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Tonight expectations are high in Guatemala City and Belmopan because on Monday Minister of Foreign Affairs for both countries will take a significant step forward when they sign the compromise, or as it is now called the special agreement. But what is this much talked about and still secret special agreement? It is a document which gives jurisdiction to the International Court of Justice to hear the dispute between Belize and Guatemala, and it dictates the very precise language - in both Spanish and English - for the referendum that would be held on the same day in both Belize and Guatemala. In November, Chief Negotiator Fred Martinez explained it in greater detail.

Fred Martinez, Chief Negotiator
“The special agreement really is the structured form by which both countries will approach the International Court of Justice. One, it sets out that both countries are agreeing to go to court and giving jurisdiction to the court for the specific issue. And the last part of the agreement is that both countries will consult with their people in a referendum which is the most important part in a sense, as with regarding the people. And that’s the referenda will be simultaneous; that is, on the same day in both countries. And the question to be asked of the people is also in that agreement.”

The document will be signed at the OAS main building in Washington DC by Belize’s Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, his Guatemalan counterpart Roger Haroldo Rodas Melgar, as well as Secretary General of the OAS Jose Miguel Insulza. The UDP will be represented by Dianne Haylock and the PUP by Eamon Courtenay. They are also expected to sign diplomatic notes committing both sides to a timeline but that – we are told by sources – is causing some difficulty on the Guatemalan side. And that wrinkle is what’s causing some tension heading into Monday. The signing will be aired live here on Channel 7 at ten in the morning and 7NEWS will also be there in Washington representing.