Commonwealth ministerial group urges peaceful resolution between Guyana and Venezuela

The Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana (CMGG) met on Monday to discuss recent developments in the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela.

The CMGG outcome statement included:

“The Group reiterated its firm and steadfast support for the ICJ process underway as the appropriate and lawful means to address the matter under international law, the maintenance and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana, its right to self-defence and the unobstructed exercise of its rights to develop the entirety of its territory for the benefit of its people.”

The CMGG was established at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Durban in 1999 to monitor further developments in efforts to settle disputed territory in the Essequibo region. The current ministerial group includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Read the full outcome statement.