Maya Land Rights Policy One Step Closer to Implementation, Following Cabinet Discussion

The Government of Belize is one step closer to implementing a policy on Maya land rights. That’s the latest coming out of the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs after the draft policy recently came up for discussion in Cabinet. Towards the end of 2023, several of the forty-one Maya villages involved in the consultation process rejected the government’s proposal. This resulted in another round of consultation that began early this year. Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs Dolores Balderamos Garcia gave an update on several moves that have been made towards finalizing this latest draft. She notes that a major issue that stalled the process the last time was the circulation of misinformation, leading to the rejection of the draft.

Balderamos-Garcia says that the new draft will also make provisions for Maya communities to apply for additional lands outside of what is automatically granted, but there will be some requirements.

The government is mandated to implement the land rights policy in adherence with the 2015 Consent Order issued by the Caribbean Court of Justice.