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Property in Belize
Area: 22,965 sq. km (8,867 square miles)
Population: 291,600. (June 2005) Source; Belize Central Statistics Office.
Capital City: Belmopan (population: 8,130 at census of 12 May 2000)
People: Mestizos (Maya/Spanish) 49%, Black Creoles (of African descent) or Caribbean (25%), Maya 11%, European, East Indian and Chinese 9%, and Garifuna 6%.
Language(s): Officially English; however, over half the population speak Spanish and Creole is also widely spoken. There are a number of indigenous languages, such as Garifuna, Maya and Ketchi.
Religion(s): Predominantly Christian; the Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination. Small groups practice Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Bahai.
Currency: Belizean Dollar (BZ\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$). BZ\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$2 equates to US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1.
Major political parties: The People's United Party (PUP), United Democratic Party (UDP).
Government: Two Chamber National Assembly. Senate of 13, 7 appointed by the Prime Minister, 3 by the Leader of the Opposition and one each by the National Trade Union Congress of Civil Society, the Belize Council of Churches and Belize Chamber of Commerce. The Lower House, the House of Representatives has 29 (not including the Speaker) directly elected members serving a five-year term.
Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General.
Prime Minister: Said Musa.
Governor-General: Sir Colville Young.
Foreign Minister: Eamon Courtenay.
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Belize is a member of the United Nations and WTO (World Trade Organisation) and the regional groupings of CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market), SICA (Central American Integration System), OAS (Organisation of American States), Commonwealth, ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific), NAM (Non-Aligned Movement), San Jose Group, Association of Caribbean States (ACS), CDB (Caribbean Development Bank), the World Bank Group, IMF (International Monetary Fund) and IADB (Inter-American Development Bank)
GEOGRAPHYBelize is about the size of Wales. Much of the country is unpopulated forest areas. It lies off the Caribbean coast of Central America, bordering Mexico and Guatemala. It has a well-preserved environment and the world's fifth longest barrier reef and the longest coral reef in the Western Hemisphere (184 miles long) running along the offshore islands (or Cayes).
HISTORY300 to 600 - Belize forms part of the Mayan Empire.
1638 – First record of British settlement in Belize.
1670 – Treaty of Madrid. Spain acknowledges Britain's title to Jamaica and other de facto possessions 'in the West Indies, or any part of America'.
1763 – Treaty of Paris. Spain concedes to Britain the right to cut logwood in the Bay of Honduras but retains claim of sovereignty over Belize.
1786 - Convention of London. Spain extends the area of Britain's logwood concession and Britain gives up her claim to the Mosquito Coast (in what is now Nicaragua).
1798 - Battle of St George's Caye. Decisive naval victory by British settlers against Spain. This was the last time that Spain attempted to gain control of Belize.
1859 – Anglo-Guatemalan Treaty concluded and ratified. Guatemala agrees to existing boundary with British Honduras as Belize was then called.
1862 – The settlement was given colonial status as British Honduras, with a Lieutenant-Governor under the Governor of Jamaica.
1871 – The Crown Colony System of Government was introduced.
1884 - The link with Jamaica was broken and the title of Lieutenant Governor was changed, with a Governor being appointed.
1919 - Beginning of the black independence movement.
1940 – Guatemala declares 1859 Treaty to be invalid.
1954 – George Price elected First Minister of British Honduras.
1964 – Belize became an internally self-governing British colony.
1960s to 1970s – numerous attempts were made to resolve the territorial dispute with Guatemala through negotiations.
1973 – British Honduras reverted to the name of Belize.
From 1975 onwards - successive UN Resolutions endorsed Belize's right to self-determination, independence and territorial integrity.
1981 – On 11 March, Britain, Guatemala and Belize released a Heads of Government Agreement aimed at bringing about a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
1981 - On 21 September, Belize became an independent member of the British Commonwealth recognising HRH Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State.
1984 - The centre-right United Democratic Party (UDP), led by Manuel Esquivel, defeated the centre-left People's United Party (PUP) in elections in December.
1991 – Guatemala recognises the right of the Belizean people to self-determination.
1998 – The PUP led by Said Musa achieved a landslide victory at the general election on 27 August, taking 26 out of 29 seats in the National Assembly.
2003 – The PUP led by Said Musa win 22 of 29 seats in the National Assembly in general elections held on the 5 March. PUP Government therefore wins second term.
Recent HistoryBelize (formerly British Honduras) is the only Commonwealth country in Central America. As a British Dependent Territory, Belize enjoyed internal self-government, with some responsibility for external affairs from 1964 until full independence in 1981. Over three hundred years of history shared with Britain bequeathed her the English language, a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, as well many other state institutions similar to the UK's own.
POLITICSIn the first post-independence elections in 1984, the centre-right United Democratic Party (UDP), led by Manuel Esquivel, defeated the centre-left People's United Party (PUP), which under George Price had dominated national politics for nearly 30 years. Price was returned to power at the 1989 elections, but lost again in 1993 to the UDP. At the 1998 general election , the PUP led by Said Musa achieved a landslide victory. The new Government's agenda was strongly pro-poor and expansionary.
