REPORTTOTHEPERMANENTCOUNCILONTHEFUNDFORPEACE,PURSUANTTORESOLUTION781(1257/00)

January1,2009,toFebruary28,2011

1. Background:

InresolutionAG/RES.1756(XXX‐O/00),“FundforPeace:PeacefulSettlementofTerritorial Disputes,” the General Assembly established a mechanism for providingmember states of the Organization that so request with financial resources to assistwith defraying the costs of proceedings previously agreed to by the parties for thepeacefulsettlementofterritorialdisputesamongmemberstates.

In resolution CP/RES. 781 (1257/00), of December 1, 2000, the PermanentCouncilestablishedaseriesofguidelinesformanagingtheFundforPeace.Thepresentreportwasdrawnup inaccordancewiththoseguidelines,which,amongother things,instructtheGeneralSecretariattopresentannualreportstothePermanentCouncilontheactivitiesoftheFundforPeaceandonitsfinancialsituation.

On September 23, 2008, the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza,togetherwithformerCostaRicanpresidentandNobelPeacePrizelaureateOscarAriasSánchez,establishedtheInter‐AmericanPeaceForum,intheframeworkoftheFundforPeace, toconsolidateOASefforts inconflictprevention,management,and resolution,aswellasinthepromotionofacultureofpeace.

OnJune4,2009,atthefourthplenarysessionoftheGeneralAssemblymeetingin San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs adopted resolutionAG/RES. 2525 (XXXIX‐O/09), “Fund for Peace: Peaceful Settlement of TerritorialDisputes,” in which the member states reaffirmed their support for that conflict‐resolution mechanism and recognized the Inter‐American Peace Forum for itscontributiontothepromotionofacultureofpeaceintheHemisphere.

ThisreportdescribestheGeneralSecretariat’sactivitiesundertheGeneralFundof the Fund for Peace and the Belize‐Guatemala Subfund, aswell as initiatives takenundertheInter‐AmericanPeaceForum.2. Summary of the General Secretariat’s activities from January 1, 2009, to

February28,2011,intheframeworkoftheFundforPeace:BELIZE‐GUATEMALAStatusoftheTerritorialDifferendum

During the second half of 2009, a series of incidents in the Adjacency Zone

created a climate of tension, which led the OAS to convene a technical meeting ofrepresentatives of the Governments of Belize and Guatemala to assess the situation.The meeting was held in Flores, Petén, Guatemala, for the purpose of sharinginformation on matters and concerns of common interest and identifying actionsconducivetostrengtheningconfidence‐buildingmeasures.

Asa resultof thatmeeting, the foreignministersofBelizeandGuatemalametwiththeSecretaryGeneralonDecember16,2009,atOASheadquartersinWashington,D.C., under the auspices of theOrganization, to set up a high‐levelworking group toconduct a systematic evaluation of implementation of the confidence‐buildingmeasures, examine specific incidents, discuss pending bilateral issues, and promotedirectandfluidchannelsofcommunicationbetweentheparties.

The first meeting of the High‐Level Working Group between Belize andGuatemalawasheldonMarch9,2010.ItcarefullyexaminedsomeincidentsthattookplaceinRíoSarstún,aswellasinotherareasoftheAdjacencyZone,specificallyrelatedto environmental and security matters. As a result of that meeting, the SecretaryGeneral’sRepresentativevisitedtheAdjacencyZone,accompaniedbytheOASAssistantSecretary forMultidimensional Security, the Principal Environmental Specialist of theDepartment of Sustainable Development, and the Director of the OAS Office in theAdjacency Zone, to assess environmental and security conditions and to makeappropriaterecommendations.

Likewise, during the period covered by this report, a series ofmeetings wereheld, both atOASheadquarters inWashington,D.C., and inGuatemalaCity,with thecountriesthatmakeupthe“GroupofFriendsofBelizeandGuatemala.”Thepurposeofthese meetings was to provide those countries with information on progress in thenegotiationsandontheactivitiescarriedoutbytheOASGeneralSecretariatpursuanttothe September 2005 framework agreement. The meetings were also instrumental inraising funds for maintaining the Office and for implementing confidence‐buildingmeasures.

