Last night, we told you about the Senate Meeting scheduled for tomorrow at the National Assembly in Belmopan. It's stirring up controversy because of a government motion to ratify the treaty known as the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards by Belize.
Some in the UDP argue that this is a fulfilment of the Ashcroft Alliance agenda - since the Belize Bank has a pending multi million dollar arbitral award against the government of Belize.
Seeking to still the waters, and put the minds of a wary public at ease, this evening, a Government press release explained that Belize recognized this convention back in October of 1980, before Independence, and has consented to its continued applicability in September 1982. But, the release adds, Belize is one of only 33 countries that has failed to formally ratify the agreement.
The Government says that the purpose for formal ratification, apart from fulfilling Belize's international obligations, is to facilitate the possibility of a debt-for-conservation related transaction. The Briceno Administration says that ratification by the senate was in process before the November General Elections. Well, today, the former Attorney General Mike Peyrefitte told us, quote "Ratification was NEVER in the process under our government….That's a lie."
He'll have his chance to say his part when it is debated in the Senate tomorrow, when the government side says that it is also looking forward to describing and debating the importance of this convention.
