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BELIZE – GUATEMALA FACILITATION PROCESS

  September 30, 2002

Delegations from Belize and Guatemala, headed by their respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Assad Shoman and H.E. Gabriel Orellana Rojas, met at OAS Headquarters in Washington D.C. on September 30, 2002, with the Panel of Facilitators, and the Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States.

Considering that the confidence-building measures in place under the Facilitation Process have been successful in promoting the exercise of caution and restraint and avoiding incidents on the ground, the Facilitators recommended that the Parties extend all confidence-building measures and mechanisms agreed since the beginning of the Facilitation Process in March of 2000.

The Parties agreed to hold a technical level meeting to be followed by a Ministerial-level meeting, both in the month of October, 2002, to review and update the confidence-building measures as they deem necessary.

The Assistant Secretary General proposed the creation of a Group of Friends of the Secretary General on the Belize-Guatemala Differendum. The Group’s purpose would be to sustain the support of the international community for the implementation of the Facilitators’ Proposals, as demonstrated during a ceremony marking the conclusion of the Belize-Guatemala Facilitation Process, held at OAS Headquarters earlier in the day.

Reference: E-192/02