7 News Belize

Belize and Guatemala Meet At OAS
posted (May 9, 2013)
The Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala met with the OAS Secretary General yesterday in Washington. A release from the OAS says quote, "Both Ministers agreed on the firm will of their countries in maintaining the Special Agreement to submit the Guatemalan claim to the ICJ."

Now, that special agreement stipulates October 6, 2013 for joint referendums, but the OAS release makes no mention of that date and simply says quote, "they agreed that the Deputy Ministers should meet…as soon as possible," and "once progress is made…they will meet again to set the date for the holding of the referenda."

That seems to suggest that it's "ok" that the Guatemalans unilaterally bailed on the referendum process.

A release from Belize's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says, quote, "The meeting proceeded in a constructive spirit, with both delegations reiterating the need to seek an early resolution to the age old dispute, despite the present obstacles to the holding of the referenda in October 2013." The release adds that "the meeting explored various ways of ensuring that the commitment to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice, as contemplated in the Special Agreement, is maintained and acted upon in the shortest possible time." Again, no timeline, but the Belize release adds that the OAS has agreed to convene a subsequent Ministerial level meeting to confirm the way forward by June 2013.

Both releases refer to strengthening Confidence Building Measures in the interim.

The Belize delegation was led by the Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, his CEO Alexis Rosado, and making an appearance for the first time as opposition representative, former PUP Leader John Briceño.

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