Belize

Located in the Caribbean, Belize is a former colony, which became independent from Britain in 1981. It is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. It recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, who is represented in the country by the position of the Governor-General.[ref]http://www.caribbeanelections.com/bz/education/government_structure.asp[/ref]

According to a national census conducted by the Statistical Institute of Belize in 2010: “2 in 5 persons [in Belize] are Roman Catholics” and Protestants compose the second largest group, while “15.5% of the population doesn’t identify with any particular religion. This is an increase of 6.1 percentage points since 2000.”[ref]http://sib.org.bz/wp-content/uploads/Religion_2010.pdf[/ref]

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
Religious control over family law or legislation on moral matters
There is systematic religious privilege
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
There is state funding of at least some religious schools
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
Official symbolic deference to religion
State-funded schools offer religious or ideological instruction with no secular or humanist alternative, but it is optional
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
Constitution and government
There is systematic religious privilege
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
Official symbolic deference to religion
Education and children’s rights
There is state funding of at least some religious schools
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
State-funded schools offer religious or ideological instruction with no secular or humanist alternative, but it is optional
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
Religious control over family law or legislation on moral matters
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Some concerns about political or media freedoms, not specific to the non-religious
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
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Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand
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Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious
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This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination
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Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief
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Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment
The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence
‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general
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This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety
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This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom
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This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

A preamble to the Constitution states: “The nation of Belize shall be founded upon principles which acknowledge the supremacy of God”.

Despite its preamble, Article 11 of the Belize Constitution (Protection of Freedom of Conscience) draws on the language of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with regards to the right of freedom of religion or belief, stating:

“Except with his own consent, a person shall not be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of conscience, including freedom of thought and of religion, freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others, and both in public and in private, to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”[ref]https://web.oas.org/mla/en/Countries_Intro/Cap%204%20Belize%20Constitution%20Act.pdf[/ref]

Religious privilege in government

Article 61 of the Constitution gives the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches the ability to appoint one of the 13 members of the Senate (the upper chamber of the country’s two-part National Assembly), with the Governor General’s concurrence. All members of the Senate are appointed, rather than elected, and their role includes discussing and confirming bills that are sent from the House of Representatives. It also has specific functions delegated to it, which include authorizing treaty ratification and changes to the Constitution.[ref]https://www.pressoffice.gov.bz/the-senate/[/ref]

The position of the Church-appointed senator places the political interests of the Church of Belize de facto on par with the senators appointed to represent labour unions, the business community and the NGO community.

The Constitution further reserves the government’s right to intervene in religious matters “for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedoms of other persons,” which in theory reflects that the right to manifest religion is not absolute, however in practice the provision that the right to observe and practice any religion “without the unsolicited intervention of members of any other religion” might be used to limit free expression. Indeed, an unenforced law limits speech that is “blasphemous or indecent.”[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/belize/[/ref]

Education and children’s rights

Since the early colonial era, different Christian denominations have exercised a large influence on public education in Belize. The Catholic Church, and to a lesser extent the Methodists and Anglicans, operate the majority of Belize’s primary and secondary schools through agreements with the government.[ref]https://belize.com/education-in-belize/[/ref]

The curriculum of church-run schools includes religious education classes. While there is no official rule governing a student’s ability to opt out of these sessions, the Constitution prohibits any educational institution from forcing a child to attend any religious ceremonies or observances, and in practice parents may choose to remove their children from religious education courses.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/belize/[/ref]

Sexual and reproductive health programs for adolescents operate within a conservative political and religious climate. There is no national policy on sex education, and the Church-State school system serves as a barrier to implementing comprehensive sex education programmes in schools.[ref]https://www.ippfwhr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Beyond_Barriers-EN__2_.pdf[/ref] Adolescent pregnancy is common in Belize: 11% of Belize’s adolescent girls aged 15-19 years report having had a baby.[ref]https://www.unicef.org/belize/adolescent-health[/ref]

Family, community and society

Discrimination on religious grounds is illegal. In practice, the interaction of churches and religious organizations with the government and political system is powerful. While human rights are in broad terms respected, there is growing concern about several issues.

