YouSaid · the spoken record

Wilfred Elrington

lines on the record: 243
first: 2008-09-24
most recent: 2019-09-24
sittings or episodes: 12
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It is the same aspiration that we have for peoples far beyond our borders. Belize remains determined to defend and uphold the purposes and principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations, not only in our words but, most important, in our actions. As a responsible Member of the United Nations, it is the right and just thing for us to do.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Belize is also concerned about activities by the Guatemalan armed forces in the Sarstoon River — our southern boundary — which pose a threat to the peace and security of the border area. Belize is strenuously seeking to establish a modus vivendi with Guatemala for the peaceful shared use and enjoyment of the Sarstoon River. We take this opportunity to acknowledge with gratitude the work of the Organization of American States in facilitating the ongoing efforts of Belize and Guatemala to implement confidence-building measures, and we urge the international community to continue to support those and other similar measures. Finally, Belize and Guatemala are forever neighbours, and we in Belize certainly have the most fervent wish to live side by side with the Government and the people of Guatemala in peace, harmony and close cooperation.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“That will finally bring an end to an age-old atavistic claim that has hindered Belize’s development and made more difficult the relations of friendship and cooperation that both our peoples aspire to and deserve. As we comply with the requirements of pursuing the case before the Court, and during the years it will take for the case to be heard and decided, both countries are under an obligation to not allow any step of any kind to be taken that might aggravate or extend the dispute of which the Court is now seized. In that connection, Belize continues to be concerned about the illegal encroachment by Guatemalans into our territory, resulting in even greater deforestation of our protected forests, the illegal extraction of our natural resources and attempts to establish farms and residences on our Belizean territory.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Belize accepts that the need to enlist the mechanisms of the United Nations to prevent any threat to or breach of peace anywhere should be a matter of last resort. That is why, for as long as Belize has been independent, it has engaged in diplomatic efforts to finally end Guatemala’s territorial claim to our country. I am therefore very pleased to announce today that, following the commitment made in the special agreement signed with Guatemala to submit that country’s territorial claims on Belize to the International Court of Justice, the people of Belize, in a referendum held on 8 May, voted by a convincing majority to authorize the Government to submit the case to the International Court of Justice.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Not too long ago, Venezuela was a thriving country in Latin America, willingly sharing its vast resources through a progressive Petrocaribe programme, which included, inter alia, access to badly needed capital for participating regional countries on concessionary terms for infrastructure development and poverty alleviation. Sadly, the current circumstances in that country are leading inexorably to the impoverishment of the nation itself and a worsening in the social and economic conditions of the countries that benefited from it. It has upended Venezuela’s integral role in the region. We call for greater efforts to bring a speedy end to the state of affairs in that country and to the undeserved hardship and suffering of its innocent citizens through dialogue and diplomacy.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We call on the world community to redouble its efforts to put an end to those injustices, which clearly do great harm and no visible good. Symptomatic of those injustices is the exclusion of Taiwan, with a population of 23 million, from representation in the United Nations. In our view, it is a travesty of justice for this institution to rely doggedly and erroneously on resolution 2758 (XXVI), adopted in 1971, to block Taiwan’s participation in any of its bodies. Belize calls upon the United Nations to end what is effectively a political and humanitarian embargo against the people of Taiwan. The situation of Venezuela is also particularly troubling.