Belize and Guatemala Reaffirm Commitment to Peace at OAS Border Meeting

Belize and Guatemala today reaffirmed their shared commitment to peace, dialogue, and cooperation following an official high-level meeting at the Organization of American States (OAS) Adjacency Zone Office along the western border.  The two Foreign Ministers and their respective delegations were welcomed by Her Excellency Antonia Urrejola, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the OAS for Belize and Guatemala Affairs. During the visit, officials were briefed on the activities of the OAS Adjacency Zone Office for 2025 and on an operational framework plan to be presented to the OAS General Assembly.  Speaking at the meeting, Minister Fonseca highlighted the long history of cooperation between Belize and Guatemala and emphasized the OAS’ central role in maintaining peace and stability in the Adjacency Zone over the years.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “We met today here at the OAS office, the Adjacency Zone Office, at the request of the new special representative for the Secretary General of the OAS, Her Excellency Ambassador Urrejola. Both Belize and Guatemala, as you know, have worked with through this office to advance our discussions on the confidence-building measures and to advance our work as we move towards the final definitive determination of the claim against Belize. So the OAS office has played a very, very critical role throughout this process for the last 20 years. And today we met really to get a review and report on the ongoing work, ongoing activities to look at what has taken place in 2025 and also to discuss the future role of the OAS office as we move towards a judgment from the International Court of Justice. So what will be the role, the post-ICJ role of the OAS office? So that was the main purpose of the meeting today and I’m very glad that the distinguished foreign minister of Guatemala, His Excellency Carlos Ramiro Martinez joined us and we were able to talk about issues of mutual concern to both Belize and Guatemala and to discuss meaningful ways in which the OAS office can continue to support our efforts to advance peace and stability between our two countries.”

Meanwhile, Guatemala’s Foreign Minister, Carlos Ramiro Martínez, spoke on the coutnry’s position over the territorial differendum.  Very critical was Guatemala’s declaration to adhere to the ruling of the ICJ should it be in Belize’s favor.  

Carlos Ramiro Martínez, Guatemala’s Foreign Minister: “This is the first meeting we have had with the new representative of the Secretary General. We have already met separately with other countries but this is our first meeting together. This is not our first visit to the office, which we consider a space for collaboration and cooperation between the two countries. And we always say we are, I believe, an example of peaceful resolutions of disputes between states. As I mentioned, I have reiterated this in all forums I attend. There is a serious commitment, our approach is based on the fundamental principles of international law and the court clearly fits within that framework. So my answer to your question is yes I believe that a shared objective between the two countries is the reduction of tensions and those tensions resolve around the incidents that the OAS office here works on and does so very well. We certainly have tasks to carry out internally in coordination with the Security Forces as well as coordination between two countries. I repeat, the objective is to reduce tensions throughout the entire adjacency zone and also along the Sarstoon River. Some moments where cases are unfortunately inevitable but the task of which Guatemala is committed in is the reduction to those incidents.” 

Her Excellency Antonia Urrejola, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the OAS for Belize and Guatemala Affairs spoke on the role of the organization, and what it is working towards.

Angonia Urrejola, Special Representative, Secretary General OAS: “I believe that the history of this office over the past 20 years demonstrates the importance that both states place on cooperation and the peaceful resolution of disputes. The presence of the foreign ministers has simply served to reaffirm what the history of the office and the history of Guatemala and Belize has shown. Their firm will to achieve a peaceful resolution of disputes and to establish ongoing dialogue and permanent cooperation. In that sense, I simply want to reiterate the willingness of the Organization of American States, the Office of the Adjacency Zone and myself personally to remain at the disposal of both states in order to continue along this path. And I believe that this is the most important part. It also seems very important to me that people understand something they are not always fully aware of; what political will truly means when countries decide to submit their differences to a process like this one, where good neighborliness, peace, and fraternity between peoples prevail, especially at a time when these values are not particularly strong in many other parts of the world. I believe that now, more than ever, the example being set by Belize and Guatemala represents a return to the part of dialogue and the peaceful resolution of disputes. This is no minor matter when one looks at the current global situation, turns on the news and sees what is happening in different parts of the world. Therefore, I would like to highlight the importance of Guatemalans and Belizeans feeling proud of their authorities are doing, setting an example for the rest of the world.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Ministers Fonseca and Martinez signed a joint declaration reaffirming the OAS’ vital role in dialogue, mediation, and confidence-building in the Adjacency Zone. The declaration also underscored continued support for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) process and committed both countries to sustain OAS engagement before and after the ICJ ruling.