Guyana has concluded the ratification of the treaty for cooperation with Barbados in the overlap of their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) with the approval of Parliament yesterday.
Members of Parliament endorsed the conclusion and enforcement of the Guyana/ Barbados EEZ Cooperation Treaty, in a sitting that was boycotted by members of the PNCR. The endorsement of the treaty, which has already been ratified by Barbados, guarantees that it will come into force in 30 days.
The Treaty, which follows recent weeks of tension between Trinidad and Barbados over fishing rights off the coast of Tobago, was signed last December by President Bharrat Jagdeo and Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur in London. It provides for the joint regulation of activities in the zone, including resource extraction from the waters and the seabed of the area.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Rudy Insanally, who moved the motion, told the Assembly that the treaty is not a Maritime Delimitation Agreement. Rather, it is only a guideline for joint cooperation between both countries and does not prejudice a final delimitation agreement. However, he pointed out, it does indicate to the international community that the two countries have common maritime territory.
He said this was a fact both Trinidad and Venezuela have ignored, citing the 14-year-old Maritime Delimita-tion Agreement which is one of the issues at the centre of the row between Port-of-Spain and Bridgetown.
Guyana and Barbados have protested the Trinidad/ Venezuela agreement which they say infringes on their maritime rights. Guyana has repeatedly complained to both governments and lodged an official complaint with the UN Secretary General in August last year.
According to the Guyana/Barbados agreement, both countries have also committed themselves to environmentally responsible resource management and sustainable development of living and nonliving natural resources in the zone. Both governments have said that no third country's legitimate rights are affected by the treaty, which they say is in conformity with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The treaty will come into force 30 days after it is ratified and registered with the secretary-generals of the United Nations and Caricom. (Andre Haynes)