Mixed commission holds first meeting in Guatemala

The mixed commission on the Belize Guatemala dispute held its inaugural meeting today in Guatemala City. According to a Belize government press release, the five members from each country reached basic agreements on how to proceed with regard to frequency of meetings, use of English and Spanish and the taking of decisions by consensus. The meeting was co-chaired by Ambassador James Murphy and Harold Quej Chen, Guatemala’s Secretary of the Environment. Other members of the Belize delegation are Lois Young Barrow, Erwin Contreras, Godwin Hulse and Dr. Ludwig Palacio. The mixed commission is charged with the task of formulating confidence-building measures between the two countries as a prelude to substantive negotiations.