What’s Francis Fonseca’s Role in Pending ICJ Cases?

Dean Barrow

At present there are two cases involving Belize before the International Court of Justice, one with Guatemala and another with Honduras, both of which involve territorial disputes.  These matters, according to the Briceño administration, will remain under Senator Courtenay’s careful supervision.  This, too, raises serious questions since Courtenay will be returning to private practice come January first.  His successor as Minister of Foreign Affairs is Francis Fonseca whose ministerial portfolio, which includes education, science, culture and technology, is already brimming with various responsibilities.  But what is his role in these I.C.J. matters?  Here’s more from former PM Barrow.

Dean Barrow, Former Prime Minister

“In addition, the business of Courtenay remaining, as it were, politically in charge of the Belize cases at the ICJ.  Now that compounds the mess.  Courtenay is not a member of the professional legal team that is spearheading our case.  He’s not administratively in charge of the process.  We have an extremely able agent in the person of Assad Shoman, assisted by a co-agent in the person of Alexis Rosado.  Courtenay’s role was a representative of the political directorate and his role was a natural inescapable role that arose in consequence of his being the foreign minister of this country.  If you are no longer the foreign minister, how can you continue to discharge the duties, the role of foreign minister with respect to this most existential of issues for Belize.  The question, again, of ministerial responsibility, Cabinet responsibility, constitutional responsibility then comes into play.  How can he be held to account if he screws up regarding this when he’s not a minister, he’s not a member of Cabinet.  It really boggles the imagination that this scotch tape and glue type of solution that’s being offered to the public that people who I consider to be of sane mind could ever have thought that you would be able to sell anybody on this.  Where is the role of the new foreign minister in all of this?  Is it that actually, in reality what they want to do is to have Courtenay join the legal team?  We have a star-studded, international team of lawyers, about five of them, making huge bucks but understandably, given the stakes, is it that that’s what Courtenay is to do?  But you don’t want to say that because right away, people will say, ahuh, so he’s gone now from his ministerial role to one of professional advocate.  How much is he being paid? What’s going on?”