Statement by the Maya Leaders Alliance
April 21st, 2015 – The Caribbean Court of Justice, Belize’s highest appellant court, yesterday reaffirmed the unbroken chain of lower court affirmations that the Maya Indigenous People of southern Belize have rights to lands they have customarily used and occupied. The Court affirmed that these traditional land rights constitute property within the meaning of the provisions of the Belize Constitution that generally protect property free from discrimination.
The judgement, which was rendered by agreement between the Maya representatives and the Government of Belize, requires the government to demarcate and register Maya village lands, and protect them against incursions by outsiders. The Court accepts the government’s undertaking to adopt the necessary ‘legislative, administrative, and/or other measures’ to that end and, in the meantime, to abstain from and prevent acts that would adversely affect Maya land rights. The Court retains supervision and in twelve months the parties will report on implementation.“We have been dragged through the courts for over 30 years but today we are happy that the highest Court again stood with the my people to ensure that Belize gets on the right side of history,’ said Alfonso Cal the highest traditional leader for all the Maya villages. Cristina Coc, Spokes Person for the Maya Leaders Alliance and Toledo Alcaldes Association explained that the Court judgment marks yet another opportunity for Belize to rewrite its relationship with the first peoples of Belize. She elaborated that the fight of the Maya people is for all grassroots and marginalized peoples in Belize and worldwide. Professor James Anaya of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program explained that the judgment “reinforces the international standard that indigenous peoples have collective property rights based on their own customary land tenure systems, even when they do not have formal title or other official recognition of those rights, and that states are bound to recognize and protect those rights.”The Court judgement is the culmination of decades of litigation filed against the Government of Belize by the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcaldes Association on behalf of the Maya villages. The Government of Belize in the past has vigorously contested the Court assertions of Maya Customary land rights. The government reversed this position and came to an agreement that was the basis of the Court’s judgment by consent. While the major issue of Maya land rights has been settled, outstanding before the Court is the Maya’s claim for compensation for damages. The Court will hear the arguments on damages on Wednesday, April 22. After the Court hearing the Maya People will hold a press conference on this historic judgement at the Best Western Hotel in Belize City.
The Maya People’s victory today is a victory for all marginalized peoples in Belize and worldwide. The Maya People expresses gratitude and appreciation for the support that grew stronger year over year from Belizeans, the many Indigenous Peoples that sent their prayers and words of encouragement worldwide, to the Inter American Commission for Human Rights for its report of 2004 which helped to inform domestic litigation, the United Nations bodies that have raised consistently awareness on the need to protect Maya people’s rights and most deeply to our legal team that was put together and coordinated by the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program at the University Of Arizona James E. Rodgers College Of Law.