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The Sahrawi people are still being prevented from exercising their right to self-determination, notwithstanding their efforts to attain that right for decades. Cuba and its people continue to labour under the weight of a protracted, unilateral economic, commercial and financial embargo that is getting worse rather than better. The General Assembly has consistently and overwhelmingly agreed that those and other lingering injustices worldwide are in violation of international law and should not persist, yet they do. Belize deeply regrets that an organization founded on the rule of law should allow such exceptionalism to the rule of law to fester. The immortal declaration of Martin Luther King, Jr., could not be more appropriate: an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Sadly, and invariably, those draconian measures affect not only the targeted countries but also the regions around them. They lead to humanitarian crises, mass irregular migration and human exploitation, and they simultaneously divide regions, inhibit cooperation and collaboration and conduce greatly to the increase of persistent poverty — all unintended collateral damage, but grave damage nonetheless. When the United Nations and Governments fail to act in the face of those harmful and unjust practices, the suffering caused by natural causes are only magnified by those man-made acts. At present, more than 7 million Palestinians continue to suffer under an oppressive regime. We urge a quick and just resolution to that chronic and tragic state of affairs and call for a two-State solution to be reached at the earliest possible moment.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“The United Nations development system needs to be better aligned with the sustainable development priorities of the countries that it serves, and it needs the resources to ensure that it can support countries in achieving those priorities. Its priority, and our priority, should be to enhance the delivery of development gains for people on the ground. It is regrettable that the full weight of the global commitment and action to tackle the biggest challenges of our generation, planet and future is consistently being undermined by man-made disasters. The deliberate policies and actions of countries that give rise to armed conflict or result in the imposition of sanctions, economic embargoes and blockades invariably result in the strangulation and/or destruction of the economies of the targeted countries and stymie their overall development.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Those are only the struggles of which we are aware. There are many data gaps that must be addressed, particularly in vulnerable countries and for vulnerable peoples, lest we inadvertently overlook even more acute issues requiring our urgent attention. The United Nations has a central role in marshalling the strength of nations and other development actors in order to foster enhanced cooperation and support in accelerating the pace of attaining the SDGs. But the Organization itself is under threat, as is the concept of multilateralism. It is therefore incumbent on us to reinforce the centrality of the United Nations and to ensure that it is fit for purpose in order to harness global solidarity to act on new and emerging challenges that are likely to undermine the SDGs.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Belize is also pleased to be supporting efforts to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030 and finalize an agreement for marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction in 2020. Belize is making commendable strides to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but here too there is a need for greater urgency in global action and the delivery of support. Too much is at stake if we miss the 2030 targets. Young people and children are already experiencing that first-hand. Youth unemployment rates are three times those of adult s. About 1 billion children live in countries where the SDGs are out of reach. Women and girls are still suffering from substantive inequalities, and the gaps between the rich and the poor and the educated and the ignorant are not narrowing.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Importantly, we are in the process of expanding what has become another staple of our educational outreach, directed specifically towards at-risk youth in districts registering higher poverty incidence. The annual subsidies currently given to high school students for the first two years of the secondary programme will be given to every student in every Government high school in every district. In April, with a view to ensuring a healthy environment for our people, we made the bold move, with the full support of our fisherfolks, to more than double the area of fisheries replenishment zones in Belize’s waters. The total area of our territorial waters under no-take status now stands at 11.6 per cent and has almost tripled our marine-protected areas.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In education, we have achieved a milestone in bridging the divide between education and technology. In partnership with the national telecommunications company, we have deployed our DigiLearn project, which will introduce a cloud platform and service that facilitates digital teaching and online learning. Already a pilot project has been completed involving nine high schools. More than 360 students participated, and all of the schools have endorsed DigiLearn for their institutions. We anticipate rolling out DigiLearn to 43 secondary schools starting this month. Our ultimate goal is to provide a free laptop and digital classroom to every student, teacher and administrator in every high school in our country, and we aim to do all that over the course of the next five years.