§ Mr. Bowen Wellsasked the Lord Privy Seal whether Her Majesty's Government accept that the arbitration award of 1897 between the United Kingdom and Venezuela established the border between British Guyana, now Guyana, and Venezuela for all time and will support Guyana against Venezuela's claim for five-sixths of Guyana up to the River Essequibo.
§ Mr. RidleyHer Majesty's Government maintain their longstanding view that the 1899 award by a tribunal of arbitration, constituted under article I of the 1897 arbitration treaty between the United Kingdom and Venezuela, is valid. The 1966 Geneva agreement, to which Venezuela, Guyana, and the United Kingdom are parties, provides the Governments of Venezuela and Guyana with an appropriate and agreed mechanism for the peaceful resolution of any controversy over the validity of the 1899 arbitral award.