UN Commission acknowledges Caracas objection to Guyana's application

The United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), which is reviewing Guyana s application to extend the Caribbean country s continental shelf, did not dismiss Venezuela s communication objecting Guyana s submission.   

A document that summarizes the progress made in the last session of the CLCS, said that the Commission acknowledged the communication forwarded by Venezuela, as well as Guyana s response on the issue. The CLCS added that the submission will be examined by a subcommission to be established "at a future session." 

"Unless the Commission decides otherwise, the Commission shall function by way of sub-commissions composed of seven members, appointed in a balanced manner taking into account the specific elements of each submission by a coastal State," reads Article 5 of annex II to the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The CLCS president, Mexico' s Galo Carrera Hurtado, will not be part of the subcommission because he advised the Guyanese submission.

The subcommission will review the case and submit its recommendation to the CLCS plenary, which will assess the submission following review of the submissions previously filed with the Commission.

Adolfo Salgueiro, an international law expert, said that the fact that Venezuelan objection has been acknowledged means that Venezuelan diplomacy managed to make the Commission reconsider the case. He described this fact as positive.