Topic: 2024-The Situation in Guyana
Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Liem Krueger
Special Political Committee
The Situation in Guyana
The Republic of South Africa
Liem Krueger
Forest Hills Eastern High School
The Essequibo border region is a large forested area which is a combination of highlands, savannas, and low coastal plains, but it is primarily hinterland forests. This region encompasses two thirds of present-day Guyana. Christopher Columbus discovered the Guyanese coast in the late 15th century, and Spain subsequently claimed most of northern South America including Guyana. However, the Dutch were the first people to settle in the area and established the first settlement in 1616. They began to import enslaved people to grow sugarcane. Control of Guyana shifted around multiple times throughout the late 18th century mostly between Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands. Great Britain acquired control of Demerara, Berbice, and Guyana in 1814 from the Netherlands, at the London Convention in 1814, but the treaty did not set a western boundary. In 1831, Great Britain united their possessions and the Spanish and Dutch possessions into one territory. British explorer Robert Hermann Schomburgk was commissioned in 1835 by the British government to explore British Guiana. He believed that the borders of the colony should be made by survey at the end of his mission in 1839. Great Britain sent him back to Guyana in 1841 to set a boundary which was known as the Schomburgk Line, and it incorporated the Essequibo region into Guyana. Venezuela, who had gained independence from Spain, disputed the border claiming that it encroached on their land. Venezuela enlisted the help of the U.S to prohibit European involvement in the Americas with their passing of the Monroe Doctrine. In 1899, an international tribunal (one Russian, two American, and two British judges) awarded Britain with control of the Essequibo region and Venezuela with land at the base of the Orinoco Basin. Venezuela unhappily agreed to the treaty, the Paris Arbitral Award. A recent discovery of oil in this area resparked disputes between Guyana and Venezuela (Guyana gained independence in 1966). South Africa is worried about the matter and is working with the ICJ (International Court of Justice) to resolve the issue.
South Africa faces the issue of large gas and oil companies trying to obtain rights to explore gas and oil deposits in seabeds off of the South African coast. Recently, a judicial panel of three judges ordered Shell and its South African affiliate, Impact Africa, to stop exploring the coast for oil because they did not properly consult the residents about the project. However, there is still the pending issue of another large oil company stepping in and obtaining those rights through lobbying. South Africa is the largest consumer of oil in Africa and heavily relies on imports from the Middle East. Almost all of the country’s oil reserves are offshore. South Africa is facing an energy crisis and has embraced fossil fuel use even though they are committed to green energy. The victory against oil company expansion is a rare one, however, as South Africa has historically favored oil development over environmental efforts.
South Africa proposes the solution of allotting each country their needed amount of oil for the foreseeable future and expediting the remaining oil to countries in need of fuel including us. Therefore, the oil can be distributed in a manner which is the most beneficial on a global scale. Guyana and Venezuela can both have their own vast amounts of oil and make money by expediting the gallons of oil that they don’t need to other countries which need it. Finally, it would resolve the dispute over which country would have possession because all they care about is the oil reserves. Once the oil is distributed, the conflict over territory would likely settle.
Extra info: Britain, Portugal, and Germany set up frontiers on modern South African states in 1890 and 1891.
Works Cited
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/world/africa/south-africa-shell-oil.html#:~:text=South%20Africa%20is%20the%20largest,its%20proven%20reserves%20are%20offshore.
https://unctad.org/news/africas-rise-global-supply-chain-force-unctad-report
https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/38906-south-african-supply-chain-disruptions-far-from-over-pwc-says
https://www.britannica.com/place/Essequibo
