Secretariat for Political Affairs

Fund for Peace

Fund for Peace: Peaceful Settlement of Territorial Disputes

When the countries of the Hemisphere established the Organization of American States in 1948 they proclaimed in its founding Charter that one of its essential purposes would be“to prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the Member States.”

Acting upon that premise, the General Assembly of the OAS, meeting in Windsor, Canada in June 2000, created the Fund for Peace: Peaceful Settlement of Territorial Disputes, through AG/RES.1756 (XXX-O/00).

Since then, the OAS Fund for Peace, as it is most commonly known, has served to provide a pool of immediately available funds to enable the Organization to react swiftly to an unforeseen crisis resulting from a territorial dispute between two or more Member States. The funds are also used by the General Secretariat to strengthen its knowledge and experience in the field of territorial dispute settlements.

Highlights

Through the Peace Fund, the OAS provides technical and political support to Belize and Guatemala regarding their territorial dispute. This has been accomplished through efforts of conciliation and mediation and actions aimed towards promoting the implementation of peace building measures, as stated in the "Agreement on a Framework for Negotiations and Confidence-Building Measures between Belize and Guatemala" signed on September 7, 2005.

In addition, the OAS Adjacency Zone local office performs verifications and activities to provide support to institutions of Belize and Guatemala, including the armed forces. Programs are being executed to promote the integration of communities located in this Zone, such as relocation program, among others.