Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694855190290.pdf (Belize)
BELIZE No.11/1/14 SENATE Monday, 6th December 2021 10:00 A.M. ---*--- ORDERS OF THE DAY 1.

2.

3.

4.

Prayers.

Oath of Allegiance of new Senators.

Announcements by the President.

Bills brought from the House of Representatives.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

General Revenue Supplementary Appropriation (2021/2022) (No.

2) Bill, 2021; Customs and Excise Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

The Belize Bank Limited Undertaking (Belize Bank Corporation Limited Operations) Vesting Bill, 2021.
Certified Institutions (Children’s Reformation) (Repeal) Bill, 2021.

Juvenile Offenders (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Families and Children (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Patents (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Law Revision (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

10.

Sugar Industry (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

(Leader of Government Business and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration) 6.

Papers.
Papers.

16/1/14 - Social Investment Fund – Audited Financial Statements for Year Ended March 31, 2021.

17/1/14 - The Nineteenth Annual Report of the Contractor General – February 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.

18/1/14 - Supplementary Appropriation (No.2) Schedule for Fiscal Year 2021/2022.

(Leader of Government Business and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration) 2 10.

Statements by Ministers.

13.

Motions relating to the Business or Sittings of the Senate.

14.

Public Business.

A.


GOVERNMENT BUSINESS I MOTIONS (For Text of Motions see Notice Papers attached) 1.

2.

Caribbean Development Bank - Natural Disaster Management - Immediate Response Loan - Hurricanes Eta and Iota – US$2.5 million Loan Motion, 2021.

Ratification of the Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas Motion, 2021.
(Leader of Government Business and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration) II BILLS FOR SECOND READING III COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SENATE ON MOTION AND BILLS IV BILLS FOR THIRD READING  3 BELIZE No.11/1/14 SENATE Monday, 6th December 2021 10:00 A.M. ---*--- NOTICES OF QUESTIONS AND MOTIONS M O T I O N S 1.

Caribbean Development Bank - Natural Disaster Management - Immediate Response Loan - Hurricanes Eta and Iota – US$2.5 million Loan Motion, 2021.
WHEREAS, section 3(1) of the Loans (Caribbean Development Bank) Act, Chapter 74 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2011, provides that subject to such conditions as may be agreed between the Government and the Caribbean Development Bank (“the Bank”), the Government may borrow from the Bank from time to time such sums as may be required by the Government; AND WHEREAS, section 3(2) of the said Act further provides that no Agreement in respect to the sums borrowed under the powers conferred by section 3(1) shall be executed unless the terms and conditions thereof have been first approved by a Resolution of the House of Representatives to that effect; AND WHEREAS, the Bank has offered to lend to the Government the sum of US$2,500,000.00 (“the Loan”) from the Bank’s Special Funds Resources; AND WHEREAS, the purpose of the Loan is to assist the Government of Belize in financing the emergency restoration of Critical Public Infrastructure following damages caused by the passage of Hurricane Eta on 4th and 5th November 2020, and by Hurricane Iota on 16th and 17th November 2020, in Belize; and consultancy services to provide independent inspection and certification of the works, (together referred to as “the Project”); AND WHEREAS, the Loan is being offered on the following terms and conditions: (a) US$2,500,000 from the Special Funds Resources (SFR) – to be repaid in fifty-two (52) equal (or as nearly equal) and consecutive quarterly installments of approximately Forty-Eight Thousand Seventy-Seven United States Dollars (US$48,077.00), on each Due Date, commencing three (3) years after the date of the Loan Agreement; (b) Interest at the rate of 0.75% per annum to be paid quarterly on the amount of the Principal withdrawn and outstanding from time to time; The Loan shall be fully disbursed by 30th November 2022, or such later date as the Bank may specify in writing; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that this Honourable House, being satisfied that the Project will assist the Government of Belize in defraying the cost of restoring damages to critical road, drainage and bridge infrastructure in Belize, Corozal,Cayo, and Orange Walk districts caused by the passage of Hurricanes Eta and Iota 4 in Belize in November 2020, approves and confirms that the Government may enter into a Loan Agreement with the Caribbean Development Bank on the terms and conditions set out above, and further authorizes the Minister of Finance to execute and deliver the said Agreement and all other documents associated therewith; 2.
Ratification of the Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas Motion, 2021.

WHEREAS, the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), was developed for governments to cooperate in maintaining the populations of tuna and tuna-like species of fish at levels which will permit their long-term conservation and sustainable use for food and other purposes.
The Convention was adopted by a conference of plenipotentiaries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 14, 1966, and entered into force on April 1, 1969.

(Copy of the ICCAT Convention is attached hereto at Annex I of this Motion).

AND WHEREAS, Belize acceded to the Convention on July 19, 2005; thus, becoming the 41st State (Contracting Parties) to join the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (the Commission) established under the Convention.
AND WHEREAS, the Commission is the body established by the Convention for the conservation and management of species under its purview.

AND WHEREAS, the Commission has the mandate to adopt recommendations that are binding on Contracting Parties, which includes Belize.

As a signatory to the Convention, Belize is a full Member of the Commission and enjoys fishing rights, participation in the decision-making process, and voting rights.
AND WHEREAS, the Commission established the Convention Amendment Working Group in 2010, with a mandate to develop proposals to modernize and improve the effectiveness and strengthen the conservation and management of species under its purview.
AND WHEREAS, the Convention Amendment Working Group produced a new Protocol to broaden the scope of the Convention by explicitly including elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, skates) and thus providing the Commission with a comprehensive and firm legal basis for their protection; (A copy of the Protocol is attached hereto at Annex II) ; AND WHEREAS, on November 20, 2019, Belize signed the Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), during the 26th Regular Meeting of the Commission which took place in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
AND WHEREAS, Ratification of the Protocol will permit Belize to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to the conservation and sustainable use of global fishing resources, as well as further demonstrating Belize’s leadership role in the protection of the environment and careful husbanding of natural resources, consistent with Government’s policies.
AND WHEREAS, Ratification of the Protocol will further demonstrate Belize’s commitment to the continued sustainable management of species regulated by this Commission and our dedication to the prudent use of high seas fisheries resources.
5 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that this Honourable Senate, being satisfied that the ICCAT Protocol will permit Belize to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to the conservation and sustainable use of global fishing resources, as well as further demonstrate Belize’s leadership role in the protection of the environment and careful husbanding of natural resources, consistent with Government’s policies, and in doing so being in the public interest of Belize, hereby ratifies Belize’s Accession to the Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which was first signed by Belize on November 20, 2019.
(Leader of Government Business and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration) 