BDF TO HOLD SECOND NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY FORMULATION SEMINAR

August 18, 2006

Lecturers from the United States Army War College, Senior Public Officers and the Commander of the Belize Defense Force will conduct the Belize Defense Force’s second National Security Strategy Formulation Seminar next week. The event will seek to chart a national vision of where Belize wants to be in the next 15 years based on defined goals. It will identify and address issues from a security sector perspective as well as the obstacles preventing us from achieving these. B-D-F’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel, Ruel Black, explains why having a national security strategy is so critical. 

Lieutenant Colonel Ruel Black: B-D-F’s Chief of Staff

“We need a national security strategy for the country because we need to know what we need to achieve and where we want to go.  This national security strategy integrates the country’s major security goals, policies and responsibilities and action into one plan and this plan is for fifteen years so we can fulfill it by 2021. Its’ vision is for a safe and secure Belize at peace with itself and its neighbors. Some of the things we’re dealing with is first of all methodology for determining what the national capabilities and requirements are, what is the present security environment, what are the objectives and strategic concepts that we should look at.  We also have asked many of the government agencies to come and give us a fifteen minutes presentation, what we need is a short summary from them of the existing programs and strategies so that we can identify the national objective and you know, tier threats that we have identified in the first workshop what the threats are for Belize and by us being exposed to the current government focus, it will be easier for us to recommend continuation or to identify different parts to mission accomplishment and meeting the cohesive goals for Belize.” 

Black explains how the concerns have been classified based on gravity.

“It’s a national security strategy which we have to send to the government for approval and for acceptance. So, we are not implementing anything else yet because it’s the process that we’re going through at this time. The tier threats are for and in no particular order, safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belize, reduce violent crimes and dismantle criminal networks, strengthen the criminal justice system and promote respect for the rule of law, protect Belize from terrorism, strengthen the institution of democratic government increasing Belize’s contribution to regional and international security, provide an environment for stable economy and effective delivery of social services, deter traditional military threats, influence regional and international policies and activities, ensure quality education and health care, strategic reviews of national security entities, protect Belize natural resources and reduce the risk of disaster, address non-traditional security threats and development of the national security architecture, those are the things we have identified and our concerns are for example we’ve separate the threats into three tiers. Tier one is the short term are threats that has immediate and significant negative consequences and the potential for medium and long term significant negative impact on the nation, tier two in the short term this stretch can have immediate negative consequences in the medium and long terms, these have the potential for lasting negative impacts on the nation and tier three, a threat that can have minimal negative consequences, the potential for developing into negative impacts on the nation on the medium and long term. So, anything on tier one is actually very serious and in tier one we have transnational organized crimes, cross border issues, natural disasters, in tier two threats we have terrorism, pandemics, territorial disputes. Tier three: environmental degradation, so those are how we have separated those concerns.” 

Lieutenant Colonel Ruel Black, B-D-F’s Chief of Staff.

Personnel from the Belize Police Department, the Belize National Coast Guard, Customs, Immigration and Forestry Departments, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, the Belize Ports Authority, Central Bank of Belize, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as a representative of Civil Society and the Belize Defense Force will take part in the event. An opening ceremony for the seminar is planned for next Tuesday morning at the Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel in Belize City. 

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