Finally, it bearsmentioning that in September2009, theGuatemalanCongressadoptedaSpecialAgreementbetweenBelizeandGuatemalatoholdareferendumonwhetherGuatemala’sterritorial,maritime,andinsularclaimshouldbesubmittedtotheInternationalCourtof Justice.Theplebisciteswill takeplacesimultaneouslyonadateagreeduponbythetwocountries.OfficeoftheOASGeneralSecretariatintheAdjacencyZone

The Office of the OAS General Secretariat in the Adjacency Zone has beenfunctioning uninterruptedly since 2003. Its principal activities include conducting

verifications that enable it to propose solutions and reporting on any incidents thatoccur intheAdjacencyZone.Thisactivity isnotonlythemost importantongoingtaskperformedbytheOffice;itisalsothemeansbywhichtheOfficeestablishesaconstantpresenceinthecommunitiesthroughouttheAdjacencyZone.BetweenJanuary1,2009,and February 28, 2011, the Office conducted more than 200 verifications andinvestigationsofincidents.

Likewise, interagency coordination with the police forces and with the BelizeDefense Force (BDF) and the Guatemalan Army (GA) was ongoing and of vitalimportance.Quarterlytripartitemeetingswereheldtocoordinateoperations,aswerefrequent spontaneous meetings on the premises of the OAS/AZ Office. Moreover,support was given in the form of equipment. For example, GPS (Global PositioningSystem)deviceswereacquiredandgiventoboththeBDFandtheGA,makingitpossibletoprovidetrainingintheircorrectusesoastoavoidlocalizationerrorsindemarcationoftheAZ,whichnowseparatesBelizeandGuatemalainthedisputedterritory.

The OAS/AZ Office also supported interagency coordination between themunicipalgovernments ineachcountry’sAdjacencyZoneinordertoboost interactionandcooperationamongthem.Furthermore,itidentifiedareassuitableforpossiblelocaldevelopment projects and held cultural events and meetings to integrate theeducationalcommunityinthetwocountriesoftheAZ.

Similarly,closecoordinationwasmaintainedwiththePanAmericanInstituteofGeography and History. This took the form of cartographic support and preciselocalization onAZmaps based on data gathered in the field during verifications. Thistypeofsupportisrequestedwheninstancesofverificationaresuchthattheyrequireahighdegreeofprecisioninreadingmapsandcoordinates,inparticularwhenthesitestobeverifiedareveryclosetotheAdjacencyLine.

Support for individuals, communities, and institutions in the AZ was alsoprovidedinthefollowingareas:provisionoffuelfortransportation,food,traveltickets,donationofschoolsuppliesandtoys,andovernightshelter.Recipientsofthisassistanceconsisted of schools, fire fighters, hospitals, and needy families whose situation isdirectlyrelatedtoincidentsortheconsolidationofconfidence‐buildingmeasuresintheAdjacencyZone.

By the same token, support for communities in general and for children andadolescents in particular is part of the Promotion and Development of a Culture ofPeaceregularlycarriedoutbytheMissionintheAZ.Theperiodcoveredbythisreportsawtheimplementationoftheprogram“PromotingaCultureofPeace,”inwhichmorethan 300 students from Belize and Guatemala studied music (wind and stringinstruments),singing,painting,andtheaterarts.TheclasseswereheldonthepremisesoftheOAS/AZMissionaswellasintheBenqueHouseofCultureinBenqueViejo,Belize.The initiative was coordinated by the Mayor’s Offices of Melchor de Mencos and

Benque Viejo. The official closing of the event was attended by members of thediplomaticcorpsofBelizeandGuatemala,representativesofBelizeanandGuatemalanNGOs, officials of the two countries, and the Secretary General’s Representative forBelize‐GuatemalaAffairs.Itwasalsoattendedby1,800studentsfromschoolsinBelizeandGuatemala.

In addition, the AZ Office, together with the Young Americas Business Trust(YABT) and with support from the Government of Israel, offered training courses onrural tourism to young people from Belize and Guatemala residing in the AdjacencyZone.

As far as the Santa Rosa Community is concerned, activities continuedwith aview to finalizing the resettlementprocess,which tookplace in2008. Theseactivitieswere basically related to pending legal aspects of the Trust and to some smallcomplementary infrastructureworks.Accordingly, certificates for theNewSantaRosaCommunity Trust were distributed to the project’s beneficiary families. Thecorresponding ceremony was held in the community’s multipurpose room and wasattendedbyGuatemalanArmyofficersandofficialsfromthePoptúnMayor’sOfficeandtheOfficeof theHumanRightsOmbudsmanofGuatemala. Participatingonbehalf oftheOASwere the teamfromtheOASOffice in theAdjacencyZoneandtheSecretaryGeneral’sRepresentativeforBelize‐GuatemalaAffairs.

