One of the big topics of last week's bilateral talks was the ICJ referendums, and when they will take place in both countries. The date chosen for the Guatemalan ICJ referendum was March 18, 2018, but the Guatemalans have pushed it back a month to April 15.
Elrington told us that Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel explained why that was necessary, and how the ICJ education campaign has been going in her country:
Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Minister of Foreign Affairs
"She indicated to me, yes, that they want to have it April, I think it's the 15th of April. I think the earlier date they had set was too close to the Easter time, I think she said, but that they thought they would be able to do it the 15th of April. So, it is set for that, and it's being, of course, managed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in Guatemala, and they are doing the necessary education campaign, and they're hoping that they are able to pursue it. Of course, I had indicated to her that before Carlos Raul ceased to be Foreign Minister for Guatemala, we had agreed that we would have gone on a joint excursion to obtain funding from our supporters, partners, and allied countries, particularly the Europeans, because it's - we need funding to help us with the education campaign, and the like. And she said that she thought, yes, that was very necessary because Guatemala needs it as much as Belize. So, she said, yes, she thinks that we should continue with that initiative. I indicated to her that we in fact had been doing education campaign for some time, and in the last budget, we had gotten more money than before, and so, we were able to be doing even more, this education."
Daniel Ortiz
"Is it fairly certain that April next year, their referendum should take place?"
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"Well, that's the information that we now have. Anything can happen, but all indications we now have is that it is going to be for April. But Guatemala is a difficult country. They have all kinds of internal problems, and of course, they have a much greater financial obligation, and financial outlay in attempting to educate their own people on this issue. And Guatemalan resources are very limited, even more limited perhaps than ours, so, it's going to be challenging for them to be able to conduct the kind of effective education within the timeline that they have. So, but we want to be optimistic."
It was decided that the both Foreign Ministers will approach the Secretary General of the OAS to set up meetings with the group of friends to lobby them for further financial support so that both Belize and Guatemalan and fund the education campaigns. They also want to furnish a report to the Permanent Council in charge of the OAS Peace Fund, so an accounting can be given to the donor countries to show how their money was used in the ICJ initiatives in both Belize and Guatemala.