Loop News- Belize announced on Tuesday that it has met the International Court of Justice’s deadline to file a Memorial in the dispute with Honduras over the sovereignty of the Sapodilla Caye.
The memorial was handed over to Jean-Pelé Fomété, Deputy Registrar of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands today.
“Belize’s Memorial makes a vigorous defence of Belize’s sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes. The Memorial requests the Court to adjudge and declare that, as between Belize and Honduras, Belize is sovereign over the Sapodilla Cayes and that Honduras does not have any valid claim to the Sapodilla Cayes,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The ministry said Honduras has until 4 December 2023 to submit its Counter-Memorial.
Last November, Belize filed an application with the ICJ Registrar in a bid to resolve its long standing dispute with Honduras.
In its application, Belize recalls that, “since the early nineteenth century, the Sapodilla Cayes have formed part of the territory of Belize, initially as part of the settlement of Belize and later the colony of British Honduras, and since 1981 as part of the independent State of Belize”.
The Sapodilla Cayes, which accounts for 15,618 hectares of territory, has been a national environmental reserve in Belize since 1996.
