyana received its independence from the United Kingdom, it supplanted the United Kingdom in negotiations on the matter.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Guyana</span>

After independence in 1966, Guyana sought an influential role in international affairs, particularly among Third World and non-aligned nations. It served twice on the UN Security Council. Former Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Attorney General Mohamed Shahabuddeen served a 9-year term on the International Court of Justice (1987–96). In June 2023, Guyana was elected as a non-permanent member to the UN Security Council. The country will serve on the Council for a period of two years, beginning in January 2024.

The history of Guyana begins about 35,000 years ago with the arrival of humans coming from Eurasia. These migrants became the Carib and Arawak tribes, who met Alonso de Ojeda's first expedition from Spain in 1499 at the Essequibo River. In the ensuing colonial era, Guyana's government was defined by the successive policies of the French, Dutch, and British settlers. During the colonial period, Guyana's economy was focused on plantation agriculture, which initially depended on slave labor. Guyana saw major slave rebellions in 1763 and 1823. Following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and South Africa were freed, resulting in plantations contracting indentured workers, mainly from India. Eventually, these Indians joined forces with Afro-Guyanese to demand equal rights in government and society. After the Second World War, the British Empire pursued policy decolonization of its overseas territories, with independence granted to British Guiana on May 26, 1966. Following independence, Forbes Burnham rose to power, quickly becoming an authoritarian leader, pledging to bring socialism to Guyana. His power began to weaken following international attention brought to Guyana in wake of the Jonestown mass murder suicide in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Guiana</span> British colony from 1814 to 1966

British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch colonisation of the Guianas</span> 1581–1975 colonisation in South America

The Dutch began their colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America, in the late 16th century. The Dutch originally claimed all of Guiana but—following attempts to sell it first to Bavaria and then to Hanau and the loss of sections to Portugal, Britain, and France—the section actually settled and controlled by the Netherlands became known as Dutch Guiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essequibo River</span> Major river in Guyana

The Essequibo River is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,014 km (630 mi) through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean. It has a total drainage basin of 156,828 km2 (60,552 sq mi) and an average discharge of 5,650 m3/s (200,000 cu ft/s).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Guianas</span> Region in north-central South America

The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, is a region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch and French Guiana. Broadly it refers to the South American coast from the mouth of the Orinoco to the mouth of the Amazon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berbice</span> 1627–1815 Dutch colony in South America

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potaro-Siparuni</span> Region of Guyana

Potaro-Siparuni is a region of Guyana. It borders the region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni to the north, the regions of Upper Demerara-Berbice and East Berbice-Corentyne to the east, the region of Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo to the south and Brazil to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essequibo (colony)</span> 1616–1803 Dutch colony in South America

Essequibo was a Dutch colony in the Guianas and later a county on the Essequibo River in the Guiana region on the north coast of South America. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1616 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 until 1815. It was merged with Demerara in 1812 by the British who took control. It formally became a British colony in 1815 until Demerara-Essequibo was merged with Berbice to form the colony of British Guiana in 1831. In 1838, it became a county of British Guiana till 1958. In 1966, British Guiana gained independence as Guyana and in 1970 it became a republic as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. It was located around the lower course of the Essequibo River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ankoko Island</span> Island located at the confluence of the Cuyuni River and Wenamu River

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute</span> Territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela

The Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, also known as Esequibo or Guayana Esequiba in Spanish, a 159,500 km2 (61,600 sq mi) area west of the Essequibo River. The territory, excluding the Venezuelan-controlled Ankoko Island, is controlled by Guyana as part of six of its regions, based on the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award. It is also claimed by Venezuela as the Guayana Esequiba State. The boundary dispute was inherited from the colonial powers and has persisted following the independence of Venezuela and Guyana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyana</span> Caribbean country in South America

Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic mainland British West Indies. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the country's largest city. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With a land area of 214,969 km2 (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state by area in mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname, and is the second-least populous sovereign state in South America after Suriname; it is also one of the least densely populated countries on Earth. The official language of the country is English, although a large part of the population is bilingual in English and the indigenous languages. It has a wide variety of natural habitats and very high biodiversity. The country also hosts a part of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rainforest in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyana–Venezuela relations</span> Bilateral relations

