President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali told the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that Guyana turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) only after decades of bilateral efforts to resolve the border dispute with Venezuela. He urged Venezuela to abide by the court’s forthcoming ruling, as Guyana will do.
The president was speaking at the general debate of the Assembly’s 81st Session in New York.
The debate is the annual gathering where leaders of the UN’s 193 member states set out their positions to the world.
His address came less than a day after Venezuela’s acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, used the same podium to urge Guyana to return to negotiations under the Geneva Agreement.
It was also his first address to the Assembly since the ICJ completed hearings in the case in May 2026. That placed Guyana’s commitment to the rule of law on record before the full membership of the United Nations, with a ruling still pending.
“Recourse to the ICJ came after decades of efforts to resolve the controversy bilaterally, including through a mixed commission and the good offices of the UN Secretary-General,” President Ali said.
He noted that the 1899 Arbitral Award was “the full, perfect, and final settlement” of the border.
Despite this, he said, Guyana had “endured long and repeated provocations and aggression.”
“Guyana has always advanced the peaceful settlement of the controversy in relation to our border with Venezuela,” the president said.
He recalled that the Secretary-General referred the matter to the court under the Geneva Agreement.
The court has since twice pronounced on its jurisdiction to hear the case. President Ali said Guyana took part in the proceedings in full respect for international law and encouraged Venezuela to do the same.
“Now that we have both participated in the hearings, which were completed in May 2026, we urge Venezuela to abide by the forthcoming ruling in accordance with their obligation under the UN Charter, as Guyana will do,” he said.
He said Guyana hopes the ruling will open a new chapter between the two neighbours.
“We look forward to a new era of neighbourly relations in the interests of our peoples, the development of our countries, and the stability and prosperity of our region,” he said.
The case, filed by Guyana in 2018, seeks the Court’s confirmation that the 1899 Award and the boundary it established between then-British Guiana and Venezuela are valid and binding under international law.
The ICJ has twice affirmed its jurisdiction, ruling in 2020 that it had authority over the case and dismissing a further Venezuelan objection in 2023. The Court has also twice granted Guyana’s requests for provisional measures, most recently ordering Venezuela in 2025 not to proceed with elections in the disputed Essequibo region.
This year, world leaders have gathered under the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all.”