Position paper for Belize
| Committee: | GA Plenary |
| Topic: | The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment |
| Paper text: | |
| Per the United Nations, A safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment is integral to the
full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the rights to life, health, food,
water and sanitation. This fundamental human right to a clean and healthful environment is
unfortunately a need not being met for billions worldwide, especially in developing
countries. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 23% of premature
deaths worldwide can be attributed to preventable environmental factors.
Over the past decade, reckless consumption of natural resources and unsustainable energy practices have disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, reinforcing existing disparities between developing and developed nations. Belize, along with neighboring Central American countries, is increasingly experiencing the adverse effects of climate change such as tropical storms, floods, and droughts, each of which are fueled by the shortsighted environmental practices of richer nations. These environmental threats strip away access to clean water, directly endanger the lives of billions and furthermore aggravate global health inequities. This delegation calls on the General Assembly to address environmental injustice and ensure that this right is protected for all individuals, especially those disproportionally affected by climatic disaster. It is only through international cooperation, regulatory action, and a credible commitment to sustainability that this assembly can secure the natural right to a healthy environment. | |
| Committee: | GA Plenary |
| Topic: | Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel |
| Paper text: | |
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The safety and security of humanitarian and United Nations personnel is an issue of utmost
ethical and geopolitical concern, with ramifications particularly for developing countries such
as Belize that are in desperate need of aid. Since 2015 and particularly through the last few
years, harshening international divides on social, economic, political, and environmental
issues have steadily complicated the global security climate and increased the proportion of
world population in need of aid by 400%. Furthermore, the number of UN personnel who
have died due to safety and security failures has only increased over the past 6 years,
reaching a record high 219 fatalities in 2023. Not only are these safety and security failures a
tragedy for the individual losses of life, but they place further strain on a UN humanitarian
aid program that already has only the resources to serve an estimated 27% of those in need.
These trends plainly demonstrate that the current model for humanitarian aid is
unsustainable without further guarantees of safety for humanitarian personnel.
As the United Nations describes, The principal motivation behind humanitarian action is to save lives and alleviate suffering while upholding and restoring personal dignity. Accordingly, humanity is the principal driver for responding to crises, whether triggered by conflict, violence, or natural or man-made disasters. Because of their developing institutions, Belize and other Central American countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, along with developing countries worldwide are significantly more threatened by crises such as the recent wave of tropical storms, and therefore more likely to need humanitarian aid then developed countries. The failure to provide efficient humanitarian aid is therefore both a failure to demonstrate human principles of compassion and a mechanism that reinforces socioeconomic inequity on an international scale. This delegation affirms that it is the responsibility of the General Assembly to reform and streamline the security management system for personnel to ensure the longevity of current humanitarian aid programs. | |
| Committee: | ECOSOC |
| Topic: | Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality |
| Paper text: | |
| Belize, as a vibrant multi-ethnic state, upholds the principles of inclusivity, equality, and social justice, aligning its national objectives with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The need to address global inequality has never been more pressing. Development models and processes that exclude the most vulnerable, disempower communities, and concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few must be overturned to create a just and equitable global system. Belize remains committed to fostering an inclusive society, one in which all citizens, regardless of ethnicity or social status, can participate in and benefit from economic growth and social progress. While global economic integration and technological advances hold significant potential for growth, they have also, under weak institutional frameworks, become sources of exclusion. The dominant business model that prioritizes shareholder value has exacerbated inequality on multiple levels, resulting in the capture of political, economic, and legal systems by powerful interests. As a consequence, the collective bargaining power of workers, indigenous people, and marginalized communities is being systematically eroded, while the benefits of economic growth are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. The vulnerable such as women, farmers, and indigenous groups, are left to bear the brunt of environmental, social, and economic costs. Belize recognizes that to empower people and create an inclusive society, public and private policies, regulations, and institutions must be reformed to prioritize stakeholder engagement. Economic and social systems must be restructured to include all citizens in the creation, management, and sharing of value. This approach must be accompanied by universal social policies that guarantee equitable access to education, healthcare, and justice for all. Safeguards and accountability mechanisms should be established to ensure that vulnerable populations have the capacity to defend their interests and participate in decision-making processes. Belize is home to other significant ethnic groups, such as the Maya descendants and the Garifuna people, whose rights and contributions must be recognized. Recent movements advocating for land tenure rights and indigenous rights highlight the need for a truly equitable society. In this context, Belize's Constitution, which guarantees the rights and freedoms of all citizens, is the foundation for building an inclusive future. In its pursuit of a more equitable society, Belize emphasizes the need for a transparent land policy that treats all citizens equally, without granting privileges to any one ethnic group. Such an approach will promote social cohesion, eliminate marginalization, and foster national unity, ultimately contributing to Belize's prosperity and sustainable development. | |