Asconcernsthe formerBarrio Judá, in2004and2005the30 families livingonthe site known as Judá, located on the Adjacency Line and in the Adjacency Zoneadministered by the two countries, were resettled. Upon completion of theresettlementprocess,the30familieshadbeenprovidedwithhouseswithbasicservicesand with title to those properties. However, the unoccupied land continued to besubjecttonewoccupationattemptsand, inearly2009, itwasonceagainoccupiedonboththewestandtheeastoftheAdjacencyLine.TheGovernmentofBelizerequestedacorresponding verification, and since then the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone hasbeen in constant contact and coordination with the foreign ministries of the twocountriestoimplementthestepsandmeasuresprovidedforintheconfidence‐buildingmeasuresforsituationslikethatone.Tothatend,collaborationandcoordinationwerealso received from officials in the Melchor de Menchos Mayor’s Office. Finally, onAugust 12, 2010, resettlement of the new occupant families was completed. In thatconnection,theMelchorMayor’sOfficecontributedlandtothesixevacuatedfamilies,theOASprovidedlogisticalsupportforthemove,financialresourceswereprovidedtodefraythecostsofprocessinglegaldocumentationforthetransferof landdonatedtothebeneficiariesbytheMayor’sOffice,andfoodandotherassistanceweregiventothebeneficiary families. Likewise, themakeshift structures remaining in Barrio Judáwerecompletely demolished. TheMelchor deMencosMayor’s Office declared the area aReserve Zone in which housing and fence construction as well as agriculture wereprohibited.

INTER‐AMERICANPEACEFORUM2009

InthecontextoftheInter‐AmericanPeaceForum,onSeptember21,2009,theannualceremonymarkingtheInternationalDayofPeacewasheld,withDr.ClaraRojasfeatured as the keynote speaker, and “PeaceWeek”was inaugurated, consisting of aseries of cultural activities that included, among other things, a concert of theColombianyouthorchestra“NotesofPeace,”anexhibitofOAShistoricalphotographs,aspecialexhibitofselectedworksfromthepermanentcollectionoftheArtMuseumoftheAmericasonthesubjectofpeace,ashowingofthefilm“TheDayafterPeace,”andtheevent“Chalk4peace.”

Alsoaspartofthisprogram,aninformationcampaignwaslaunchedtopromotethe proactive role of the OAS in conflict resolution and the peaceful settlement ofdisputes,throughthepublicationofvariousmaterialsanddocumentsthatfeaturetheOrganization’s main efforts in this field. Likewise, various databases were drawn up,amongthemadatabaseofinstitutions,organizations,andfoundationsdedicatedtothestudy and promotion of conflict resolution and a database of regional facilitators,mediators,andexpertsinthatarea.

Inaddition,thenewFundforPeaceWebpagewasinaugurated.Notonlydoesitcompilecurrentdocuments,newsitems,andinformationontheFund’sactivitiesbutitalsoservesas theOrganization’s institutionalmemory in this regardas itcontains theOAShistoricalarchivesonpeaceinitiativesandmissions.

Two seminars were held under the auspices of the Fund: one on“DemocratizationofKnowledgefortheCreationofaCultureofPeace,” inconjunctionwiththeMinistryofForeignAffairsofUruguay,andtheotheron“IndigenousPeoplesandPeacebuildingExperiences,” incoordinationwiththeMinistryofForeignAffairsofBolivia.Moreover,theAmericasProjectforyoungleaderswasorganizedinconjunctionwiththeJamesA.BakerIIIInstituteforPublicPolicy.Itinvolvedtheparticipationof15leaders from OAS member countries and various international panelists, who leddiscussionson the topic “Peace in theAmericas in theXXICentury.” Lastly, thePeaceFundSectionparticipatedinthetrainingofferedtostudentsinthe“AdvancedCourseinHemisphericDefenseandSecurity”attheInter‐AmericanDefenseCollegeandmadeapresentationonthetools,activities,andobjectivesoftheFundforPeace.2010 Tocommemoratethe20thanniversaryofNicaragua’sInternationalCommissionforSupportandVerification(CIAV/OAS)andontheoccasionoftheInternationalDayofPeace,aseminarwasheldonSeptember21,2010,toreflectontheroleplayedbytheOAS over the last 20 years in peacebuilding efforts in the Hemisphere through itsvarious missions in the field. To that end, the heads of the OAS peace missions in

