BNN Demands Public Consultations Before Controversial 13th Amendment

The Belize Network of NGOs (BNN) is calling on the government to hold off on the proposed 13^th Amendment to the Constitution until after public consultations have been conducted. The Amendment is the government’s answer to the upsurge in violent crime by allowing for the suspension of liberties under certain conditions and shielding the government from lawsuits resulting from the State of Emergency. The BNN says that while it supports the need to address violent crimes, the legislation opens the country up to various human rights violations if it is not fleshed out properly. Chairperson of the Board for the BNN, Dr. Elma Kay, called for the consultation process to be transparent and led by professionals in constitutional reform. 

Dr.Elma Kay, Chairperson, Belize Network of NGOs: “Our official position is basically that we definitely need to stay this legislation so that there can be additional consultation, an additional consultation period for sure and that this consultation period really should be led by constitutional experts to ensure that we do this collectively and in a transparent way because the way the amendment came on there is no full background and explanation to it. The BNN is particularly concerned that with the retroactive provisions of this proposed 13th amendment. So our position actually aligns well with that of the Association of Defense Attorneys. We believe that just because previous administrations made decisions that violated or undermined the constitutional rights that does not justify us doing so again right ? So something that is a wrong is already a wrong and just because somebody else did it, we need to do better. We are also very concerned about people that may be unjustly affected by this law and ultimately we do believe as the BNN that there can be amendments to our laws to provide for whether it’s declarations of special areas for public safety and public order for the purpose of making sure that we can prevent or detect or control crime activity and possibly yes limiting some rights for a period of time but this needs to be done collectively and thoughtfully and we need to be able to come up with these solutions together and in a transparent manner. So our position is that we definitely would like the consultation period extended and we want this to be led by constitutional experts.” 

Earlier this month, the BNN wrote to the Chairman of the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Julius Espat, expressing these concerns. The Association of Defence Attorneys, ADA, also wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly last week, stressing that the Amendment is bad news for human rights.