Belize has filed a case against Honduras before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, to determine the status of the Zapotillos Cays, a disputed territory claimed by Tegucigalpa in its Constitution.
In its request, it recalls that since «the beginning of the 19th century, the Zapotillos Cays were part of its territory», initially as part of the settlement of Belize and later as a colony of British Honduras, while since 1981 being part of the independent State of Belize.
Thus, Belmopan claims that it has sovereignty over this territory, so that «Honduras’ pretension» to claim its status is not founded under International Law, even if it is a claim established in the Honduran Constitution of 1982.
Belize «seeks to base», according to its request, published by the organization, «the jurisdiction of the Court on Article XXXI of the American Treaty on Peaceful Settlements, concluded in Bogotá on April 30, 1948, known as the Pact of Bogotá, and on Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Statute of the Court».
The Zapotillos Cays, which occupy an area of 127 square kilometers, are uninhabited and are located near Punta Gorda (Belize), Punta Manabique (Guatemala) and the coast of Honduras. This territory is currently also claimed by Guatemala.
The 2005 Special Agreement, signed by both Belize and Guatemala, has led to an arbitration process that is currently underway in an attempt to «put an end to any and all disputes» over the ownership of the insular property and maritime territories, according to the newspaper ‘Amandala’.
