Seven months ago, we reported on the most recent compliance hearing, which the Caribbean Court of Justice held to get updates from both the Government of Belize and the Maya of Southern Belize.
In the last seven years, the highest court in the land has hosted these hearings periodically to get regular updates. They are keeping a close eye on the progress to turn their 2015 Maya Communal Land rights ruling from the principles of a court judgment into an actual land ownership system recognized and respected by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The next implementation stage is the endorsement of the FPIC Protocol, which is short for Free Prior Informed Consent - or Consultation, depending on who you ask. Also, the communities are in the process of mapping out their boundaries and signing boundary treaties with their neighbors in a process that is known as auto-delimitation.
Today's compliance hearing before the CCJ lasted about 2 hours, and the two sides discussed multiple topics of disagreement. For tonight's newscast, we focus, however, on the objection that the Mayan Claimants have raised against the Government. They assert that the Government is considering not renewing its contract with Professor Rosa Celorio, the Dispute Resolution Authority. She is the expert who has acted as a sort of referee between the Government and the Maya of Southern Belize whenever any dispute emerges.
Here's a snippet of the conversation between the judges and the attorneys representing the litigants when Leslie Mendez voiced the disagreement of the Maya people on the Government's intended decision:
Mendez noted to the court that the Government was suggesting they engaged with Professor Celorio on an "ad hoc" basis, which they don't think is satisfactory.
During today's hearing, the court learned that 25 of the Maya communities in Toledo have consented to the auto-delimitation. Also, 15 communities have signed inter-boundary agreements. The other communities are in various stages of negotiation and harmonization.
In other news about the Maya Community Land issue, the Government announced this evening that the Ministry of Economic Development signed agreements with residents of Santa Rosa.
A press release from GOB says, quote, "...eligible residents of Santa Rosa Village in the Stann Creek District gave their written "YES" to the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Agreement and the Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP). The agreement indicates that Santa Rosa Village has given its consent for the Resilient Rural Belize (RRB) Programme to commence work in the community." End quote.