At the 2003 general election, the incumbent PUP government was re-elected for a second consecutive term.It was a second landslide victory for the PUP, winning 22 of the seats in the House of Representatives compared to the UDP's 7 and 53% of the popular vote compared to the UDP‘s 45%. It was also historic: this was the first time a government had been re-elected since independence in 1981.
For the 2003 election, the PUP had campaigned under the theme 'No Turning Back' on a manifesto promising education as the top priority. However, the PUP’s second term has been difficult, with allegations of corruption and poor macro-economic management.
In January and April 2005 the Government faced violent protests and civil disturbances.
These culminated in a riot in Belize City on 20 April 2005 when 27 people were injured and 100 arrested.
The government's financial problems continue, the budget deficit has not been bridged and the country's credit ratings have decreased. The government is in discussion with the IMF and economic adjustments are being made. The next general election is due in Belize before June 2008.
Local elections were held on 1 March 2006 in the first test of voter attitudes since the 2003 elections. The ruling PUP party controlled six Councils before the election but the opposition United Democratic Party (UPD) swept to power in all of the nine City and Municipal Councils. The result is the first major defeat for Said Musa since he became Prime Minister.
ECONOMYThe small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on agriculture, including agro-based industry (sugar refining and citrus processing), forestry and fishing . Sugar, the chief crop, accounts for nearly half of exports, while the banana industry is the country's largest employer. The production of oranges, which accounts for the largest acreage cultivated, grew strongly in 2004 and 2005. Tourism, construction and marine products are assuming greater importance and tourism is now the largest foreign currency earner, having overtaken agriculture. Protecting the natural and historical environment will be critical to the sustainability of Belize’s tourism industry.
There has been exploration for oil in Belize for over 50 years but it is only now that technology makes its extraction viable. One company; Belize Natural Energy (BNE) has been exploring for oil in Central Belize and has recently confirmed that it has found an oil field containing 10 million barrels of sweet crude oil.
GDP grew by 3.1% in 2005 as the policy environment tightened somewhat in an effort to reduce pressure on the international reserves. Growth was led by services with tourism playing a key role in the expansion of distributive trade, transport & communications as well as the continued growth in hotel and restaurant activity. Activity in fisheries also heightened as a result of developments in shrimp and Tilapia farming. New employment opportunities were largely concentrated in community, social, communications and tourism services and these helped to cut the unemployment rate from 11.6% to 11.0% in the face of a 2.1% increase in the labour force. The consumer price index rose by 3.7% in response to hikes in prices for petroleum and other imports as well as increases in water rates and government taxes designed to improve the fiscal performance.
In 2006, growth in the economy is likely to range between 2.0% and 3.0% as fiscal and monetary policies are tightened in a tactical way to slow consumption and improve the external current account position. Inflation is expected to rise to approximately 4.5% with the implementation of the General Sales Tax, high fuel prices at the pump and hikes in electricity rates. The export sector is expected to perform well with the advent of crude oil exports and higher earnings from citrus products, sugar and and papaya driving up value of domestic exports by at least 12.0%. On the other hand, there are some concerns for the banana industry, which will be subject to the new and less favourable EU import regime. Its performance in 2006 will be a good indicator of the future viability of that industry.
For the first five months of 2006, gross imports (including electricity) rose by \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$88.4 mn (18.4%) to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$567.4 mn. At the end of May 2006 the gross official international reserves stood at \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$167.1 mn, up by \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$24.5 mn since the end of December 2005.
After strong growth in recent years, the tourism industry slipped into moderate growth with stay-over tourist arrivals, the lifeblood of the industry, rising by 3.0% to 227,036, while cruise ship visitors declined by 6.0% to 720,298 disembarkations partly due to the negative impact of the highly active hurricane season. Between January and May 2006 approximately 115,120 stay-over tourists visited Belize while 307,558 cruise ship arrivals were registered for the same period. The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) continued its marketing efforts at shows in the USA and in Europe. Through its relationship with the Sistema de Integracion Centro Americana (SICA), the BTB has also been seeking to gain greater exposure in the European market by developing ties with European tour operators that deal with the Central American region.
The Government announced in July 2006 that they would not be able to meet debt payments to external creditors and were seeking to reschedule the countries external debt. They hoped that the process would be complete by the end of 2006, but face a difficult task given that most of the creditors are private investors holding bonds. The Government have indicated that they will be seeking the support of the IMF and other institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the Commonwealth Development Bank. The country currently owes nearly US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1 Billion and has foreign currency reserves of only US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$45 million equal to less than one months import cover.
The current public pre-occupation is with the stability of the peg which stands at BZ\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$2 to US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1. Many fear that if the peg becomes unstable then the prices could spiral given the high level of foreign imports. There is no indication at present however that the peg is in danger of slipping.’
