Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yván Gil (center) participates in the Conference on the Territorial Controversy of the Essequibo, June 17, 2026. Photo: Telegram/Yván Gil.
At the Conference on the Territorial Controversy of the Essequibo, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil stated that Venezuela has historically demonstrated its sovereignty over the territory.
At the conference on Wednesday, June 17, the foreign minister highlighted the documentation and “solid legal strategy deployed by the Venezuelan State that demonstrate, with irrefutable arguments before the international community, the nation’s legitimate rights over the Essequibo territory… it is a legal and historical truth that no one can refute.”
At the opening of the conference, organized by the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office, Gil congratulated the legal team that represented Venezuela in the recent hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The case had been unilaterally filed before the court by Guyana. The Venezuelan foreign minister added that the defense “was not only novel but will also serve as a reference and an example of doctrine for the study of international law in future.”
Regarding the ICJ’s upcoming decision, he said that “based on the principle of sovereignty and with profound respect for the institutionality of the Court, with profound respect for international law, and with profound respect for the magistrates of the Court, Venezuela has made it clear that the ICJ does not have jurisdiction or competence to decide on this territorial dispute.”
Venezuela Defends Geneva Agreement as Only Tool to Resolve Essequibo Dispute at ICJ
Minister Gil emphasized that the 1966 Geneva Agreement is the only legal avenue for resolving this controversy and that it is the correct path under international law.
The foreign minister informed the public that “we reviewed the presentations at The Hague that addressed the issue, inherited from a dark colonial legacy. The 1966 Geneva Agreement was reaffirmed as the only valid legal path to find a mutually acceptable solution for the parties involved to resolve this controversy.”
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
