Government

The Canadian Government-funded Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) Project is presently assisting the Government of Belize with the revision of its subsidiary laws, which were last revised in 2003 and will now be brought up to date to December 31, 2020. The Regional Law Revision Centre Inc. (the “Centre”), a non-profit incorporated in Anguilla, will undertake the revision on behalf of the IMPACT Justice Project and the Government of Belize.

The Canadian Government-funded Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) Project has donated a number of key legal texts to the Magistrates’ Courts of Belize. This donation is in response to one of the recommendations coming out of a ‘Situational Analysis of the Magistrates’ Courts of Belize’ which was commissioned by the IMPACT Justice Project in mid-2021 at the request of Hon. Magali Young, SC, Attorney General of Belize.

On July 29, 2022, the Ministry of National Defence and Border Security, along with a team of engineers, visited the Sarstoon Forward Operating Base (FOB) in the Toledo District. The visit follows reports concerning the integrity of the FOB due to erosion. During the visit, engineers conducted a site survey and collected data with a view to make recommendations for immediate and short-, medium- and long-term improvements. Once the engineers present their recommendations, the ministry intends on tabling before Cabinet for consideration.

The Economic Development Council (EDC), through its technical secretariat, the Public-Private Desk in the Office of the Prime Minister, is proud to highlight the official launch of the first-of-its-kind, National MSME Roadshow. The launch took place at the Best Western Plus Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel on Friday, August 5th starting at 10:00 a.m. and featured an Access to Finance panel discussion with representatives from the Development Finance Corporation, Central Bank of Belize, the Belize Credit Union League, the National Bank of Belize as well as remarks by the Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora Relations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a keynote address by Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño.

The Governments of Belize and the Republic of Moldova established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level in New York on August 3, 2022. Signing on behalf of the Government of Belize was His Excellency Mr. Carlos Fuller, Permanent Representative of Belize to the United Nations, and His Excellency Mr. Gheorghe Leucă, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova.

The postponement of the marijuana referendum on whether to legalize the production and sale of this drug may take a bit longer due to the threat of losing affiliated financial institutions in the United States of America (USA). The banking sector in Belize may present a roadblock to the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Control and Licensing Bill 2022, which has already been passed in the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, August 2nd, the Ministry of Immigration held a soft launch of its planned Amnesty 2022 program. The program will allow eligible persons in Belize to regularize their immigration status and will be open until November 30, 2022. Amnesty Registration Centres were opened across the country. In San Pedro Town, the center is located on the ground floor of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve building. All appointments to apply for residency must be made online at https://immigration.gov.bz/amnesty-appointment/. Applicants will be provided with a date and time when they will be required to visit the amnesty center to submit their application.

August 1, 2022 commemorates the 188th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire and the 184th anniversary of the abolition of the system of apprenticeship. For the second year, Belize joined its sister Caribbean nations in officially observing Emancipation Day as a public and bank holiday.