OAS Reports Over 500 Border Incidents Since Adjacency Zone Opened

More than 500 incidents have been reported to the Office of the Adjacency Zone since its opening.  25 years ago, the OAS Adjacency Zone was established with an office at the western border.  It is an office that both Belize and Guatemala agreed to under a set of confidence building measures signed onto in 2000.  This agreement defined a buffer area, 1 kilometer wide on each side of the border, to reduce tensions and manage incidents peacefully while the territorial dispute remained unresolved.  Earlier today, in a press conference with the Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, it was reported that more than 500 reports of incursions have been made to the office.  Unfortunately, however, no sanctions can be levied against Guatemala; rather, Ramdin says they will rely on peace talks.

Albert Ramdin, Secretary General, OAS: “The OAS will continue to follow what has been agreed between both countries in the agreement which was signed in 2005. And that stipulates exactly how we deal with incursions, whether it’s considered a provocation or not. That’s why the adjacency zone has been established and that’s why we have an office. They have been able to report on the 500 plus of these incidents and that is the process which we will follow. These are very sensitive matters and the best is to follow the route which has been laid out in the agreement between both countries. And the OAS Secretary General can meet with both governments periodically through the special representative to monitor the situation as it develops and if need be, have conversations with both governments or on one side alone. That is possible. Again, the idea is to find a peaceful solution going forward, a definitive solution which can bring back normalcy.”