19. Mr. President, since this is my first intervention, permit me to offer you my congratulations on your election to the post of President of the General Assembly at its twenty-first session. We are confident that, with the wealth of your experience and tact, you will guide the deliberations of this Assembly to fruitful and gratifying achievements.
20. My delegation also desires to pay its tribute to the Vice-Presidents who, with you, will guide the affairs of this Organization during this session. May I also add my high appreciation of the great work of the Secretary-General, His Excellency U Thant.
21. May I also take this opportunity to welcome Botswana and Lesotho which only yesterday took their seats in this Assembly. My Government is happy to see that, with this event, the United Nations is moving nearer to universality. Again, permit me to express my nation's gratitude to all those countries which have welcomed Guyana with such gracious sentiments to this Organization. In a world as harsh as ours, we need all the friendship we can get.
22. The representatives who have come to this rostrum before me have all spoken with passion and concern about the many serious problems facing mankind today. That they have done so underlines the fact that, in this twentieth century, all countries and all peoples are inextricably involved in common issues, and that, as a consequence of the remarkable development of communications between nations and countries, any event affecting any nation or State must be looked upon as one affecting all nations and all States. In his statement to this Assembly on Tuesday, 20 September 1966 [1409th meeting], upon Guyana's admission to membership, my Prime Minister spoke about Guyana’s position on the main problems now occupying the thoughts of the representatives of the nations of the world. As he said on that occasion, ours is a small country populated by indigenous Amerindians, descendants of African slaves and indentured Indians — who make up the bulk of the people — and of Chinese, Portuguese and others. The presence of all these, except the first, in our part of the world is due to that economic and political process: imperialism. With such a background it is easy to understand why our aspirations are similar to those of the new nations, determined to make use of every opportunity to improve the life of our people; and this is our constant preoccupation as we play our part, however small, in the affairs of men. To this end we devote much effort to the development and maintenance of regional co-operation and the building of a strong, viable Caribbean community.
23. From our position we see the imbalance between the rich and poor countries as one of the greatest threats to international stability and therefore peace. In this connexion, I wish to bring to the Assembly's attention the introduction to the report of the Economic and Social Council [A/6303] which put in striking form the nature of the problem we have to face in this area of our activities. In this introduction, the President of the Economic and Social Council said that in the course of its work during the year the Council brought into relief the most disquieting element in the current situation of the "third world" when it spoke of its concern at the slowing down of international aid. Discussions on the problems, he said, threw the harshest and most revealing light on the fact that international aid is stagnating while the already affluent countries continue to gi*ow richer, despite the endeavours of the General Assembly to link these two elements.
24. As the President of the Economic and Social Council said:
"The resolution adopted by the Council shows clearly that we are confronted, not with the irony of fate, but with the will of men. It should provide a stimulus to leaders, both in the countries capable of providing aid and in those requiring It, whose own efforts are still, as has been rightly stressed, the essential condition of progress. The Council's resolution on the financing of development, as well as that adopted on the question of multilateral food aid, should make the countries of the North more sensible of their obligations to intensify their assistance, and the countries of the South more keenly desirous of making the best use both of their own resources and of external aid, and it should make the institutions, organizations and associations of the United Nations more conscious of their responsibility for promoting solidarity between the hemispheres and progress everywhere." [Ibid., p. xi.]
These words speak for themselves.
25. There is a matter to which my delegation feels compelled to make reference. On the occasion of Guyana's admission to this Assembly, the representative of Venezuela made reference to his country's claim to a portion of Guyana. During the course of this general debate, the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, in his statement of 30 September [1424th meeting], referred to this controversy. My delegation also feels it necessary to acquaint representatives in this body with the present position.
26. In 1899, an arbitral award was made by an international tribunal defining the boundary of Venezuela and Guyana. On the eve of our independence, the Venezuelan Government sought to reopen the claim, expressing the view that the tribunal acted fraudulently and basing this allegation on a posthumous document. The terms of reference under which the tribunal was appointed set out that the award should be full, final and perfect. My Government has respected the findings of that tribunal and has always regarded this issue as res judicata.
27. Early this year, my Government agreed to meet in Geneva with the Governments of Venezuela and the United Kingdom to have conversations concerning the controversy between our two territories over the frontier of Guyana. As a result of these conversations, an agreement was entered into with the Governments of Venezuela and the United Kingdom, in consultation with my Government, an agreement to which my Government became a party upon the attainment of
independence. Under this agreement, a mixed commission comprising two representatives of each of our two countries was appointed, with the task of seeking a practical solution to these claims. This commission met on two occasions, once in Caracas, when the Guyanese members of the commission travelled by regular commercial transport; and the second time in Georgetown, when the Venezuelan members arrived in the port of Georgetown on board a Venezuelan warship, Almirante Orion. This meeting was held shortly before Guyana's entry into this Organization. On 30 September, the Foreign Minister of Venezuela said in this Assembly;
"Venezuela trusts that good faith in the fulfilment of the provisions of the Geneva Agreement will lead to a definitive settlement of these differences in conformity with Justice and law." [1424th meeting, para. 117.]
28. It is with regret, therefore, that I bring to the attention of the Assembly the fact that a few days ago it came to the attention of my Government that a number of Venezuelan officials have intruded upon Guyana's territory on Ankoko Island in the Cuyuni river as defined on a map in existence since 1904, and are carrying out certain works in our territory without the permission or consent of my Government. My Government feels that this intrusion by Venezuela constitutes a breach of the Geneva agreement entered into by the United Kingdom and Venezuela on 17 February 1966, to which my Government is now a party.
29. My Government views this action with concern, but proposes to abide by the terms of the Geneva agreement, and it is hoped that the Government of Venezuela will do the same. My Government has sent a note to the Foreign Minister of Venezuela and hopes to settle this controversy in a peaceful manner.
30. We adhere to the principles of the Charter of this Organization and will seek only peaceful means in solving all questions.
31. I desire to reaffirm that my Government maintains the friendliest relations with all our neighbours.