Ramphal launches new book on maritime border dispute between Guyana and Suriname
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| Published on Monday, September 22, 2008 |
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By Oscar Ramjeet
Caribbean Net News Special Correspondent
Email: oscar@caribbeannetnews.com
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Sir Shridath Ramphal, former Foreign Affairs Minister of Guyana, has launched yet another book. This time is on the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) which dealt with the maritime border dispute between Guyana and Suriname.
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| Sir Shridath Ramphal |
At the launching of the new book, titled "Triumph for UNCLOS", on Saturday night in Georgetown, Guyana, Sir Shridath credited the maritime award handed down by ITLOS "with ushering the two countries into a new era of neighbourliness and co-operation."
He added, "Thanks to UNCLOS and to the rule of law it imposes, disputes settlement by peaceful means was mandatory, and justice and equity prevailed."
Ramphal emphasised that the award served the peace of the world. It conclusively blocked the emergence of any large and dangerous hole in the fundamental rule of international law.
The Stabroek News, which covered the launching, said Sir Shridath explained that it prohibited the use of force in maritime areas no less than in territorial ones. The real winner, Ramphal said, was the system of international law that brought the two countries to the arbitration tribunal and to the peaceful resolution of their maritime dispute.
Ramphal spearheaded Guyana's campaign after it initiated arbitration proceedings at the ITLOS for the delineation of its maritime boundary with Suriname and it asked that Suriname's use of threat and force against a CGX rig in June 2000 be declared a breach of international law. Both Guyana and Suriname are parties to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The tribunal awarded a favourable ruling on Guyana last September and Ramphal said, although the arbitral process took three years to complete, at the end of the process it ensured that 31,000 square kilometers of maritime space would be open for oil exploration that would benefit the region and the rest of the world.
Sir Shridath is the author of many books. On October 3 he will celebrate his 80th birthday when the Ramphal Centre will be opened at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, where he worked for 15 years as Secretary General. His tenure was marked by his advocacy for the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and his strong opposition to apartheid in South Africa.
Ramphal is also known as a man of awards, having obtained the highest awards from 28 countries. He has also received honourary doctorates from three universities including the University of the West Indies. | | | | Reads : 203 |
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