Attorney General Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington met last week with Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, a very prominent United Kingdom attorney who has been dealing with the Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute on the Government of Belize’s behalf. The two men discussed Government’s plans to submit the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), if a national referendum endorses the idea.
Under Belize law, no settlement can be pursued on the dispute without the people of Belize going to the polls to say, via a national referendum, if they agree with the proposed avenue for settling this age-old problem.
Elrington said that it will cost Belize 5 million pounds (almost 20 million dollars) in legal fees and other expenses to go to the ICJ, and it will take 3 to 4 years to be completed. The referendum, he said, may be held in the first quarter of 2009.
Last November, former Prime Minister Said Musa announced that the Organization of American States (OAS), which after several years of work was unable to broker a diplomatic truce between the parties, had recommended taking the matter to the ICJ.
The administration of the United Democratic Party, which succeeded Musa’s government, has adopted that position, and according to Elrington, the Cabinet has taken a decision to support the matter going to the ICJ.
So far, said Elrington, Government has met with the Guatemalan Foreign Minister and President. The Belize negotiating team—which is a bipartisan body including Opposition PUP members Assad Shoman and Eamon Courtenay, is working on preparations to take the dispute to the ICJ.
Elrington told us that just last week he met with Sir Elihu Lauterpacht at Cambridge University Community College. Lauterpacht, he said, has been advising Belize for the last 30 years, and has produced a number of legal opinions on the territorial dispute.
“What we are doing now, [is] formulating two things: we are formulating the question that we will put to the Belizean populace, in a referendum to determine whether they are prepared to go to the ICJ; and the question that we would ask the ICJ to give its opinion on, if the Belizean people agree that we should go to the ICJ,” said Elrington.
He told Amandala that everybody will know both questions in advance.
“We will not do anything unless a referendum is held and the people of Belize decide that they want to go to the ICJ to resolve it,” he added.
According to the Attorney General, Government will undertake an extensive national campaign even before putting the question to the people in the referendum, so that everyone will know what the issues are.
Before closing our interview with the Attorney General, we raised the issue of the disproportionate nationalization of Guatemalans by Belize’s Immigration Department, and the possibility of these nationalized Belizeans affecting the outcome of the referendum, since they will be entitled to vote.
Elrington conceded that, “that’s a possibility,” but he told Amandala that he does not know to what extent, as he has no clue what the cumulative numbers are for Guatemalans receiving Belizean nationality over the years.
That question should be put in the public domain and the Ministry of Immigration should be asked to produce the numbers, said Elrington.
Even more significant is the urgent need for a rational immigration policy, and all Belizeans should call for one that gives attention to who is getting Belizean nationality, where they come from, how many are granted status, and what kind of skills and ability they are bringing to Belize. Elrington said that this is an issue he has already discussed with Home Affairs Minister, Carlos Perdomo.
Amandala reported in April on concerns raised by Senator Godwin Hulse, representative in the Senate of the private sector, that 550 Guatemalans got citizenship last year, and a further 134 Guatemalans got residency for the same period.
Hulse said this transgresses the Constitution of Belize, section 29, subsection 3, which says, “…no persons should be entitled to get citizenship, if they show any allegiance to, or are a citizen of a country that does not recognize the Independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Belize.” The law does, however, provide for Ministerial discretion in granting citizenships to Guatemalans.
Senator Hulse had pointed out that the most recent official Government report on nationalizations had revealed that 40.9% of all people who got Belizean nationality between 2006 and 2007 were Guatemalans – a point he deems to be a national concern.
Even as talks progress for this historic referendum, the Barrow administration is revising the Referendum Act, to make the provisions for a national referendum clearer. Even though at least 60% of the electorate have to participate to make the referendum binding, a simple majority of greater than 50% will decide which way the pendulum swings – ICJ or no ICJ.
Members of the Opposition People’s United Party have argued in the House of Representatives that the threshold of 60% is way too high.
We note that even though legislators have passed the Referendum (Amendment) Bill 2008, a court order obliges the Attorney General to stay his hands, and defer taking the bill to the Governor-General for his signature until the Chief Justice is able to present his decision on a court case. That case was lodged by a group of Opposition-affiliated citizens who are challenging Government’s decision to change fundamental rights and freedoms in the Belize Constitution before calling a referendum, required under the existing law, to determine public sentiment on a suite of constitutional amendments which are due to go back to the House at this week’s sitting.
That same Referendum Act requires the Government to call a referendum on any proposed settlement mechanism for the Belize-Guatemalan dispute. However, Government is not proposing any changes in that section of the law.