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We remain fervently committed to advancing our growth and sustainable development strategy, with the ultimate aim of improving the quality of life for all Belizeans. In that regard, my Government has now rolled out phase three of its Belize City Southside poverty alleviation project in one of our most impoverished areas. That project, with a total value of $12 million, will see 100 houses either newly built or improved for families in need in the targeted constituencies. The infrastructure components to improve neighbourhoods and lives will wrap up the last leg of what has been a transformative multi-year initiative. Also, our food pantry programme increases every year, even if only incrementally. It constitutes one of the anchors of our pro-poor policies, continually uplifting the lives of disadvantaged citizens.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In some cases, we are being priced out of financial markets because of our high-risk profiles. We are small, we are islands and low-lying coastal States, and we are severely exposed. The midterm review outcome provides an opportunity to correct that fallacy. What we need is simple and timely access to affordable finance, smart investments and debt relief to help us break the cycle of poverty, relieve us from the stranglehold of debt and make headway with building the resilience of our people and economies. We call for a SIDS-specific resilience fund and the endorsement of a debt-for-climate swap initiative to channel investments into much-needed adaptation initiatives and green industries. Belize has never shirked its responsibility for national development.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“That is especially worrying because climate change is shutting the window of opportunity for us. Belize welcomes the agreed outcome of the midterm review of the SAMOA Pathway and the solemnity it brings to action that is urgently needed if SIDS are ever to have a chance of expanding our development horizons. Implementation is upon us. A swift response is needed from the international community and the United Nations system to allow SIDS to access grant and concessionary finance from which, incredibly, we are completely shut out. Many SIDS have been graduated out of eligibility for official development assistance. Absurdly enough, that means that the most vulnerable countries, which bear no responsibility for the climate crises, are being taxed to access the support that we need to save ourselves.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Twenty-five years ago, the international community collectively agreed on targeted responses to address the special case of small island developing States. But with steadily mounting challenges from exogenous shocks, it has been necessary to periodically expand those responses. We have once again come to the table to account for the implementation of the SIDS agenda, and we are concerned. The midterm review of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway tells a story of a global system that is unresponsive to our unique characteristics and particular circumstances. It tells a narrative of fragmented system-wide policies, one-size-fits-all approaches and the seemingly forgotten special case of SIDS. SIDS are still far behind in making progress to achieve their priority sustainable development objectives.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“People must press their leaders unceasingly and must also do their part to attenuate the drivers of climate change. Belize entertains no doubt that the science is clear and compelling. We are in a global state of emergency. As one of the first responders to that emergency, my country and my people urge the Assembly to join us on the front line and to take the bold measures that our people and planet need to secure our children’s future. The failure to act by those with historic responsibility has already manifested in lost opportunities for the most vulnerable. A storm such as Hurricane Dorian has the potential to wipe out two times our gross domestic product and with that, our hard-earned development gains.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“My Government is combining incentives for climate and other sustainable development with benefits such as health, food security and youth empowerment. Initiatives are being undertaken that will result in large-scale reforestation drives. We are introducing climate- smart agricultural practices, and we are applying nature-based solutions through integrated coastal-zone management and sustainable fishery practices that have mitigation, adaptation and development potential. We in Belize believe that Governments must lead the way with the highest possible ambition, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, especially the 1.5°C goal. The private sector and other financial actors, including multilateral banks, must follow suit and pivot towards environmentally sound policies and climate-informed investments.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“We are committed to the SIDS ambition package and have joined the SIDS Sustainable Energy Initiative, which aims for 100 per cent renewable energy for SIDS by 2030. We are already beginning that transition at home. Some 54 per cent of Belize’s electricity is already generated from renewable sources, and our electric company is now finalizing plans to replace a significant portion of our imported electricity — 37 per cent — with 40 megawatts of local solar-powered energy. The project for the first 30 megawatts of the new solar source will be signed before the end of October, and the plant will be ready to start producing within a year after that. The company is also piloting electric vehicles.