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TITLE: BELIZE HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BELIZE
Belize is a parliamentary democracy with a Constitution enacted
in 1981 upon independence from the United Kingdom. It is
governed by a Prime Minister, a Cabinet of Ministers, and a
Legislative Assembly. A Governor General represents Queen
Elizabeth II in the largely ceremonial role of Head of State.
Both local and national elections are scheduled on a
constitutionally prescribed basis.
The Belize Defence Force (BDF) consists of regular and reserve
infantry and small air and maritime wings. The 750-member
Police Department is responsible for law enforcement and
maintenance of order. It is responsible to and controlled by
civilian authorities.
Belize is a developing nation with an economy dependent
primarily on agriculture. The Government favors free
enterprise and actively encourages investment, both foreign and
domestic. In 1992 the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by
5.3 percent in real terms, and the per capita GDP was $2,170.
Constitutional protections for the fundamental rights and
freedoms of the individual, including women and all ethnic
groups, are upheld by the judiciary. An active press and
increasingly independent radio and television stations buttress
the people's civil and political rights. However, there were a
number of credible reports of police abuse and mistreatment,
and at least one allegation of police killing an unarmed
suspect during the year. The Government promised to investigate
complaints and punish those officers guilty of wrongdoing.
However, none were charged or punished for human rights abuses
in 1993. Domestic violence against women is a chronic problem;
in addition, there continued to be credible reports of employer
mistreatment of immigrant workers in the banana industry.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of politically motivated killings. There
were several allegations of misuse of lethal force by police
officers in 1993, constituting extrajudicial killings. In each
of three such cases reported and investigated during the year
in which excessive force was alleged to have been used in the
course of hot pursuit or arrest of criminal suspects, the
Director of Public Prosecutions determined that there was
insufficient evidence to prosecute. However, charges were
filed against a police officer following a 1991 incident in
which a prisoner was killed in police custody when the officer
apparently tried to break up a fight between prisoners. That
case had ended in a hung jury in early 1993; the prosecutor
filed charges again and a new trial is pending.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment are expressly forbidden by the Constitution.
Nonetheless, there are occasional credible reports of
mistreatment and abuse by police. Such allegations are
investigated by the Police Department, the Police Complaints
Board, and on occasion, by special independent commissions
appointed by the Prime Minister. No police or prison officer
was charged with or convicted of such an offense in 1993.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention, and
these provisions are respected in practice. A detainee must be
informed of the cause of detention within 48 hours of arrest
and must be brought before a court within 72 hours. In
practice, detainees are normally informed immediately of the
charges against them. Bail is granted in all but the most
serious cases. However, many detainees cannot make bail, and
backlogs in the judicial system often cause considerable delays
and postponements of hearings, resulting in overcrowded prisons
and prolonged incarceration without trial.
Exile is forbidden by the Constitution and does not occur.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Persons accused of civil or criminal offenses have
constitutional rights to presumption of innocence, protection
against self-incrimination, defense by counsel, public trial,
and appeal. Trial by jury is mandatory in capital cases.
Those convicted by either a magistrate's court or the Supreme
Court may appeal to the Court of Appeal. In some cases,
including those resulting in a capital sentence, the convicted
party may make a final appeal to the Privy Council in the
United Kingdom.
These constitutional guarantees are respected in practice,
although the judiciary's independence from the executive branch
has been questioned by observers who note that judges must
negotiate renewal of their employment contracts with the
Government and may thus be vulnerable to political interference.
The Supreme Court and magistrate courts suffer backlogs
aggravated by the inability to maintain a full complement of
judges.
There are no political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Constitutional provisions for the protection of personal
property, privacy of home and person, and recognition of human
dignity are generally honored by the Government. Police are
required to obtain judicial warrants before searching private
property except when they have a reasonable suspicion that a
crime is being committed and do not have time to obtain a
warrant. This requirement is obeyed in practice. Customs
officers do not require a warrant to search private property.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedom of speech and the press are protected under the
Constitution and by local custom. In practice, all viewpoints
are publicly presented without government interference. Five
privately owned weekly newspapers, two of them fiercely
partisan, engage in lively debate of the issues. The opposition
press is a frequent critic of government officials and policies.
All newspapers are subject to the constraints of libel laws.
Belize's first privately owned commercial radio station began
broadcasts in 1990. Since then, broadcast media have become
considerably more open. The popular radio call-in programs are
lively and feature open criticism of and comment on government
and political matters. Continuing indirect government influence
over the autonomous Broadcasting Corporation of Belize, a former
government monopoly which depends on government financial
support, sometimes affects its editorial decisions regarding
news and feature reporting.
Fifteen privately owned television broadcasting stations,
including several cable networks, operate in Belize. The
Government's Belize Information Service and the independent
Channel 5 television station produce local news and feature
programs. Broadcasting is regulated by the Belize Broadcasting
Authority (BBA), which asserts its right to preview certain
broadcasts, such as those with political content, and to delete
any defamatory or personally libelous material from the
political broadcasts of both parties before these are aired.
