Alcaldes Convene to Discuss Appointment of Toledo Land Rights Commission

Pablo Mis

The Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission was named a few weeks ago.  The breadth of its work is the implementation of a Consent Order by the Caribbean Court of Justice.  That directive mandates government to take measures to protect rights arising from Maya customary land tenure.  Today, the Toledo Alcalde Association met to discuss the appointment of the commission and the work that lies ahead.  According to Pablo Mis, Program Coordinator for the Maya Leaders Alliance, leaders of the respective communities are prepared to work with the newly appointed commission to achieve the objectives set out in the CCJ order.

On the Phone: Pablo Mis, Program Coordinator, MLA

“This morning the Toledo Alcalde Association convened an assembly of leaders.  We had a very, very good turnout of leaders.  It was a regular meeting of the assembly and one of the points on the agenda was the announcement of the commission that was established by the Government of Belize.  For us it is a step in the right direction.  It is a process that we have been anticipating for a few years now, the process of engagement of negotiating the issues that have been affecting the Maya communities and by and large the rest of Belize.  So the Alcaldes were very pleased to learn and to get more details on the commission that has been established.  On our part we have our negotiating team that is ready to engage, that again was presented to the Alcaldes.  So now we anticipate very soon some engagement with the commission.”