Country Summary: The Convention has been in force between the United States and Belize since 1989. In 2021, Belize demonstrated a pattern of noncompliance. Specifically, the judicial authorities failed to regularly implement and comply with the provisions of the Convention. As a result of this, 50 percent of requests for the return of abducted children under the Convention remained unresolved for more than 12 months.
Central Authority: The United States and the Belizean Central Authorities have a strong and productive relationship that facilitates the resolution of abduction cases under the Convention.
Location: The competent authorities took appropriate steps to locate children after a Convention application was filed. The average time to locate a child was 31 days. As of December 31, 2021, there were no cases where the Belizean authorities remained unable to initially locate a child.
Judicial Authorities: Delays by the Belizean judicial authorities impacted cases during 2021. As a result of these delays, one case has been pending with the judiciary for over two years, contributing to a pattern of noncompliance.
Enforcement: The United States is not aware of any abduction cases in which a judicial order relating to international parental child abduction needed to be enforced by the Belizean authorities.
Department Recommendations: The Department will continue intense engagement with the Belizean authorities to address issues of concern.
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