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Because some countries will be gravely and negatively affected by such measures, dedicated resources must be made available to enable the most vulnerable to adapt to their new realities and to compensate for the permanent loss and damage that they will inevitably experience. Belize thanks the Secretary-General for conveying the need for urgent action and heightened ambition. The Climate Action Summit has laid bare the mammoth challenges we face. But we must remain unbowed by the scale of the task before us. We must be defiant in our resolve to overcome the many emerging challenges. We are convinced that the solutions lie within our grasp. We must start with policies and programmes at the community and national levels. Belize is a willing climate front runner.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“These events are so frequent, visible and impactful that even our children are now alarmed by them. They are witnesses to near-apocalyptic images. They are experiencing a climate crisis unfolding before their very eyes, impelling them to action and to assume leadership roles in the search for solutions to this crisis. Learned scientists are advising us that the world has at best a decade to get on the path to 1.5°C in order to ensure planetary sustainability and, for small island developing States (SIDS), our very survival. It is therefore urgent and imperative that we work to halve global emissions from their 2010 levels by 2030. We must also ensure the phasing out of coal and the achievement of net- zero emissions by 2050.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Indeed, Dorian joins a long list of extreme weather events indelibly etched in the minds of citizens living on small islands and low-lying coastal States the world over. Some we endure as daily occurrences, such as the incessant drought presently affecting Belize and the relentlessly encroaching seas and saltwater erosion. That which we do not experience near shore is constantly occurring offshore, in the deep ocean, where the very life-support system of our planet and its resources are slowly degenerating, deoxygenating and acidifying. Meanwhile, a million species are on the brink of extinction. In the past, such disruptions to earth systems would have occurred over prolonged periods of time. But the measure of change now is our own lifetime.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“Belizeans are no strangers to the kind of death, destruction and utter devastation wreaked by Hurricane Dorian on the islands of the Bahamas and its people. Indeed, in 1961, 20 years before Belize celebrated its independence, we suffered a similar catastrophe when the category 5 Hurricane Hattie made a direct hit on our fledgling coastal capital and settlements south of it. The resulting devastation was unprecedented and so extreme that the World Meteorological Organization retired the name and the Government of Belize relocated our capital some 50 miles inland as quickly as we could. Back then, almost six decades ago, a category 5 storm was an anomaly. Today, storms of that and even greater intensity are the new norm.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” Belize is resolved to remain faithful and true to that commitment. And in the remaining time allocated to me, I will set forth our vision of the leadership we need from the United Nations to confront three fundamental threats to our world — the runaway threat of climate change, the uphill struggle to achieve sustainable development in a rapidly changing world and the lingering threats to peace and security, both internationally and at home. To our Bahamian brothers and sisters, the people of Belize extend their heartfelt condolences. We share their pain and sorrow.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“If we choose to ignore the signs, the science and the millions striking for change, and instead proceed in the illusion that everything is going to be all right, our sons and daughters and all our heirs may well inherit an Earth that is wholly unliveable. That is our understanding of the majority view of the world’s most eminent environmental scientists. We in Belize are persuaded by that view and we do not wish to bequeath such a poisoned legacy to our children, nor must we. Indeed, the legacy to which we are committed, the legacy that is promised, is clearly set out in the Charter of the United Nations. “We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war ... to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person ...”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“On behalf of the Government and the people of Belize I would like to congratulate the President on his assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy- fourth session. Unlike any other, this session represents a critical turning point for multilateralism, as appropriately captured in the theme the President has wisely selected for this debate. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the challenges of our planet and its people are colliding, with far-reaching consequences. The course of action that we, the States Members of the United Nations, decide on in the next 15 months, will inevitably have a profound impact on the future of both humankind and our planet.”
