Belize, Guatemala Sign Joint Declaration Ahead of ICJ Ruling

Belize and Guatemala have reaffirmed their commitment to respecting and implementing the eventual ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries.

The commitment is contained in a Joint Declaration signed on June 24 in Panama City during the Fifty-Sixth Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The declaration, signed by Belize’s Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oscar Arnold, and Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez, reiterates both countries’ obligation to accept the ICJ’s decision as final and binding and to implement it in good faith.

Both governments also called on the OAS to continue supporting the implementation of existing confidence-building agreements and to maintain its presence in the Adjacency Zone until the ICJ delivers its judgment.

The declaration further urges the OAS and the international community to assist Belize and Guatemala in areas such as territorial demarcation, conflict prevention, resource mobilization and the implementation of any measures required following the court’s ruling.

The ICJ is expected to issue a final judgment on Guatemala’s territorial, insular and maritime claim against Belize, bringing an end to a dispute that has spanned decades.