As far as is known, the BBA did not exercise this authority
during 1993.
Academic freedom is provided for by law and respected in
practice.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of assembly is constitutionally assured and honored in
practice. Political parties and other groups with political
objectives freely hold rallies and mass meetings. The
organizers of public meetings must obtain a permit 36 hours in
advance of the meetings; such permits are not denied for
political reasons. Under the Constitution, Belizeans are free
to form and join associations of their choice, both political
and nonpolitical.
c. Freedom of Religion
There is no state religion. All groups may worship as they
choose, and all groups and churches may establish places of
worship, train clergy, and maintain contact with coreligionists
abroad. There is an active missionary presence. In church
publications and from the pulpit, church leaders comment on
government and political policies as these affect the social
welfare of the country.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
There are no restrictions on freedom of movement within the
country. Foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation are
unrestricted.
As many as 40,000 Central Americans from neighboring countries
have taken up residence in Belize since 1980, many of them
entering illegally and living in Belize without documentation.
The Government conferred refugee status on many of the new
arrivals and provided them with assistance. However, the sheer
number of refugees and other immigrants strained government
social services, while the highly visible presence of recent
immigrants in the labor force and the marketplace has provoked
widespread resentment among native-born Belizeans.
The Human Rights Commission of Belize (HRCB) and others
complained that immigration and law enforcement authorities
abused suspected illegal immigrants and on occasion deported
persons who in fact were legal residents or bona fide refugees.
In response to complaints, the Government promised to
investigate all charges of unfair treatment, discourtesy, or
abuse. The Government claims that no specific evidence of
these allegations has been presented.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Belize is a functioning democracy governed by a Legislative
Assembly, with executive direction from a Cabinet of Ministers
headed by Prime Minister George Price. National elections must
be held at least once every 5 years. Municipal and town board
officials are elected in local contests at 3-year intervals.
All elections are by secret ballot, and suffrage is universal
for Belizean citizens 18 years and older. National political
parties include the People's United Party (PUP), the United
Democratic Party (UDP), and the National Alliance for Belizean
Rights (NABR). The nation's ethnic diversity is reflected in
each party's membership. The Government changed hands (for the
third time since independence in 1981) when a coalition of the
UDP and NABR won 16 of 29 seats in the House of Representatives
in the general elections of June 30.
Allegations that large numbers of Central American immigrants
were illegally naturalized in order to pad voter rolls before
the June general elections were investigated by an independent
consortium of nongovernmental organizations (NGO's). The
consortium discovered a pattern of irregularities which lent
credence to the charges, and the new Government promised to
study and act on the group's recommendations to prevent such
abuses from occurring in the future.
Women hold a number of appointive offices--the Governor General
and three of nine Senators are women--but women in elective
office are rare. No laws or practices impede participation of
women in politics. One of four women who contested June's
general election was elected to the House of Representatives.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Local and international human rights groups operate freely, and
the Government cooperates with independent investigations of
human rights conditions in Belize.
The HRCB, a nongovernmental organization that is affiliated
with regional human rights organizations, was active in 1993 on
a range of issues, including refugee and agricultural workers'
rights, cases of alleged police abuse, and cases of alleged
illegal deportations of Central American nationals. The HRCB
publicizes and urges police and other government bodies to act
upon complaints which the HRCB receives. It lacks the
resources to conduct independent investigations, but it does
participate in joint projects such as the NGO consortium
investigation discussed above.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Belize is a multiracial, multiethnic country, and the
Government actively promotes tolerance and cross-cultural
understanding. Discrimination on ethnic or religious grounds
is illegal and is not common, although ethnic tension,
particularly resentment of Central American immigrants,
continued to be a problem.
Women
Despite constitutional provisions for equality, Belizean women
face social and economic prejudices. For example, women can
find it more difficult than men to obtain business and
agricultural financing and other resources. Most employed
women are concentrated in female-dominated occupations with
traditionally low status and wages. A Women's Bureau in the
Ministry of Labor and Social Services is charged with
developing programs to improve the status of women. A number
of officially registered women's groups work closely with
various government ministries in promoting social awareness
programs. Women have access to education and are active in all
spheres of national life, but relatively few are found in top
managerial positions. While the law mandates that women
receive equal pay for equal work, women wage earners often earn
less than men in similar jobs. Women are not impeded from
owning or managing land or other real property.
Domestic violence against women is a chronic problem. Women
Against Violence (WAV), an NGO with branches throughout the
country, runs a shelter for battered women and a hotline for
rape victims. WAV and other women's organizations successfully
lobbied the Government to secure passage of a domestic violence
law in November 1992.