2019-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 74 (2019)
“In conclusion, in our humble defence of what rightly belongs to us, Belize has weathered many trials. We see our struggle reflected in those of many others who have been denied the full enjoyment of their rights and the full achievement of their potential. However, we are secure in our belief that right will triumph and that in the end, our shared values of justice and our belief in human dignity will bring us ever closer to the resolutions the world needs. We therefore march on, in service of the United Nations and all the peoples of the world, armed with our values and an enduring hope for peace and security.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Had we done so we would not have achieved a landmark human rights declaration, a transformative development agenda or a constitution for the oceans and seas, and we certainly would not have a framework agreement for collective action on climate change. Focusing on what unites us can bring us further along the path towards addressing the gaps in the law of the sea to guarantee that fairness extends even into areas beyond national jurisdiction. Similarly, we can take a final decision in Poland to give full effect to the Paris Agreement and mobilize momentum for the level of ambition and the magnitude of support needed to avoid irreversible adverse effects of climate change. Belize is ready to commit to raising our ambition and urges others to join us in 2020 to set the world on the right path towards achieving the Paris Agreement goals.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Yet, despite global recognition of its successes and the readiness of States Members of the United Nations to conduct business with this fast-growing economy, the Organization has cut them off. It has gone so far as to refuse to recognize the legitimacy of Taiwanese passports, thereby even preventing Taiwanese tourists from entering its premises as visitors. It effectively uses resolution 2758 (XXXVI), of 1971, as a political and humanitarian embargo on Taiwan. In our view, no such embargo has any place in the United Nations. The successes of the United Nations have never been won by focusing on what divides us.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Leveraging its inexhaustible reserves of patriotism and creativity, Cuba has been able to survive and thrive to a degree that has garnered international recognition for its resilience, its selfless generosity and its signal gains in public health, education and the arts. Surely it is high time, after nearly 58 years, to lift the blockade so that Cuba can reach the highest level of its extraordinary potential. In a similar spirit of determination, Belize reiterates its plea on behalf of the 23 million people of Taiwan for a new approach to Taiwan’s participation in the United Nations system. Taiwan is the twenty-second-largest economy in the world. It is a vibrant democracy that has fully embraced international norms and standards.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Belize supports all initiatives that seek to put an end to the conflicts languishing across the globe that lead to senseless death, destruction and suffering. We echo the cry of Palestinians for an independent State, within its 1967 borders and with all attendant rights. We pray that the International Court of Justice will bring a speedy end to Venezuela’s claim over Guyanan territory. Belize remains firm and unwavering in its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana. We also pray that the civil strife in Venezuela will soon end. Belize joins the call for an end to the unilateral, economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba and its people, which violates international law and serves no just purpose. The blockade has failed to pressure the Government into submission. Indeed, it has had the opposite effect.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Paradoxically, the criticisms and attacks are being unleashed at a time when the world is most in need of a robust United Nations, as nations large and small are being buffeted by catastrophic occurrences, both natural and man-made, at a pace never before witnessed by humankind. While we appreciate the need for reform of the institutions of the United Nations, we are therefore equally mindful of its unique and invaluable role in a world that is becoming increasingly more perilous. Belize fears that, if we stand in silence or fail to speak out in its defence and in defence of multilateralism, we risk repeating the tragedies of the past, and we forsake the very values that the United Nations stands for. Indeed, we forsake our very responsibility to humankind. History will measure us by our actions, not by our words.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Thankfully, UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have been important and faithful collaborators with our Government in implementing programmes to address underlying social causes and build the capacity of protective and judicial institutions. What I have spoken of here makes it clear that the United Nations is of inestimable value and importance to Belize. Like other States Members of the United Nations, Belize is well aware of its limitations, but it is not without anxiety that we note the fact that some of its core values are under sustained attack, while organs that have been painstakingly erected to reinforce the rule of law are being derided and international legal frameworks are being cast aside in unilateral acts of political expediency.