Legal battle to secure LGBTI+ rights

In 2016, the Supreme Court of Belize ruled that Section 53 of the Criminal Code, which criminalised “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”, including consensual same-sex sexual activity, was void on the basis that it violated the constitutional rights of dignity, privacy, equality, non-discrimination and freedom of expression.[ref]https://www.humandignitytrust.org/wp-content/uploads/resources/Judgment-Orozco-v-The-Attorney-General-of-Belize.pdf[/ref] The case was strongly opposed by churches within Belize, and hardline, anti-LGBTI+ organizations in the United States alike.

According to Human Dignity Trust, who intervened on behalf of the Claimant, Mr. Orozco, several churches – including the Roman Catholic Church of Belize, the Belize Church of England and the Belize Evangelical Association of Churches – joined the case as Interested Parties, seeking to maintain the law criminalizing same-sex activity.[ref]https://www.humandignitytrust.org/what-we-do/cases/belize-a-constitutional-challenge-to-the-laws-criminalising-homosexuality/[/ref] Well-known Christian and Catholic fundamentalist hate groups based in the United States – including Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) – also joined the fight on the pro-criminalization side, and reportedly supplied lawyers and evidence in the case. Their desire to intervene in the case was linked to their larger strategy of defending “religious freedom” from “the pro-homosexual agenda” around the world; specifically, they feared that the overturning of Section 53 would lead to similar statutes in other Caribbean countries being overturned.[ref]https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/d6_legacy_files/downloads/publication/splc-report-dangerous-liaisons.pdf[/ref]

The foreign influence of groups such as ADF and C-FAM in Belize has not been limited to the courtroom environment. A study by the Southern Poverty Law Centre in 2013 reported that:

“One of the more remarkable aspects of the battle in Belize is the degree to which the anti-gay rhetoric now employed there has been lifted directly from anti-gay propaganda developed by the Christian Right . . . .That was not always the case, Belizean LGBT rights activists told the SPLC in a series of interviews [that while] Belizean culture was certainly unfriendly to gay people. . . .the now-frequently brandished propaganda, such as the oft-repeated idea by Section 53 supporters that gay men are recruiting children and that they are pedophiles, has been imported from the American anti-gay movement.”[ref]https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/d6_legacy_files/downloads/publication/splc-report-dangerous-liaisons.pdf[/ref]

This legacy of anti-LGBTI+ fear mongering in Belize still exists today, despite the change to the law. In April 2020, Belizean fashion designer Ulysease Roca Terry suffered homophobic verbal and physical abuse from a police officer while held in custody for breaching COVID-19 curfew laws. He died days later, with the official cause of his death being unknown.[ref]https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2020/may/20200529_caribbean_homophobia_bullying[/ref]

In September 2020, an Equal Opportunities Bill seeking to address address discrimination, stigma and violence against minority groups in Belize was withdrawn following pressure from Catholic leaders in the country[ref]https://www.pressoffice.gov.bz/cabinet-will-not-table-equal-opportunities-bill/[/ref] who opposed the Bill because of its treatment of sexual orientation and gender identity. One bishop claimed that the Bill risked creating a “new ideological colonialism” and imposed the “gender ideology” of international experts.[ref]https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/belizes-far-reaching-gender-bill-runs-aground-and-critics-warn-of-international-gender-ideology-pressure-89418[/ref]

Sexual health and reproductive rights

Under Section 11 of the Criminal Code, abortion in Belize is illegal except where the life of the mother is at risk, or there is a substantial risk that the child will be severely disabled. Breach of this section carries a sentence of 14 years imprisonment.[ref]http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/68422/66703/F1776464508/BLZ68422.pdf[/ref]

Belize has the highest rate of HIV prevalence in Central America, with both men and women being equally affected. HIV-positive individuals in Belize report experiencing stigma and discrimination.[ref]https://www.redca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Final-INDEX-Belize-2019-REDCA.pdf[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

Freedom of expression and assembly are generally respected, though cases of threats and intimidation against journalists are occasionally reported,[ref]https://www.publicmediaalliance.org/focus-on-psm-belize/[/ref] and there have been reports of protests being dispersed with excessive force.[ref]https://monitor.civicus.org/updates/?page=1&country=29[/ref]