Children
In 1990 Belize became the fifth nation worldwide to ratify the
U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. With support from
the United Nations Children's Fund, the Government and various
NGO's are currently studying legislative changes which will be
required to bring national law into conformity with the
Convention. Several NGO's are active in the field of child
welfare and the prevention of child abuse. The Government has
sponsored a series of public service television announcements
to sensitize the public to the issue of child abuse.
People with Disabilities
Assistance to physically disabled persons is provided by the
Government's Disability Services Unit as well as by a number of
NGO's such as the Belize Association of and for Persons with
Disabilities and the Belize Center for the Visually Impaired.
Disabled children have access to government special education
facilities. Belizean law does not specifically prohibit job
discrimination against disabled persons. The provision of
accessibility for disabled persons is not mandated legislatively
or otherwise.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
By statute and in practice, workers are free to establish and
join trade unions. Thirteen independent unions, with an
estimated 9.8 percent of the labor force, represent a
cross-section of white-collar, blue-collar, and professional
workers, including most civil service employees. Several of
the unions, however, are moribund and inactive. Unions are
recognized by the Ministry of Labor after they file with the
Office of Registry. Members are empowered to draft the bylaws
and constitutions of their unions, and they are free to elect
officers from among the membership at large. Unions which
choose not to hold elections may act as representatives for
their membership, but the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC)
of Belize permits only unions which hold free and annual
elections of officers to join its ranks. By both law and
precedent, unions are effectively protected against dissolution
or suspension by administrative authority.
Although no unions are officially affiliated with political
parties, several are sympathetic to one or the other of the two
main parties. Unions freely exercise the right to form
federations and confederations and affiliate with international
organizations. Unions are legally permitted to strike, but
unions representing essential services may strike only after
giving 21 days' notice to the Ministry concerned. A wildcat
strike by nonunion women textile workers occurred in 1993
following the failure of the employer to meet his payroll. The
Government suspended the offending company's development
concession in October and the company's management promised to
pay the workers' back wages as soon as possible.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Collective bargaining is protected in law and freely practiced
throughout the country. Wages are set in free negotiations
between employers and unions or, more commonly, simply offered
by employers. In practice, the Labor Commissioner acts as a
conciliator in deadlocked collective bargaining negotiations
between labor and management, offering nonbinding counsel to
both sides. Historically, the Commissioner's guidance has been
voluntarily accepted. However, should either union or
management choose not to accept the conciliator's decision,
both are entitled to a legal hearing of the case, provided that
it is linked to some valid provision of civil or criminal law.
The Constitution prohibits antiunion discrimination both before
and after the union is registered. Theoretically, unions may
freely organize. In practice, however, employers are not
legally required to recognize a union as a bargaining agent,
and some employers have been known to block union organization
by terminating the employment of key union sympathizers,
usually on grounds purportedly unrelated to union activities.
Effective redress is extremely difficult in such situations.
Technically, a worker may file a complaint with the Labor
Department, but it has been virtually impossible to prove that
a termination was due to union activity.
Belize's two export processing zones (EPZ's) are not exempt
from the Labor Code. There are no unions in the EPZ's,
however, reflecting the general weakness of organized labor in
the country, as noted above.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced labor is forbidden by the Constitution and is not known
to occur.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The minimum age of employment is 14 years, or 17 years for
employment near hazardous machinery. Inspectors from the
Ministries of Labor and Education enforce this regulation,
although in recent years school truancy officers, who have
historically borne the brunt of the enforcement burden, have
been less active. Children between the ages of 5 and 14 are
required to attend school. In practice, there are many truants
and dropouts.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The minimum wage is $1.12 (B$2.25) per hour, except in export
industries where it is $1.00 (B$2.00) per hour. For domestic
workers and shop assistants in stores where liquor is not
consumed the rate is $0.87 (B$1.75) per hour. Workers paid on
a piecework basis are not covered by the minimum wage law. The
Ministry of Labor is charged with enforcing the legal minimum
wage, which is generally respected in practice. The minimum
wage as a sole source of income is inadequate to provide a
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most
salaried workers receive more than the minimum wage.
No worker is obliged to work more than 6 days or 45 hours per
week. Payment for overtime work is obligatory, as is an annual
paid vacation of 2 weeks. A patchwork of health and safety
regulations covers numerous industries, and these regulations
are enforced in varying degrees by the Ministries of Labor and
Public Health. Enforcement is not universal countrywide, and
in 1993 the limited inspection and investigative resources were
committed principally to urban and more accessible rural areas
where labor, health, and safety complaints had been registered.
The exploitation of undocumented foreign workers, particularly
young service workers and workers in the banana industry,
continues to be a major concern of the HRCB and other concerned
citizens. Undocumented immigrants working in the Stann Creek
area banana industry have complained of poor working and living
conditions and routine nonpayment of wages. In 1992 a
government labor inspector was assigned to the area to help
resolve wage disputes and promote improved conditions, but
after more than a year, little progress was made. (###)
[end of document]
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