UN Court to hear border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela

Venezuela has passed a law to create a new state around the oil-rich Essequibo region, which is internationally recognized as part of Guyana. The International Court of Justice in The Hague is hearing arguments about a decades-old border dispute between the two countries. Venezuela rejects an 1899 arbitration ruling on the border and cites a 1966 agreement with the United Kingdom for a negotiated settlement. Guyana brought the case before the ICJ in 2018, while Venezuela does not recognize the court's jurisdiction but is participating in the hearings.