Delay or Due Diligence? Fonseca Explains Ombudsman Hold-Up  

Foreign Minister Francis Fonseca says Belizeans should soon see movement on the long-vacant Ombudsman post. He says the delay is tied to plans to transform the office into a National Human Rights Institution, a process that requires careful preparation and a qualified attorney at the helm. Fonseca says the post will be advertised soon and filled through the National Assembly.

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“Obviously, our objective is to fill the office as quickly as possible. But there’s a process that we have to follow. It goes through the National Assembly. So that process is being followed. They have to advertise the position. And as you pointed out, there’s a transition taking place. We’re transitioning from just an Ombudsman’s office to the National Institute, Human Rights Institute. So that takes a lot of work involved in that transition process. But that work is ongoing, and I expect that very shortly they will be advertising the post, and we will be able to fill that post through the National Assembly. it’s an important post. But people should remember that, under the UDP we didn’t have an Ombudsman for two and a half years. Two and a half years we didn’t have an Ombudsman in this country. The Ombudsman’s post has been vacant now for a few months, four months, I believe. And yes, we have to fill it. It’s an important post we have to fill, but the reality is we’re dealing with a transition, and we have to make sure that transition process is done properly. And once that is concluded, then obviously we can fill that post.”

 

The Ombudsman post has been vacant since December 2025, after government chose not to renew Major Gilbert Swaso’s contract. Now, Swaso is taking the Briceño administration to court, accusing it of overstepping constitutional boundaries and interfering with the independence of his office.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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