Panel Discussion to Look at the Importance of Indigenous Land Rights

The panel is made up of four speakers, including doctors Peitra Arana and Philip Castillo, as well as MLA spokesperson Cristina Coc and Marvin Blades. Coc has been at the forefront of the Maya land rights case in which the Caribbean Court of Justice ruled in favor the thirty-eight indigenous communities, affirming their right to communal lands.

Melissa Zuniga

Melissa Zuniga, Project Coordinator, NGC

“NGC is a part of BNIC which is the Belize National Indigenous Council and we have been working closely over the past three years to strengthen the capacity, collectively, of BNIC but also individually of the different constituencies that make up BNIC, which include the MLA, Maya Leaders Alliance, and the Northern Maya Association of Belize.  So we know that the Maya land rights case, they got a successful ruling from the CCJ and so we wanted to show people from the Belize perspective that it is possible for our land rights to be recognized legally and for them to share some of their experiences along that line. So that is the reason why they are included, so it ties in back to the bigger picture.  Remember, we are looking at the bigger picture for us as a people.”