Andreas Zimmermann, an expert in international and European law and Venezuela's lawyer before the International Court of Justice, He gave a masterful presentation on the correct interpretation of the Geneva Agreement, signed in 1966, as reported on his Telegram channel by Foreign Minister Yván Gil.
"This agreement is the only legal instrument that defines the rights and obligations of Venezuela and Guyana to satisfactorily resolve the territorial dispute over the Essequibo, annulling the fraudulent Arbitral Award of 1899," Gil pointed out.
He emphasized that the Geneva Agreement is presented "as the only one in force to reach a resolution between two sovereign states after more than a century of dispossession and colonial interference. However, Guyana deliberately ignores it, hindering the diplomatic resolution of this controversy."
This is not about the validity of the 1899 award
In the video posted on the channel, it can be seen that Zimmermann specified that the title of the agreement is: "Agreement to resolve the controversy between Venezuela and the United Kingdom, on the border between Venezuela and British Guiana. On the border between the parties."
Regarding this, the lawyer said that "in other words, the Geneva Agreement was not intentionally titled: 'Agreement to resolve the controversy concerning the validity of the 1889 award.'"
He stressed that "it was not what the parties chose; if the parties had indeed wanted to focus the agreement on the issue of the invalidity of the 1899 award, they would undoubtedly have chosen a title that reflected that limited understanding, but the parties intentionally opted for a broader title, related to the boundary."
During his speech, the jurist specified that "the drafting history (of the Geneva Agreement) demonstrates that, in the end, the parties decided to leave behind the issue of the invalidity of the 1899 award, turn the page and begin a new chapter in the resolution of their border dispute."
The Geneva Agreement is presented as the only remaining recourse for reaching a resolution between two sovereign states after more than a century of dispossession and colonial interference. However, Guyana deliberately ignores it, obstructing the diplomatic resolution of this dispute.
