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Guatemalan territorial claim to Belize has adversely affected
the security and development of Belize for decades. A boundary
treaty was concluded between Britain and Guatemala in 1859,
and the diplomatic exchanges between the British and Guatemalan
governments from 1860 to 1950 hardly impacted on the daily
lives of the people in the British colony. But the pursuit
by Guatemalan governments of the claim since then, when it
became clear that the Belizean people wanted independence
from Britain, has had serious consequences for the Belizean
people. It has distorted their political development, delayed
their independence, limited their development potential and
often caused grave concerns for their security.
Beginning
in 1962, Belizean political representatives joined British
officials in talks with Guatemalan authorities, talks that
often held out the promise of a just settlement of the dispute
only to founder on sudden and inexplicable reversals of
the Guatemalan position. In 1975, the Belize government
decided to internationalise its quest for independence with
security and territorial integrity, and in 1980 Belize received
virtually unanimous support at the United Nations for early
and secure independence with all its territory. Belize became
independent in 1981 against opposition and threats from
Guatemala that compelled Belize to request Britain to maintain
troops in the country for its defence.
In 1991,
Guatemala finally recognised Belize as an independent State,
and in 1993 the claim was on the verge of a definitive solution,
with Guatemala agreeing to accept Belize's land borders
as they had been defined in the 1859 Treaty, and Belize
agreeing to give up some of its territorial sea rights in
order to afford Guatemala an outlet to the high seas through
its own territorial sea. But a constitutional crisis in
Guatemala interrupted the process, and the following year
the new Guatemalan government formally reinstated its claim,
and later demanded that Belize cede to it more than half
of its territory as the price for Guatemalan recognition
of a truncated Belize.
Hopes
that the new government installed in 2000 would negotiate
a just settlement soon faded, as it began a policy of provoking
military confrontations and encouraging peasant invasions.
The new government insisted that the territorial dispute
was eminently a legal one, and that the only possibility
for a resolution was to submit the case to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) or arbitration.
The
Belize government felt that this represented an unnecessary
expense of time and money, and proposed a process under
the auspices of the Organization of American States, with
each country naming a Facilitator and both sides presenting
their case to the Facilitators so that they could propose
a just and durable solution. The process began in July 2000,
and has been successful in implementing confidence-building
measures along the border and in hearing the positions of
both parties. The Facilitators are expected to present their
proposals to the Parties early in 2002.
At the
same time, however, conscious that if Guatemala remained
intransigent the matter might indeed have to be submitted
to the ICJ, the Belize government approached four eminent
international lawyers and instructed them to write an Opinion
that would, strictly on the basis of international law,
consider whether Guatemala could validly question Belize's
sovereignty over the territory of Belize, or any part of
it. They were not asked to prepare a brief for Belize's
prosecution of a case, but rather an impartial Opinion well
founded on international law, which would give a clear and
unbiased opinion of the true situation in strict accordance
with the law.
The
Belize government chose a high-powered multi-national team
of highly respected and renowned international lawyers headed
by Professor Sir Eli Lauterpacht Q.C., a British lawyer
with impeccable credentials as an academic and great experience
as a practitioner of international law. It includes Judge
Stephen Schwebel, a citizen of the United States of America
who until recently was a Judge and President of the ICJ;
Professor Shabtai Rosenne, an Israeli citizen who is considered
a world expert on the jurisdiction and jurisprudence of
the ICJ; and the highly respected and experienced Latin
American jurist, Professor Francisco Orrego Vicuña,
a Chilean national. Together they have spent over a year
in extensive research and consultation, and have now submitted
their opinion.
I am
pleased to present this Opinion to the international community
and in particular to the people of Belize and Guatemala,
both of who wish fervently to live in peace and harmony
with each other and to cooperate for a sustainable and just
development that will benefit the peoples on both sides
of this hitherto troubled border. I am sure that the Opinion
will be particularly useful in helping Belizeans to make
up their minds, if they were ever asked whether the matter
should be submitted to the ICJ for a final resolution.
On behalf
of the Government of Belize, I extend warm congratulations
to our advisers for an excellent study, and express the
hope that the clarity and certitude of their Opinion will
contribute to consigning to the past the divisions that
have retarded the harmonious cooperative development of
two sister peoples for too long.
Assad
Shoman
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
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