On 14 October 2026, Ms. Seidi Quetzal, First Secretary, delivered Belize’s statement to the Sixth Committee under agenda item 88, on the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters. Belize aligned itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the Caribbean Community.
Belize expressed its full support for concluding a legally binding instrument on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, and welcomed the Diplomatic Conference to be convened in Bangkok from 25 January to 12 February 2027, thanking the Government of Thailand for hosting it. For small island and low-lying coastal developing States, where a single event can affect an entire population and economy, an instrument that makes disaster response more predictable, timely and effective is of direct and practical value.
Belize highlighted three contributions the instrument can make: coherence across the whole disaster cycle; a focus on the dignity, rights and essential needs of affected persons; and balance between the sovereignty and primary role of the affected State and the duty to cooperate. It encouraged contributions to the trust fund that supports the participation of developing countries, in particular least developed countries and small island developing States, in the Conference.