AgreementsHome  Peace Fund Belize and Guatemala |
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| Belize and Guatemala | |||
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| Background | |||
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| The governments of Belize and Guatemala restarted talks on their longstanding territorial differendum in March, 2000 under the auspices of the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS). Jointly, Belize and Guatemala appointed a Panel of Facilitators to help guide the negotiating process. As a result of this process, in February 2003, the Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala signed an “Agreement to Establish a Transition Process and Confidence-Building Measures” between the two countries, which was later amended in September 2005 in the “Agreement on a Framework for Negotiations and Confidence-Building Measures between Belize and Guatemala”. Under this Agreement an Adjacency Zone between the two countries was established and the OAS opened an Office in the area to implement confidence-building measures. Since then, the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone has carried out a series of activities that have substantially eased tensions; it has fostered community development; it has prevented the escalation of conflicts through verification missions and reporting of incidents; it has supported the armed forces; and it has successfully executed community resettlement projects, such as Santa Rosa Community and the Nueva Juda Resettlement Projects. In 2003, the Secretary General of the OAS, at the request of the governments of Belize and Guatemala, established a broadly representative Group of Friends of the Belize-Guatemala Transition Process (the “Group of Friends”), consisting of OAS Member and Observer States, and others interested in supporting a peaceful resolution to the territorial differendum. The Group of Friends acts as an advisory body to the Secretary General and provides political and operational support for undertaking the various activities contemplated under the “Agreement to Establish a Transition Process and Confidence Building Measures between Belize and Guatemala”. Some members of the Group of Friends provide financial assistance for the activities undertaken under the Transition Process and Confidence Building Measures, by means of contributions to the Belize-Guatemala sub-fund of the Fund for Peace. |
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| Current Status |
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| On December 8, 2008, the Governments of Belize and Guatemala, acting on the recommendation of OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, signed the “Special Agreement to Submit Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular, and Maritime Claim to the International Court of Justice”. Pursuant to the countries´ respective national systems and constitutional requirements, the Special Agreement has to be submitted to referendum to be approved. On April 27, 2012, the Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala agreed that the single-issue simultaneous referenda to submit Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime claim to the International Court of Justice would be held on Sunday, October 6, 2013. Thanks to the support of the OAS through the Peace Fund, Belize and Guatemala are closer than ever to finding a permanent solution to their centuries-old conflict. |
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| Recent Activities |
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On April 27th 2012, delegations from Belize and Guatemala, headed by their respective Foreign Ministers, Wilfred Elrington and Harold Caballeros, met with OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, at the headquarters of the OAS to determine the date on which the simultaneous single issue referenda will take place in both countries in compliance with the Special Agreement between Belize and Guatemala to submit Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime claim to the International Court of Justice. The Ministers agreed that the simultaneous referenda will take place on October 6, 2013. On March 3, 2012, as part of his tour of three Caribbean countries, in celebration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, Prince Harry of Wales visited the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone to observe the culture of peace program where children of Belize and Guatemala showcased the artwork and musical skills that they have acquired through this initiative. On February 29, 2012, an operational coordination meeting between the Belize Defense Forces (BDF) and the Guatemalan Army is going to be held at the OAS/AZ Mission. These meetings are held every three months under the auspices of the OAS to exchange information on the situation in the Adjacency Zone and to inform about the most recent activities and patrols carried out by the respective armies in the area. On February 11, 2012, an OAS delegation headed by Ambassador Raul Lago, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Belize and Guatemala visited the Monte de los Olivos village to deliver large sacks of rice, beans, oil and other basic goods to the family of a Guatemalan citizen of Kekchi origin who recently died during an incident in the Adjacency Zone. On January 29, 2012, the Director of the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone, Sergio Benitez, and the Chief of the OAS Peace Fund, Magdalena Talamas, carried out a verification in Belize´s Chiquibul National Park with the accompaniment of Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director of the Belizean NGO Friends for Conservation and Development, and Derric Chan, Manager of the Park, to observe the increasing damages that the Park is suffering as a result of illegal logging and extraction of natural resources. The OAS, through its Office in the Adjacency Zone, is identifying opportunities for joint collaboration