BELIZE CITY, Fri. Jan. 22, 2021– In 2015, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) handed down a ruling affirming the customary land rights of the Maya communities in the Toledo District. After the ruling, the UDP had pledged to form a committee to clearly define these rights. That committee was, in fact, formed; however, six years later, no progress has been made in the matter. That was until last week, when representatives from the Maya Leaders Alliance (MLA) and the Attorney General’s Office attended a compliance hearing with the appellate jurisdiction.

The hearing was conducted to facilitate the continuation of the process of demarcating customary land in the south. During the meeting, attorney Samantha Matute-Tucker stated that the Ministry expects to appoint a new commissioner of the Toledo Lands Rights Commission by February 2021. Tucker also mentioned that the structure of the commission itself is currently under review and that there is a possibility that the number of persons in the commission, as well as the commission’s responsibilities, might be expanded.

The demand by the Maya people for legal affirmation of their land rights and demarcation of those lands was made after years of repeated incursions on lands considered to be communal by “third parties”. The spokeswoman for the Maya Leaders Alliance, Cristina Coc, went on record to share her delight that the new Briceño administration is on board with a process of assigning “respect and regard for the customary governance institutions of the Maya.” Coc deems this commitment to be both “encouraging and refreshing” and anticipates that the free, prior and informed consent protocol will be agreed upon by the GOB and the MLA sooner rather than later.

The Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia, was also present at this morning’s hearing and reaffirmed the government’s pledge to do their part in speeding up the process:

“I believe that my appointment signals a new day of respect for our Maya sisters and brothers and other indigenous people such as the Garifuna people and, in addition to respect, we want to signal engagement and a level of seriousness. I have said to the media, and I would like to address Your Honour, to say that we may not always agree, but I do want to indicate to this honorable court that we will be doing our job in a way of engagement, respect and consultation, and I will be working very closely with Mrs. Matute-Tucker to make sure that on our side the government fulfills its obligations. So, with that I will observe now and thank Your Honours very much. I would say, yes, we are apprised of various matters in relation to this ongoing case, but being very new, we will be relying on Mrs. Matute to advise us on the way forward in some of the more complex issues. But I do want to indicate to the court that we are very, we are in the process of now and very shortly will be appointing a new commissioner, not only for this matter, but also for indigenous people’s affairs altogether. However, we anticipate that probably ninety percent of the work will be having to do with this case, and with that I would ask Mrs. Matute to join in if she can assist us because, as I say, we’re just getting our feet wet, and I would appreciate her support,” Hon. Balderamos Garcia stated.