By: Omar Silva I Editor/Publisher

National Perspective Belize I Digital 2025

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Belize City: Thursday 14th August 2025

For nearly a decade, Belize has worn the badge of UNCAC signatory while doing the bare minimum to turn anti-corruption promises into enforceable reality. We signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in December 2016, underwent the official UN review in 2020, and accepted recommendations on asset declarations, whistle-blower protection, procurement reform, and beneficial ownership disclosure. And yet — here we are, still “reviewing,” still “consulting,” still dodging.

Over this same period, the United Nations system has been right here in Belize — delivering governance projects, upgrading court systems, building digital public services, and facilitating multi-agency coordination through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. The Resident Coordinator’s office, now headed by Raúl Salazar, has the mandate to bring every UN agency to the table with the Government of Belize. UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative, Michael Lund, is steering governance and justice sector support on the ground.

So why hasn’t UNCAC taken root? Because in the UN system, coordination is just that — coordination. The Resident Coordinator can press, convene, advise, and even condition project funding on reform milestones. But the authority to legislate, enforce, and punish lies solely with the Government. And successive governments — UDP then PUP — have treated UNCAC like a political hot potato, passing it back and forth while citizens watch trust in public office erode.

The uncomfortable truth is that this is not a capacity gap — it is a political choice. The UN can produce glowing frameworks, publish country analyses, and feed governance indicators into the Cooperation Framework. But if Cabinet refuses to move a bill, staff an anti-corruption commission, or enforce procurement transparency, there is no “UN police” to force their hand.

The tragedy for Belize is that while coordination without consequence rolls on, public confidence bleeds away. We have the international commitments, the technical support, and the funding streams to act. What we lack — and have lacked for nearly ten years — is the political will to match words with action.

UNCAC compliance is not just another development target; it’s the minimum standard for public integrity in the 21st century. Until the Government of Belize decides to stop tiptoeing and start delivering, no amount of UN coordination will scrub away the stain of inaction.