Basic Economic FactsGDP: 2.121 bn (2004) 2.148 bn (2005)
GDP per head: U.S. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$3,611 (2003) U.S. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$3,620 (2005)
Annual growth: 4.2% (2004) 3.1% (2005)
Inflation: 3.1% (2004) 3.7% (2005)
Major industries: sugar, citrus concentrates, bananas, marine products, garments, tourism.
Major trading partners: USA, EU, Mexico, CARICOM (Caribbean Community).
Exchange rate: Bz \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$3.5 to £1 approx.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSBelize's Relations with NeighboursWhen Guatemala became independent in 1821, it claimed it had inherited the previous Spanish claim to the Southern part of Belize. Belize became self-governing in 1964. From 1975 successive UN resolutions endorsed Belize's right to self-determination, independence and territorial integrity. In 1981 Belize became an independent state recognised by all nations except Guatemala. As relations improved, Guatemala recognised Belize as a sovereign and independent state in September 1991, though maintaining a territorial claim on Belize.
Since 2000, Belize and Guatemala have held a series of meetings under the auspices of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in an attempt to resolve the territorial dispute through peaceful negotiation. On 8 November 2000, Belize and Guatemala signed an Agreement on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) which provided a framework for managing disagreements and preventing incidents in the Adjacency Zone (Buffer Zone extending 1 kilometre east and west of the border line).
Two OAS sponsored facilitators, one each appointed by Belize and Guatemala, presented comprehensive recommendations to the Governments of Belize and Guatemala on 16 September 2002, proposing how the dispute could be settled and calling for referendums within 60 days of an agreement being signed. Both governments made the proposals public on 17 September. Although the Belize government publicly supported the recommendations, the Guatemalan government felt it could not.
Since then the Governments of Belize and Guatemala have been working with the OAS to secure an agreement to extend the CBMs as well as a process for maintaining the OAS facilitators' recommendations. Both Governments signed an agreement at the OAS Headquarters in Washington on 7 February 2003 covering these two issues. In late August 2003 Guatemala officially notified the OAS it could not accept the recommendations as they stood, citing constitutional difficulties. In the meantime the OAS established a 'Group of Friends' to encourage Belize and Guatemala to resolve their dispute. The UK agreed to become a member of the 'Group of Friends' on 1 September 2003.
The OAS continues to facilitate discussions between the two sides. In September 2005 a Framework for Negotiation and Confidence Building Measures agreement was signed by Belize and Guatemala. The Framework for Negotiation agrees that both sides, with OAS facilitation, will meet every 45 days and look to resolve the issues subject to dispute. If the Secretary General of the OAS determines at any stage it is not possible to agree on some issues then he will recommend those are submitted to independent arbitration. The Confidence Building Measures aim to build confidence between both sides, particularly in the Adjacency Zone.
Belize's Relations with the International CommunityBelize is a member of the Commonwealth, UN and OAS. It has strong ties with English-speaking Caribbean states through its membership of CARICOM and has sought to strengthen ties with its neighbours in Central America through its membership of SICA.
HUMAN RIGHTSBelize has ratified the following international human rights treaties:
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination; Convention on the Rights of the Child; Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women; Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Belize is also a Party to the American Convention on Human Rights and has accepted the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights based in San José.
UK Support for Human RightsThe UK has supported a campaign to promote women's human rights in Belize and helped to set up the National Aids Commission in Belize, which HRH The Princess Royal opened in April 2001. We continue to lobby Belize for abolition of the death penalty. Belize has had a moratorium in place since 1985. We have also supported the creation of a Human Rights Centre in Belize.
Past Human Rights AbusesThe Belize Government generally has a good human rights record. There have been some alleged cases of excessive use of force including murder, arbitrary arrest and detention by the Police, but these are the exception. Prison conditions are poor, though improving under the private not-for-profit management of the KOLBE Foundation. There are some concerns regarding the rights of children and women, despite national education and awareness campaigns.
HEALTHOverall health conditions in Belize compare favourably with neighbouring Central American countries, though still poor. The government is the main provider of health services which include the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, a national referral hospital in Belize City, three regional and three district/community hospitals, approximately 40 health centres, 30 health posts and a mental health facility. A major reform of the health sector, including reorganisation of services, infrastructure development and financing is currently underway. Services provided by these facilities are complemented by national programmes for maternal and child health, environmental public health and water safety inspection, health promotion education and nutrition, dental health, communicable disease control and HIV/AIDS. The leading cause(s) of death in Belize is (are) heart disease, secondary to diabetes, hypertension and road traffic accidents, followed by high blood pressure and HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed in Belize in 1986. Since then, there has been an increase in incidence (rates) every year, and has now reached epidemic proportions. UNAIDS estimate there is a 2.01 percent prevalence rate of HIV in Belize which would rank the country as one of the highest in Central America and ninth in the Caribbean. The national AIDS Commission estimates that there are approximately 7000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Belize producing a 4% infection rate.
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