to mitigate the effects of these activities on this priceless natural reserve. On January 25, 2012, shortly after assuming their new duties, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Harold Caballeros, together with the Minister of Defense, Ulises Anzueto, travelled to the Adjacency Zone, accompanied by the Belize Commission (COMBEL) of the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry. As part of their visit to the AZ, the delegation visited the OAS Office, where they were greeted by the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ambassador Raul Lago. The Director of the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone, Sergio Benitez, made a presentation on the work of the Mission. From June to November, 2011, in coordination with the Mayors of the communities on both sides of the Adjacency Line between Belize and Guatemala , Melchor de Menco and Benque Viejo, the OAS/AZ Office will execute a culture of peace program. The program will consist of music (wind and string instruments), singing, painting and theater workshops and training programs for Belizean and Guatemalan students resident in the area. On May 25th, 2011, the Belize Defense Forces (BDF) hosted the tripartite trimestral Operational Coordination Meeting between the BDF and the Guatemalan Army with the participation of the Director of the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Belize-Guatemala Affairs, Ambassador Raul J. Lago, and the Chief of the OAS Peace Fund. The meeting took place at the Windy Hill Hotel in San Ignacio Belize and was presided by Coronel Javier Castellanos, Deputy Commander of the Belize Defense Force. On May 5th, 2011, the General Secretariat of the OAS convened a meeting of the Group of Friends of Belize and Guatemala in the Main Building of the OAS, in Washington DC. The OAS Secretary General provided an overview of the most recent advances with regard to the negotiation process. Likewise, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Belize-Guatemala briefed the participants on the activities implemented by the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone, and also discussed future activities aimed at implementing confidence building measures between the two countries. On March 9, 2010, Representatives of Belize and Guatemala met in Belize City, Belize under the auspices of the OAS to put in effect a High Level Working Group to promote a direct and continuous line of communication between both countries on the situation in the Adjacency Zone, as well as to examine issues of common concern, and to advance on pending bilateral matters. On December 16, 2009, at the invitation of Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, the foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala, Wilfred Elrington and Roger Haroldo Rodas Melgar, met at OAS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to discuss opportunities that will help bring even closer the governments and people of Belize and Guatemala. As a result of the meeting, and following a proposal by the OAS Secretary General, it was decided that a high level working group would be created to further facilitate the efficiency in the fulfillment of the Confidence-Building Measures and the possibility of carrying out joint projects of cooperation in the framework of the OAS. On December 8, 2009, in Santa Elena, Guatemala, the General Secretariat of the OAS facilitated a Technical Meeting between delegations of Belize and Guatemala who met to discuss environmental and security concerns in the Adjacency Zone. The program “Promoting a Culture of Peace” concluded on October 16, 2009. With support from the Federal Republic of Germany, this program enrolled more than 300 Belizean and Guatemalan students in music (wind and string instruments), singing, painting, and theater classes. The classes were held in the facilities of the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone and at the Cultural Center of Benque Viejo, Belize. The initiative was coordinated by the Mayors of Melchor de Menco and Benque Viejo. The closing ceremony was a cultural event attended by members of the Diplomatic Corps and NGOs of Belize and Guatemala, officials of the two countries, and the Secretary General’s representative for Belize–Guatemala affairs. Belizean and Guatemalan schools participated, with a total of 1,800 students. Rural Tourism as an Income Generator The Peace Fund in coordination with the YABT and the government of Israel provide scholarships, one for a Belizean citizen and one for a Guatemalan citizen, to be trained in rural tourism at the Golda Meir International Center – Mount Carmel of Israel. “The Small Business of Rural Tourism as an Income Generator Course” was held from July 26th to August 12th, 2009 in Haifa, Israel. |
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RELEVANT TREATIES
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| Video Gallery |
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Culture of Peace Video
OAS Report Card Presented Date: December 10, 2010 Music Workshop to Promote a Culture of Peace in the Belize-Guatemala Adjacency Zone Date: October 16, 2009 The closing ceremony of the program to Promote Culture of Peace Date: October 16, 2009 Signing of Special Agreement between Belize and Guatemala Date: December 8, 2008 - 11:00 AM Place: Hall of Heroes, OAS Building Washington, DC Signing of the agreement through which Belize and Guatemala will formally accept the recommendation from the Secretary General José Miguel Insulza to submit the territorial differendum to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. (7'02'') Press Conference: Belize and Guatemala ministers to meet at OAS Date: February 10, 2006 - 12.10 PM Place: Headquarters Washington DC Remarks by OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, Ambassador Assad Shoman, Chief Negotiator with Ministerial Rank of Belize and Jorge Briz, Foreign Minister of Guatemala (14') |
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