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GOVERNMENT - GENERAL INFORMATION

GOVERNMENT OF BELIZE - WEB PAGE

CONSTITUTION OF BELIZE

GOVERNMENT

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Prime Minister Said Musa has an ambitious plan to encourage economic growth while furthering social-sector development. Belize traditionally maintains a deep interest in the environment and sustainable development. A lack of government resources seriously hampers these goals. On other fronts the Government is working to improve its law enforcement capabilities. A long-running territorial dispute with Guatemala continues although cooperation between the two countries has increased in recent years across a wide spectrum of common interests, including trade and environment. Seeing itself as a bridge, Belize is actively involved with the Caribbean nations of CARICOM, and also has taken steps to work more closely with its Central American neighbors as a new member of SICA.

Members of the independent judiciary are appointed. The judicial system includes local magistrates, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeal. Cases may under certain circumstances be appealed to the Privy Council in London. However, in 2001, Belize joined with most members of CARICOM to campaign for the establishment of a "Caribbean Court of Justice." The country is divided into six districts: Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo.

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FOREIGN RELATIONS OF BELIZE

Belize's principal external concern has been the dispute involving the Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory. This dispute originated in imperial Spain's claim to all "New World" territories west of the line established in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. Nineteenth-century efforts to resolve the problems led to later differences over interpretation and implementation of an 1859 British-Guatemalan treaty intended to establish the boundaries between Guatemala and Belize, then named British Honduras. Guatemala contends that the 1859 treaty is void because the British failed to comply with all of its economic assistance clauses. Neither Spain nor Guatemala ever exercised effective sovereignty over the area.

Negotiations proceeded for many years, including one period in the 1960s in which the U.S. Government sought unsuccessfully to mediate. A 1981 trilateral (Belize, Guatemala, and the United Kingdom) "Heads of Government Agreement" was not implemented due to disagreements. Thus, Belize became independent on September 21, 1981, with the territorial dispute unresolved. Significant negotiations between Belize and Guatemala, with the United Kingdom as an observer, resumed in 1988. Guatemala recognized Belize's independence in 1991 and diplomatic relations were established. Negotiations between Belize and Guatemala resumed on February 25, 2000, in Miami, Florida, but were suspended due to a border incident that occurred February 24, 2000. Further talks were held March 14, 2000, between the two countries at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, DC, in the presence of the OAS Secretary General. Eventually the two parties agreed to establish an "adjacency zone" extending one kilometer on either side of the 1859 treaty line, now designated the "adjacency line," and to continue negotiations aimed at resolving their dispute. The Guatemalan claim remains unresolved, however.

In order to strengthen its potential for economic and political development Belize has sought to build closer ties with the Spanish-speaking countries of Central America to complement its historical ties to the English-speaking Caribbean states. Recent foreign policy initiatives include joining with the other Central American countries in signing the CONCAUSA Agreement on regional sustainable development and becoming a full member of the Central American Integration System (SICA) Belize is a member of CARICOM which was founded in 1973. In 1990, it became a member of the OAS. As a member of CARICOM Belize strongly backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940 designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's de facto authorities from power. The country agreed to contribute military personnel to the Multinational Task Force which restored the democratically elected Government of Haiti in October 1994 and to the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH).

U.S.-BELIZEAN RELATIONS
The United States and Belize traditionally have had close and cordial relations. The United States is Belize's principal trading partner and major source of investment funds and also is home to the largest Belizean community outside Belize, estimated to be 70,000 strong. Because Belize's economic growth and accompanying democratic political stability are important U.S. objectives in a region successfully emerging from a prolonged period of civil strife, Belize benefits from the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Initiative.

International crime issues dominate the agenda of bilateral relations between the U.S. and Belize. The U.S. is working closely with the Government of Belize to fight illicit narcotic trafficking. In 1996, the United States and Belize signed a stolen vehicle treaty, and in 2000 they signed an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT). Both governments seek to control the flow of illegal immigrants to the U.S. through Belize.

The United States is the largest provider of economic assistance to Belize. The United States provided nearly $1 million in assistance to Belize to support its relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Keith, which devastated much of the country in October 2000. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) closed its Belize office in August 1996 after a 13-year program during which it provided $110 million worth of development assistance to Belize. In addition, during the past 34 years, almost 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Belize. Private American investors, who are responsible for some $250 million of investment in Belize, continue to play a key role in Belize's economy, particularly in the tourism sector.

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