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OAS Reaffirms Impartiality in Belize-Guatemala Territorial Dispute

  March 6, 2015

The Organization of American States (OAS) strongly rejects the recent statements made by the Belizean NGO Belize Territorial Volunteers regarding the impartiality of the OAS with respect to the work it advances within the context of the Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute, through its Office in the Belize-Guatemala Adjacency Zone (OAS/AZ).

On March 1, 2014, at the request of the governments of Belize and Guatemala, the OAS/AZ Office carried out a verification in the area of Santa Cruz/Jalacte and concluded that indeed some of the coconut trees planted by members of the Belizean NGO Belize Territorial Volunteers were inside Guatemalan territory.

In regards to the Belize Territorial Volunteers' reference to the construction of military posts in the Adjacency Zone, the OAS has never provided financial or in kind support for the construction of any posts in Guatemala. By contrast the OAS has provided financial support for the construction of environmental observation posts in Belize.

The OAS Office in the Belize-Guatemala Adjacency Zone welcomes the opportunity to discuss its role within the framework of the confidence building measures with any group or individual interested in obtaining a fair and just account of the work it carries out to avoid further misunderstandings or inaccuracies with regard to its mandate.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-066/15