Belize Government Ignores Maya Land Rights, Grants Oil Permits to US Company | Land Portal

The Belize government has issued permits to US Capital Energy and is allowing the company to proceed with oil development activities on Maya land, despite the fact that the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and even Belize’s own Supreme Court have given support to the legal and political claims of Maya communities to inhabit 500,000 acres of their traditional rainforest territory.

In 2007 the Belize Supreme Court ruled that the Maya villages of Conejo and Santa Cruz have customary title to the lands they traditionally use and occupy, in accordance with their ancestral land tenure system. A similar court ruling in 2010 expanded this right to all Maya villages in southern Belize. Despite the fact that these rulings were never appealed and therefore remain in full effect, the Belize government has issued permits for oil development on these lands, and in doing so is “denying the Maya peoples’ rights to our lands, and is disregarding the authority of the courts and the fundamental tenants of democracy such as security of property and the rule of law.” According to Cultural Survival, US Capital Energy, a Texas-based company, has already cut over 200 miles of seismic trail for oil exploration in the Sarstoon Temash National Park and traditional Maya territories, resulting in forest fires that have destroyed 400 acres of forest to date. It has also been alleged that Capital Energy has attempted to bribe Maya alcaldes, traditional leaders similar to mayors, to support the project.

Approximately 28,000 Maya live in 28 different communities across southern Belize, speaking Q’eqchi and Mopan. The Maya Leaders Alliance, a First Peoples grantee, is currently undertaking a project to promote the traditional Mayaalcalde governance system. The alcalde system is made up of community representatives that convey community wishes. Traditionally, alcaldes are appointed for life and the position is considered an obligation; people do not campaign to be alcalde. However, over the past couple of decades, the Belize government has undermined the system, forcing them to hold elections every two years and redefining the governing power that alcaldes may hold. The Maya Leaders Alliance is using a First Peoples grant to enhance the leadership of 76 Maya alcaldes, transport them to Belize City to oversee and demonstrate at relevant court cases and legal hearings, and print educational material in easy-to-understand English and Indigenous languages.

It is clear with this recent violation of the Maya’s land titles and right to free, prior, and informed consent that a strengthening of traditional governance and political capacity is needed more than ever. The Maya Leaders Alliance, along with the Toldeo Alcaldes Association, is monitoring the situation and taking the violation to court. Maya leaders are calling on the government to “reconsider its persistent refusal to recognize the Maya peoples as Indigenous Peoples and our corresponding rights to the lands upon which we live, farm, and depend on for our survival.” The full press release from Maya Leaders Alliance may be found below.

Go on the website to read the Press Release.

 

Photo: © Luis Louro, treknature.com

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