Second Public Consultation on 13th Amendment Set for Belmopan

Belmopan residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on the controversial Thirteenth Amendment Bill during a second public consultation scheduled for Wednesday, July 30, at the University of Belize’s Conference Centre. The session will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The first consultation was held last week in Belize City, and it drew a small but vocal crowd. Attendees voiced concerns about the bill’s potential to give security forces sweeping powers in designated “special zones,” including the ability to conduct searches and detain individuals without warrants. Some warned this could lead to abuse and human rights violations.

The Briceño administration maintains that the amendment is necessary to restore order in gang-afflicted communities. The bill proposes the creation of a special gun and gang court, expanded powers for police and the Belize Defence Force, and retroactive legal coverage for past states of emergency, potentially shielding those actions from future legal challenges.

Earlier this week, Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa defended the bill, saying, “We need to flesh it out more to say that this is a crime-fighting, life-saving tool that we want to keep in our toolbox as a measure of last resort, not something to be used every day but something to say, ‘Listen, this is getting out of control, the public are not giving statements; we need to hit the pause button.’”

The Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee has also invited written feedback. Submissions are open until August 26 and should be emailed to ClerkNA@bna.gov.bz with the subject line: “Belize Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Bill, 2025.”