Nicaragua (CIAV/OAS), Suriname, Haiti (MICIVIH), Colombia (MAPP), Belize andGuatemala, Colombia and Ecuador (MIB), and Honduras gathered to share theirexperiences with OAS staff, members of the diplomatic corps, academics, localgovernmentofficials,mediarepresentatives,andthepublicat large.Asacomplementto that event, a book on the Organization’s proactive role in conflict resolution andpeacebuildingwaspublishedanddistributedduringtheseminar. Inaddition,acoursetitled“TheOAS:Peace,Democracy,andConflictResolution”wasofferedforthefirsttimeonSeptember23and24,2010.InitOASexpertsreviewedspecific casesanddiscussed the relationshipbetween those subject areasandhumanrights, gender equality, security, and reciprocal confidence‐building measures. Morethan 80people attended the course, including staff from theGeneral Secretariat andthepermanentmissionsaswellasindividuals.3. ContributionstotheFundforPeacefromJanuary1,2009,toFebruary28,2011

TheFundforPeaceiscurrentlycomposedoftwoelements:ageneralfundandtheBelize‐GuatemalaSubfund.InJanuary2003,US$1millionwasallocatedtotheFundfor Peace though Permanent Council resolution CP/RES. 831 (1342/02). Use of thatsignificantcontributionisgovernedbyspecificprovisionsestablishedbythePermanentCouncilthroughthefundingresolution.TheGeneralFund

TheGeneralFundcomponentoftheFundforPeacemaybeusedtosupportthepeacefulsettlementofanyterritorialdisputeinaccordancewiththeprovisionsinforce.TheGeneralFundwasdesignedtoprovidetheOrganizationwithapoolofresourcesthatareimmediatelyavailableforittorespondswiftlytoanunforeseencrisisresultingfromaterritorialdisputebetweentwoormorememberstates.ThefundsarealsousedbytheGeneralSecretariattobuildexpertiseandexperienceintheareaofpeaceandconflictresolutionandtopromoteprogramsconducivetothepromotionofacultureofpeace,throughtheInter‐AmericanPeaceForum.

BetweenJanuary1,2009,andFebruary28,2011,theGeneralFundreceivedthefollowingcontributions:

Azerbaijan‐US$10,000China‐US$40,000Korea‐US$40,000Spain‐US$96,986Qatar‐US$30,000

AsofFebruary28,2011,theGeneralFundhadabalanceofUS$45,646.

TheBelize‐GuatemalaSubfund

TheBelize‐GuatemalaSubfundwasestablishedpursuanttoresolutionCP/RES.780(1257/00),“SupportfortheProcessofNegotiationsbetweentheGovernmentsofBelizeandGuatemala.”Theresourcescontainedinthissubfundareusedexclusivelyforthepeacefulresolutionofthisterritorialdifferendum.BetweenJanuary1,2009,andFebruary28,2011,theBelize‐GuatemalaSubfundreceivedthefollowingcontributions:

Brazil‐US$25,000Canada‐US$89,000Germany‐US$58,808Mexico‐US$9,500Spain‐US$260,085Turkey‐US$40,000*UnitedKingdom‐US$188,123UnitedStates‐US$50,000

AsofFebruary28,2011,theBelize‐GuatemalaSubfundhadabalanceofUS$146,493.

*Duringtheperiodcoveredbythisreport,theGovernmentoftheUnitedKingdommadetwofinancialcontributions,throughtheOASGeneralSecretariat,totalingUS$415,916,tobedistributedequallybetweenBelizeandGuatemalatosupportthelegalprocessforsubmittingGuatemala’sterritorial,maritime,andinsularclaimtotheInternationalCourtofJustice.

Resolution831ofthePermanentCouncil[CP/RES.831(1342/02)] Inoperativeparagraph1.eofresolutionCP/RES.831(1342/02),thePermanentCounciloftheOrganizationofAmericanStates(OAS)resolvedtoallocate“onemilliondollars(US$1,000,000)totheFundforPeace:PeacefulSettlementofTerritorialDisputes.” AsofFebruary28,2011,resolution831hadabalanceofUS$8,080.Aseparatereportwillbeissuedthatfocusesexclusivelyontheuseoffundsallocatedunderresolution831.

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