On March 6, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guyana issued a statement announcing that Guyana had filed a Request for the indication of provisional measures with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the case of the Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela). This request follows Venezuela’s recent announcement of plans to hold elections in the disputed Essequibo region, which is part of Guyana’s territory.
Guyana’s filing with the ICJ comes after Venezuela announced plans to hold elections for Governor and Legislative Council of Essequibo on April 27, 2025, which would be preceded by preparatory actions that could affect the local population and challenge Guyana’s sovereignty. Guyana asserts that these actions would violate the ICJ’s Order of December 1, 2023, which instructed Venezuela to refrain from altering the territorial demarcation while the case remains under consideration.
This marks the second time Guyana has sought provisional measures from the ICJ. The first request in 2023 resulted in an Order directing Venezuela to refrain from actions that would modify the status of the disputed region, which Guyana currently administers and exercises control over. Guyana now argues that Venezuela’s planned elections flagrantly violate this order and is seeking the Court’s confirmation that any electoral activity within the region is prohibited. The Government has also requested that the Court issue an explicit directive barring any such activities in the disputed territory.
The border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela was formally brought before the ICJ in March 2018, following the decision of the David Granger-Moses Nagamootoo coalition government- the A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC)- to take the matter to the Court. The controversy centers around the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award, which established the border between the two countries, with Venezuela claiming the Essequibo region as its own. That Award, which was unanimously, stated that its decision was “full, perfect, and final.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation further called for the ICJ to convene hearings on the matter as soon as possible to allow provisional measures to be issued before any irreversible harm can be done to Guyana’s territorial rights. Guyana is seeking immediate protection of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, asserting that Venezuela’s actions pose a direct challenge to the Court’s previous orders and to established international law.