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“I am happy to share that UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee recently decided to remove the Belize barrier reef, the largest in the western hemisphere, from the World Heritage in Danger list, after taking into account several measures that our Government has implemented to ensure its protection and well-being. Thanks to its geography, Belize is located along a path frequented by criminal elements of every kind as they journey from South to North to traffic their illicit wares, a fact that has had tragic consequences for the peace and safety of Belizeans. Over the past decade the problem has led to a dramatic increase in our homicide rates, with each year being deadlier than the one before. Tackling transnational organized crime in Central America requires a truly cooperative and collaborative approach, along with multilateral support.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Our Government has made building resilience an integral part of its development planning and is implementing a national climate resilience investment plan to ensure that the impact of climate change is integrated into national investment planning across all sectors and ministries. The Government has also enacted mangrove regulations and instituted an indefinite moratorium on offshore drilling, which marks the first time that a developing country has taken such a major step to protect its marine resources from oil exploration and extraction. Belize will also be banning single-use plastics and Styrofoam as of April 2019.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Belize joins in the call for renewed commitment to the special case of SIDS and for systematically targeted support to respond to their particular needs, such as those identified by the Caribbean SIDS in the San Pedro Declaration, adopted in Belize in August 2017. The destructive hurricanes and storms that ravage the Caribbean year after year are a constant reminder of the true scale of thevulnerability facing SIDS in the Caribbean. We hope that through the implementation of his reform plan the Secretary-General will explore ways by which the United Nations development system can better accelerate the implementation of the SIDS agenda.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“This year the Government is expanding its reach with the intention of minimizing the disparity in enrolment and achievement between students from rural and urban areas. In addition, the Government is taking new measures to assist at-risk young people from coming into conflict with our laws. We recently launched the Belize Youth Challenge Programme, which concentrates on teaching young people discipline, personal organization and teamwork, as well as skills in technical and vocational areas, and on encouraging them to become responsible, patriotic and productive citizens. With a view to enhancing the delivery of health services, the Government has initiated steps for the construction of a modern hospital in the Toledo district. Next year will mark 25 years of the Organization’s support for the small island developing States (SIDS) agenda.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“It is indispensable to Belize’s development, prosperity, security and democracy that we work to close that knowledge gap as soon as possible and ensure that all our young people are equipped to successfully face the myriad challenges of the twenty- first century. To that end, and with a view to increasing access to education, our Government is building 35 new schools. Since the launch of a high school subsidy, we have seen a discernible improvement in transition rates from primary to secondary school for students identified as having academic or socioeconomic challenges. All students in the country’s districts and rural areas with the highest incidence of poverty automatically qualify for the subsidy.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Initiatives aimed at dealing with the problem include three new programmes that specifically target indigent families. In addition to financial benefits, beneficiaries are provided with direct economic, social and psychological support as well as job readiness courses to prepare them for gainful employment. Under a food pantry programme, poor families are also provided with basic food baskets at subsidized rates. An alarming knowledge gap is rapidly widening between the few fortunate Belizeans who are well educated, skilled and poised to succeed in a fiercely competitive, knowledge-based twenty-first century environment and the many who are being left behind without the skills and wherewithal to obtain employment, become self-employed or even to engage legitimately and meaningfully in civic life.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“While working to end the Guatemalan claim and thereby enhance our national security, my Government continues to discharge its core duty of promoting economic development, job creation, education and health care for all citizens. To that end, we are making major efforts to implement our growth and sustainable development strategy, which is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. In that endeavour the United Nations development system is partnering with us through the Multi-country Sustainable Development Framework. We are also working diligently to address the scourge of the poverty that persistently afflicts our country and our citizens. Current statistics show that approximately 43 per cent of Belizeans live below the poverty line, with 16 per cent experiencing extreme poverty.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“Belizeans are now on the cusp of a truly rare and felicitous moment in our nation’s history. Our voting public, in the finest democratic fashion, now has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to determine the fate of our country. The Government of Belize has designated 10 April 2019 as the date for our national referendum. On that day all registered voters will be entitled to cast their ballots, thereby signalling either their consent to or rejection of having the Guatemalan claim resolved once and for all by the International Court of Justice. In preparation for that historic plebiscite, our Government has embarked on a nationwide public awareness campaign to ensure that all Belizeans are fully informed about the claim and why it should be referred to the Court for resolution.