This update covers developments relating to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Belize from February to March 2026.
Peaceful Assembly
Workers continue to mobilise over inconsistencies in severance payments
On 10th March 2026, a dozen former employees of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), the country’s main telecommunications provider, organised under the Belize Communications Workers for Justice (BCWJ), protested outside the National Assembly in Belmopan, the country’s capital. They demanded payment of severance benefits, including accrued interest.
The dispute centres on the interpretation of a ruling issued by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in November 2025, the highest appellate court for CARICOM members that have acceded to the Court’s jurisdiction, particularly regarding how interest on severance payments should be calculated. While all parties agree that severance payments are owed, disagreements persist over the applicable interest rate and the date from which it should be calculated.
BTL has proposed calculating interest from the date of the CCJ judgment. The Prime Minister has reportedly authorised a reduced rate of three per cent calculated from the date of separation (the date workers left their employment). In contrast, BCWJ members demand six per cent interest from the date of separation and argue that authorities have already applied this standard to other former employees. Protesters reported inconsistencies in payments received by some workers following the government’s announcement, reinforcing concerns about unequal implementation of the settlement.
Representatives of the group called for direct dialogue with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour, Kareem Musa, to resolve the dispute through negotiation. The workers also announced plans to escalate their actions, including continued protests at offices and businesses linked to BTL’s Board of Directors.
As previously reported, since January 2026, hundreds of people have mobilised around the BTL acquisition and related labour grievances.
Community mobilisation grows over coastal access
On 31st March 2026, dozens of residents of Sarteneja, a coastal fishing village in northern Belize near the Mexican border, protested in the Warrie Bight area over concerns that public coastal access points might be reclassified and transferred into private ownership. The demonstration followed months of what community members describe as the gradual loss of public land.
Protesters gathered along the coastline to assert their right to access the sea, highlighting the importance of these areas for traditional use, small-scale fishing and community livelihoods. The protest built on earlier warnings raised by civil society actors, indicating growing concern at the community level.
In September 2025, the Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development alerted authorities to alleged “land grabbing” affecting road reserves, parcels of land legally designated to guarantee public access to coastal areas.