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On Monday’s news, you heard Cristina Coc, the spokesperson for the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcaldes Association, harshly criticizing the Maya Land Rights Commission for the way it has been implementing Maya Customary Land Rights.

Coc asserted that the Commission has not engaged the Maya communities in good faith negotiations on how best to carry out this process. The Maya keep going to the Caribbean Court of Justice to complain about the Government and the Commission, saying that they aren’t making any real efforts to implement the court’s judgment, which is now 3 years old. 

The latest complaints are about a draft work plan that the court ordered the two sides to collaborate on. The Maya say that the Commission has made unilateral decisions which they believe are counterproductive. 

The Commission released a statement in response today.  It says that it recognizes the importance of a workplan to guide the implementation of the order.  Coc said on Monday that the Commission hired a consultant who speaks only Spanish, which creates an additional language barrier to the process. The Commission release vaguely responds saying quote, “The services of an expert consultant with extensive experience in dealing with indigenous peoples’ issues, at both regional and international levels, inclusive of the drafting of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples…was contracted.” End quote.

Speaking to the complaint that the Commission is not meaningfully engaging the Maya in this process, the statement says, quote,“Maya communities in Toledo do not exist in isolation; consequently, the Commission has followed due process and made every effort to seek out the views of the different stakeholder groups.

The Commission’s final workplan takes into consideration input from the stakeholders who were forthcoming with feedback. The Commission has not shied away from meeting with any one group, and the final workplan reflects input from prominent indigenous groups…The Commission is satisfied that the work plan is a significant fundamental step towards protecting the customary land rights of the Mayas of Southern Belize.” End quote.