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“The significance of the 15 April 2017 Guatemalan referendum, which ratified the decision of the Guatemalan Government in 2008 to have its claim relating to my country adjudicated by the Court, should not be lost. For, in carrying out the referendum, Guatemala gave effect to its obligation under the special agreement that both our countries signed in good faith. At the same time, there remains one pending issue for us to agree on. In continuing that spirit of good faith, we urge our neighbour Guatemala to agree on a procedure or protocol for confidence-building measures on the Sarstoon River, our southern boundary with that country, in order to facilitate the management of incidents of the kind that gave rise to heightened tensions between our two countries in 2015 and 2016.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“On 21 September 1981, Belize achieved its independence, and the United Nations immediately welcomed our fledgling democratic State as its newest Member, thereby affirming its sovereignty and its territorial integrity. Yet 37 years later the Guatemalan territorial claim remains unresolved. Indeed, efforts to resolve it before the International Court of Justice eluded the British Government for nearly 80 years. However, Belizeans will soon — and thankfully — decide whether the current opportunity to bring about a definitive settlement of the claim, which has long sown fear in the hearts of all Belizeans and has hamstrung our nation’s development potential, will in fact be seized.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“They did so notwithstanding the fact that our country has been the subject of an active territorial claim — a poisoned colonial chalice — that predates our independence by approximately a half century. Because of that claim, our nation’s birth was protracted and fraught with difficulty. All Belizeans who are familiar with the history of our journey to independence give the United Nations great credit for it, and rightly so. It was resolution 1514 (XV), adopted on 14 December 1960, that paved the way for all colonial peoples to be able to make the transition to independence. Belize is a beneficiary of that seminal resolution and of the subsequent United Nations resolutions adopted between 1971 and 1980 that mandated the British to grant it early independence.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“At the outset, I would like to express the sympathies of the Government and the people of Belize with the Government and the people of Indonesia in the light of the recent devastating earthquake and tsunami that has killed more than 400 people. I also want to express our solidarity with Barbados and Saint Lucia, fellow Caribbean Community countries, which are recovering from Tropical Storm Kirk, as well as with the countries of the Eastern Caribbean that have been affected by an earthquake in the past few days. This year marks the thirty-seventh anniversary of Belize’s independence. Belizeans have now enjoyed almost four uninterrupted decades of freedom, peace and democracy in our sovereign independent nation. During that period our leaders have succeeded in making modest gains in our nation’s quest for sustainable development.”
2018-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 73 (2018)
“We will persevere in our efforts to achieve our just objectives and look to the United Nations for its continued support. In turn, the United Nations and every Member State can rest assured that Belize will defend our community of nations and its purposes and principles. Our national motto is “Sub umbra floreo” — “In the shade I flourish”. In the shade of the United Nations, we shall all flourish.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In the meantime, with the full support of the Organization of American States, we continue to take a constructive approach to our bilateral relations and to maintaining peace along the borders. Belize remains committed to working with Guatemala to finalize a cooperation mechanism for the Sarstoon River in order to minimize the potential for tensions or incidents along Belize’s southern border. In conclusion, for the past 36 years, we Belizeans have lived in harmony with one another and with nature. Together with our leaders and with the support of other friendly nations, we have built a strong nation by the sweat of our brows. We have honoured our Constitution, which enshrines the principle of social, economic and environmental justice for all.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Similarly, when Belize’s territorial integrity was at issue, Belize turned to the United Nations to defend the country’s sovereignty over its land, and, for as long as we have been a dutiful Member State, we have had peace. We want that peace to endure, so we have taken every possible step to bring Guatemala to the table of justice in order to resolve that country’s unfounded claim on our territory. In 2008, Belize and Guatemala agreed to refer the Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory to the International Court of Justice, the Organization’s judicial arm, subject to the will of each of our peoples. Both Belize and Guatemala are poised to hold the requisite referendums to obtain our peoples’ consent.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In our region, we continue to witness the suffering of our Haitian brothers and sisters. Belize cannot remain silent in the face of such intolerable injustice, nor should the rest of the world. We support United Nations efforts aimed at bringing justice to all who have been alienated, oppressed, victimized or silenced. When we fail to uphold our duty to the norms and values of the United Nations, humankind itself suffers. But when we defend those norms and values, there is no greater redemption. The Haitian people know this fact all too well, and, with good reason, they look hopefully towards the new United Nations approach to cholera in Haiti and the establishment of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)