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venezuelan crisis of 1895</span> Political crisis in Venezuela in the 19th century

The Venezuelan crisis of 1895 occurred over Venezuela's longstanding dispute with Great Britain about the territory of Essequibo, which Britain believed was part of British Guiana and Venezuela recognized as its own Guayana Esequiba. The issue became more acute with the development of gold mining in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Venezuelan referendum</span> Referendum regarding Venezuelan-claimed territory of Guayana Esequiba

A consultative referendum was initiated by the government of Nicolás Maduro regarding Venezuela's claim over the Guayana Esequiba, whose territory is disputed with, and controlled by, neighboring Guyana. The referendum took place on 3 December 2023 in Venezuela. The population of the territory in question was not consulted and did not vote as voting only took place within Venezuela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guyana–Venezuela crisis (2023–present)</span> Diplomatic crisis in South America

The long-standing territorial dispute over the Essequibo region escalated into a crisis in 2023. The region is controlled by Guyana but is claimed by Venezuela. The dispute dates back many years and the current border was established by the Paris Arbitral Award in 1899. Venezuela renewed its claim in 1962 and the matter was referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Spain Protocol</span>

The Protocol to the Agreement to resolve the controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana, simply known as the Port of Spain Protocol, is a protocol of the 1966 Geneva Agreement between Guyana and Venezuela and a 12-year moratorium on Venezuela's reclamation of Guayana Esequiba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mallet-Prevost memorandum</span> Document alleging collusion in the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award over the Essequibo dispute

The Mallet-Prevost memorandum is a document posthumously published, written by Severo Mallet-Prevost, official secretary of the US–Venezuela delegation during the 1899 Paris Arbitral Award, which stated that the award, ruled largely in favour of Britain in a territorial dispute with Venezuela, resulted from the pressure by the Tribunal President Friedrich Martens and a political deal between Russia and Britain. Said memorandum led to complaints by Venezuela in the United Nations in 1962, which resulted in the Geneva Agreement, signed with the United Kingdom in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Arbitral Award</span> 1899 international arbitration decision

The Paris Arbitral Award is an arbitral award issued on 3 October 1899 by an arbitral tribunal convened in Paris, created two years earlier as established in the Arbitral Treaty of Washington D. C. on 2 February 1897, in which the United States on the one hand and the United Kingdom on the other, had agreed to submit to international arbitration the dispute over the border to the west of the British colony and the east of independent Venezuela, as a mechanism for an amicable solution to the territorial differendum.

References

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  2. "Award regarding the Boundary between the Colony of British Guiana and the United States of Venezuela" (PDF).
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  4. Acuerdo de Ginebra en la Gaceta Oficial de Venezuela Nº 28.008 del 15 de abril de 1966 Archived 24 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "UNTC". un.org. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  6. "Guyana – The Cooperative Republic". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  7. "No. 8192. Agreement * to Resolve the Controversy Between Venezuela and The United Kingdom of Great Britain And Northern Ireland Over the Frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana. Signed at Geneva, ON 17 February 1966" (PDF). treaties.un.org. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  8. "Guyana, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Venezuela" (PDF). United Nations Treaty Collection. 19 November 1971.
  9. "(Venezuela ratifica ante ONU disputa con Guayana) Venezuela ratifies the UN dispute with Guyana". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
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  11. "Venezuela y Guyana retoman mecanismo de buen oficiante para diferendo limítrofe". lavozarizona.com. Retrieved 3 October 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. "Department of Political Affairs". un.org. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  13. Secretary-General Appoints Norman Girvan of Jamaica as Personal Representative on Border Controversy Between Guyana, Venezuela
  14. Donís Ríos, Manuel. "El Acuerdo de Ginebra Cumple Cincuenta Años" (PDF). Academia Nacional de la Historia de Venezuela.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. "West on Trial". Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2015 via Archive.org.