A motion was passed in the Senate to allow Belize to sign on to the Pact of Bogotá in an effort to take Honduras’ claim over the Sapodilla Cayes to the ICJ.

by Khaila Gentle

BELMOPAN, Mon. Oct. 24, 2022

On Monday, members of the Senate debated on whether Belize will be able to take yet another territorial claim, this time by Honduras, to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Hon. Eamon Courtenay presented the motion in which he asked the Senate to allow the government to accede to the Pact of Bogotá, which requires nations who have signed that treaty to settle their disputes through peaceful means.

The Pact, also known as the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement, was adopted at the International Conference of American States on April 30, 1948 and enforced on May 6, 1949. It also requires nations to exhaust all their regional dispute-settlement mechanisms before taking the matter to the United Nations Security Council and invoking the jurisdiction of the ICJ.

Since 1982, Honduras has claimed the Sapodilla Cayes as part of its territory. Article 10 in that country’s constitution states, “The territories located on the mainland within its territorial limits, its inland waters and its islands, islets, and the cays in the Gulf of Fonseca, which historically, geographically, and legally correspond to it belong to Honduras” and then goes on to list a number of islands that also “historically, geographically, and legally belong to it,” including the Bay Islands, the Swan Islands, and the Cays Zapotillos (Sapodilla Cayes), among others.

The Sapodilla Cayes are the southernmost range of cayes in Belize, located about an hour and a half by boat ride from Toledo. Guatemala also has a claim over them, along with much of southern Belize. The Belize/Guatemala territorial dispute is currently before the ICJ, and according to Minster Courtenay, there is a chance that Honduras’ claim over the cayes could ultimately affect the final outcome.

“Once the ICJ becomes aware of the claim by Honduras to the Sapodillas, there is a significant risk that the court would not delimit the maritime areas that appertain to the Sapodillas, thereby leaving unresolved a large part of our maritime entitlement,” he stated.

This would mean, he added, that sovereignty over a very important part of Belize’s sovereign domain—the cayes and the maritime areas pertaining to it—will remain unresolved.

Belize has attempted to get Honduras to recognize its sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes through dialogue, but those attempts have proven unfruitful. And so, the Government of Belize is hoping to be able to sign onto the Pact of Bogotá and thus take the matter to the ICJ.

While the motion was supported by Business Senator Kevin Herrera, NGO Senator Janelle Chanona, and Church Senator Bishop Alvin Benguche, UDP Senator Michael Peyrefitte said that the decision to take Honduras to the ICJ should be made by the people rather than the Senate.

Senator Peyrefitte criticized the government for its timing in the presentation of the motion.

“This is not one of those treaties we just enter into on a Monday morning,” he said. “This issue affects our claim…We are in the middle of this game and you are coming to us, telling us now that you want to involve a third player in the ICJ [and the] unfounded Guatemala claim against Belize,” he said.

The UDP Senator lamented the government’s decision to take action against a state which he says has made no official indication that it is interested in interfering in the Belize/Guatemala case. He pleaded to the members of the Senate to not allow the passing of the motion and to let the people of Belize decide, via referendum, whether they wish to involve another party in the matter. Senator Peyrefitte also claimed that involving Honduras could delay the ICJ’s decision on the Belize/Guatemala territorial claim for another three to four years.

The social partner senators, while they supported the motion, questioned why information on Honduras’ claim over the Sapodilla Cayes was not included in the initial educational campaigns that preceded the referendum on whether to take Guatemala’s territorial claim to the ICJ.

Minister Courtenay argued that it would be counterproductive to take the matter to a referendum, since the time needed for preparation would prevent the matter from being submitted to the ICJ before it makes its ruling on the Belize/Guatemala dispute. He also noted that the only person in the Upper House able to answer the question of why Honduras’ claim was not included in the educational campaign is Senator Peyrefitte himself, who “championed the referendum”. He also chastised the UDP senator for politicizing a matter of national importance.

“The Opposition knows what the stakes are. They know that if we do not use the Pact of Bogotá to have the Honduran claim to the Sapodillas resolved at the ICJ…the strong risk now is that the court will not delimit all the areas pertaining to Guatemala and Belize, and that it might not even determine Belize’s sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes as against Guatemala,” said Senator Courtenay.

While he was legally unable to disclose reasons, he also added that Belize’s case in the ICJ would be prejudiced if it did not involve Honduras as well.

The motion was passed and has been referred to the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee for consideration.