Guyana has asked the International Court of Justice (ICI) to rule that Venezuela does not have a legitimate claim on the Esequibo region, a potentially oil-rich region that has been the subject of a dispute between the two countries since colonial days. Guyana's Foreign Minister, Hugh Hilton Todd, stated that Venezuela's "unlawful" claim to more than 70% of the country's territory could threaten peace and security, and halt development. The ICJ, the United Nations' top court, has been hearing the case in the Netherlands and is set to confirm the border in an 1899 arbitration between Venezuela and the then-censure of British Guiana. A final judgment on the case is months away.