By William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Sept. 29, 2025
Belize Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño issued a call to action when he addressed the leaders of the free world at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City last Friday, September 26.
PM Briceño told his fellow leaders that, now more than ever, the world needs the United Nations to work to fight the global challenges from criminal networks as well as technological challenges that overwhelm natural systems, economies, and even basic human rights. He lamented the instances when the United Nations has fallen short of its promise … “because too often, its members—including the most powerful—have failed to act.”
Hon. Briceño pointed out that the inaction has seen six nuclear powers drawn into conflicts in Asia, in Europe, and in the Middle East this year alone. Global insecurity has deepened, even though military spending rose by 9 percent last year to $2.7 trillion, which is more than half the Gross Domestic Product of all of Latin America and the Caribbean, he noted. The UN members should find themselves compelled to act by the hundreds of thousands dead and the millions displaced, orphaned, and left with nothing, by the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, which drag on year after year, he urged.
One of the largest manmade humanitarian crises grows worse day by day in Gaza, where the UN’s relief agency, which is a lifeline to millions, is being pushed to the brink, and the two-state solution long supported by the UN, is slipping away. A UN embargo has not stopped the killing in Sudan, and criminal gangs have overrun Haiti. Prime Minister Briceño called on the UN to help Haiti completely expunge the criminal gangs and ensure they are brought to justice.
Political turmoil deepens, and weapons and drugs flow, as violence overflows national borders. “These … tragedies … are a warning”, which “reveal a pattern of international indifference, disregard for international law, impunity, a tolerance of inhumanity, and deepening cynicism,” Hon, Briceño lamented.
He went on to say that small states like Belize “must vigilantly guard against restive neighbours seeking to sustain territorial claims through military provocation or aggression,” and he drew attention to “the repeated aggressive and provocative actions by our neighbour Guatemala at our southern boundary over the last two weeks,” and how Belize has chosen to act with restraint and caution, in the face of these actions which challenged Belize’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, even though they “do not accord with the obligations of states not to exacerbate or extend a dispute before the International Court of Justice.” Belize and Guatemala submitted the territorial dispute to the ICJ in 2019, and “We trust that justice will prevail’ as “we await the Court’s decision,” he said.
PM Briceño further commented that, throughout Belize’s 44 years of independence, Belize has been “a refuge for those fleeing war and terror from countries near and far,” and “Belize has absorbed more immigrants per capita than any other country in our region. These new Belizeans have enriched our society, and enjoy equal protection under the law.” They enjoy “free primary education and accessible free or low-cost healthcare.”
Belize’s ambition to surpass net-zero in our carbon footprint “comes at a cost,” he noted, as Belize turns our forests and reefs into investments for conservation, as an innovative way to access financing. But he noted that Belize faces a threat “to our overall security”, for it is “the fifth most vulnerable Small Island Developing State (SIDS) to climate risk, ranked second in the world for impacts from extreme weather. Rising seas are already displacing some coastal communities, extreme heat strains our energy systems.” “Food security is under threat” as “unpredictable rainfall threatens our farmers. Fishers must now travel farther and risk more for declining catches in warming seas,” Briceño said.
He urged the UN “to re-energize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development … to renew commitments, especially to Small Island Developing States. He called the UN to urgently address the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS, “to expand access to grants and concessional finance, not more debt,” and “to strengthen SIDS participation in global financial decision making.”
The G20, the 20 industrialized nations most responsible for 80 percent of emissions must commit to more ambitious emissions reduction targets, he advised. He further commented that “Developed nations and development banks must lead the mobilization of $1.3 trillion in climate finance and prioritize SIDS, whose adaptation and loss-and-damage needs are most urgent.” The global financial system should reward environmental stewardship, to recognize the true value of natural assets for long-term resilience, he said.
Hon. Briceño went on to remark that the military tactics employed by the US against civilian vessels in the Caribbean Sea raised serious concerns in the Government of Belize, which is committed, like the rest of the region, to “maintaining Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace – an area free of nuclear weapons, an area where conflicts are prevented through dialogue.”
He did not forget Belize’s long-time friend and ally – The Republic of China on Taiwan, as he urged the UN “to find appropriate ways to recognize Taiwan as an indispensable partner in our shared pursuit of sustainable development.” For it is “a thriving democracy with global leadership in high-tech innovation—semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, renewable energy—all vital to global supply chain security and sustainable development,” he said.
“The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba must end, and Cuba must immediately be removed from the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism,” he urged. It is illegal, inhumane, and contrary to the UN Charter, he said.
