FM Elrington: We Will Monitor, But Not Worry

Wilfred Elrington

In December of 2016, Belize’s Senate, which has sole responsibility for ratification of treaties, protocols and other official documentation, ratified along party lines the 2008 Special Agreement and 2015 amendment. At that time it appeared that the country was nowhere close to a referendum after a joint date in 2015 was scrapped. So while Foreign Affairs Minister Elrington was satisfied that Belize has crossed its T’s and dotted its’ I’s, he conceded that a similar fate could befall us if some tricky lawyer began looking for clues. In the meantime, the Guatemalan situation is something to be monitored, but not yet to be worried about.

Aaron Humes

“And there is no, as far as you know, any challenge to that possibly coming to our courts before Belize is ready to hold its referendum?”

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“Yes, I am not aware that we have not done anything that we should have done, that would in fact give validity to a challenge. But you never know; you know lawyers like to grandstand, you may well find them coming up with some challenge, especially in this day and age, so you can’t say it won’t happen.”

Aaron Humes

“At this point, does Belize have anything to worry about in terms of the referendum?”

Wilfred Elrington

“In my view, Belize really has no business as it were to be overly concerned about what they do domestically, because that’s their domestic matter and we won’t want to give the impression that we would be in any way seeking to influence or interfere with their internal domestic process.”

Aaron Humes

“But is it something to monitor?”

Wilfred Elrington

“We always have to monitor, because it is my own position and view that we should watch carefully and hope in fact that we will be able to have this matter taken to the I.C.J. and in our view the quicker, the better. So from that point of view we would want to see the process go on, the matter reach the I.C.J. and a decision taken.”