| Committee: | ECOSOC |
| Topic: | Science, technology and innovation for development |
| Paper text: | |
| As a small developing nation, Belize has historically been a consumer of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) and has often been vulnerable to external events and advanced international players. However, significant progress has been made in recent years. This delegation has enacted legislation to promote e-governance, digitalization, and investments in green technologies to combat climate change. Our academic system is adapting to the future by mainstreaming STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education within a new competency-based curriculum, starting from preschool to high school levels. Since January 2024, Belize has embarked on developing its first National Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy, aimed at transforming the nation from a consumer to a producer of STI over the next 30 years. This strategy, which focuses on the foundational work for the first decade, is being developed collaboratively with all stakeholders, including top Belizean scientists who serve on our advisory committee. This collaborative approach reflects Belize's belief that sustainable development can only be achieved through partnerships and collective action. As Belize seeks to expand its telecommunications and digital infrastructure, there are opportunities for international partners, particularly medium-sized enterprises, to invest in consulting, hardware, software, and technical services. Belize welcomes collaboration and investment that will help improve its telecommunications services and IT infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas. We also look forward to strengthening international cooperation to develop the capacity of our workforce and enhance our competitiveness in the global digital economy. This delegation believes that the Social and Economic Council should strive toward a resolution that empowers people through Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) to achieve sustainable development by promoting international collaboration to support developing countries like Belize in transitioning from consumers to producers of STI, and ensuring equitable access to technological innovations. Increasing investment in telecommunications infrastructure, particularly in rural and underserved areas, to provide all citizens with affordable, high-speed internet. Furthermore, advocating for international partnerships to enhance Belize's business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing sectors through technical expertise, training, and infrastructure development. National STI strategies should be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that technological advancements contribute to social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Finally, the resolution must call for capacity-building initiatives and investments in green technologies to mitigate climate change and foster sustainability in small developing nations. | |
| Committee: | WHA |
| Topic: | Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health |
| Paper text: | |
| The Global Strategy strives to achieve the highest attainable standard for the health and wellbeing of women, children and adolescents to ensure, among other things, that every mother and child not only survives but also thrives. This comes after the success of the 2010 Strategy and the Every Woman, Every Child movement, which helped accelerate these results and soon became the stepping stone for this project. Belize has been able to progress towards women's, children's, and adolescents' health goals thanks to this movement. Belize has been able to drop their maternal mortality rate by half in only two years, the infant mortality rate has also dropped by 33% since 2015 and the rate of maternal to infant transmission of HIV has nearly been eliminated. Strengthening maternal and child health services, HIV and syphilis prevention programs, malaria elimination programs, family planning and sexual health education and strengthening and general collection of health data have been some of the more helpful solutions implemented in Belize that have been able to give such positive results in a relatively short time span. | |
| Committee: | WHA |
| Topic: | Public health dimension of the world drug problem |
| Paper text: | |
| The world drug problem has a multitude of public health concerns that make the overall problem have different dimensions such as the treatment and care for people with drug use disorders, harm reduction associated with the misuse of drugs, the access to controlled medicines for pain relief, vulnerability to drug use disorders, etc. This makes the solution for this problem less clear. Currently, Belize is one of the countries that is struggling with an onslaught of drug trafficking, especially considering the ongoing 'War on Drugs' that is happening within Latin America, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Because of the low population density and geographical location, Belize relies mostly on external resources and overseas trading to keep their economy running. This has made the drug trafficking problem intensify in Belize and its neighboring countries. Some of the possible solutions include implementing prevention programs such as education and awareness campaigns, the betterment of mental health support and implementation of youth programs with targeted interventions. Also implementing harm reduction strategies such as needle exchange programs, safe consumption spaces and naloxone distributions along with increasing treatment and rehabilitation services would be the best solutions to help fight this problem. | |
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