Attorney Melinda Janki has called on President Irfaan Ali to terminate Guyana’s commercial dealings with Israel and prevent oil from this country being shipped there, arguing that stronger action is required in response to Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
In an 11-page letter dated September 9, Janki asked the government to condemn as genocide in Gaza, the bombing of hospitals and schools, the killing and maiming of children and the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians.
She cited findings by United Nations bodies, proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and reports from human rights organisations to support her position. On September 16 last year, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a new report that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Janki acknowledged Israel’s right to protect its citizens but said any action taken in self-defence must comply with international humanitarian and human rights law. In a clarification, she contended that Israel’s right to self defence is limited to attacks on its territory as established by its pre 1967 borders and it does not have a right of self defence in the occupied territories.
She urged the government to demand that Israel comply with the ICJ’s July 2024 advisory opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Among other things, the court said Israel must end its unlawful presence there as rapidly as possible, cease new settlement activity and evacuate settlers from the occupied territory.
Janki’s most far-reaching request was for the government to end all trade with Israel and terminate Israeli business activities in Guyana. She said any such action must comply with local law and protect Israeli citizens here from the unlawful deprivation of their property or other violations of their rights.
She also called for an embargo on Guyana’s oil being sent to Israel and asked the government to secure undertakings from ExxonMobil Guyana Limited and its Stabroek Block partners that crude produced here would not be loaded onto tankers bound for Israel, either directly or through another country.
Janki further proposed legislation prohibiting trade with Israel until the occupation of Palestinian territory ends.
She argued that Guyana could not reliably determine whether imported goods contained materials or labour originating in occupied territory or whether revenues from trade might support the occupation.
The attorney said the measures would be consistent with Guyana’s existing legal and political position.
Janki said Guyana was legally obliged to ensure that it did not recognise Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory as lawful or provide aid which could help to maintain it. She argued that all states had a responsibility to remove impediments to the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Dismantle
She also urged the government to press Israel to dismantle sections of the separation wall constructed within the occupied territory, allow displaced Palestinians to return to their original places of residence and provide reparations for damage caused by actions which breach international law.
According to Janki, reparations should include the return of land, property, assets, cultural material, archives, orchards and olive groves seized from Palestinians. Where restitution was impossible, she said compensation should be paid to the affected individuals and communities.
She contended that the long duration of the occupation had compounded the denial of Palestinian self-determination. Citing the ICJ, Janki said military occupation could not confer ownership of territory or justify its acquisition by force.
The attorney further argued that limiting restrictions to goods produced in Israeli settlements would be insufficient because Guyana could not reliably track the origins of every component in imported products or determine how revenues received by Israeli businesses were ultimately used.
Janki recalled that Ali had previously described the situation in Gaza as “mass extermination” and “a systematic slaughter and displacement” of Palestinian civilians. She said the measures requested in her letter would be consistent with that public position and Guyana’s submissions to the ICJ.
An annex to the letter cited findings issued by a UN commission of inquiry in September 2025 and June 2026 concerning Israel’s conduct in Gaza, including its treatment of children and Palestinian detainees. Janki urged Ali and his government to examine the reports in their entirety.
Guyana recognised Palestine as a state in 2011. In a written submission to the ICJ in July 2023, the government argued that Israel had unlawfully annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, violated the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and was obliged to end its occupation.
Janki also pointed to Articles 37 and 39 of Guyana’s Constitution. Article 37 commits the state to supporting the legitimate aspirations of other peoples for freedom and independence and to conducting foreign relations with respect for human rights, territorial integrity and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Article 39 requires the government and other public institutions to be guided by those principles.
Guyana has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza. In March 2024, while serving on the United Nations Security Council, it abstained on a United States-sponsored resolution because the measure did not unequivocally demand an immediate ceasefire and, according to Guyana’s Permanent Representative Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, failed to assign Israel responsibility for the deaths and destruction in Gaza.
Guyana later supported Palestine’s bid for full membership of the United Nations and has continued to call for compliance with international humanitarian law.
In October 2024, Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd told the Security Council that Guyana was deeply troubled by the conflict and the conditions facing civilians in Gaza, while calling for urgent action by the council.
Janki copied her letter to Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC and Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed. She asked Mohamed to support the proposed measures and to hold the government accountable if it failed to act.
She also requested that Ali confirm whether the government would implement her proposals or explain why it would not.
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