No. Belize is an independent country (since 21 September 1981) and a UN member; what is unresolved is Guatemala’s legal claim to land, islands and sea areas, which is before the International Court of Justice.

In short: Belize became independent from the United Kingdom on 21 September 1981, joined the UN on 25 September 1981, and Guatemala’s government issued a statement recognising that independence on 5 September 1991, followed by diplomatic relations on 11 September 1991. In 2008 the two governments agreed to ask the ICJ to decide any and all legal claims of Guatemala against Belize to land, islands and the maritime areas that go with them. Both electorates approved (Guatemala 15 April 2018, Belize 8 May 2019). On 17 September 2026 Guatemala’s foreign ministry announced oral hearings for 22 to 26 February 2027. There is no judgment yet, and neither the ICJ’s case page nor the ministry’s announcement, read on 10 November 2026, gives a date for one.

Independence is settled; the boundary question is not

Two different things get mixed up when people ask whether Belize is Guatemalan.

Belize’s statehood. The US State Department’s Office of the Historian records that Belize, formerly British Honduras, had been a British colony since 1862, took the name Belize in June 1973, and achieved full independence from the United Kingdom on 21 September 1981, after several months of negotiations with Great Britain and Guatemala. The United States recognised it on 29 October 1981. The UN in Belize states that the General Assembly admitted Belize on 25 September 1981, and the Belize Referendum Commission’s timeline lists the same date as the day Belize became a member of the United Nations.

Guatemala’s recognition. The same Belizean government timeline lists, in 1991:

DateEntry in the Belize Referendum Commission timeline
14 August 1991Guatemala recognises Belizeans’ right to self-determination
5 September 1991Statement of the Government of Guatemala recognising the independence of Belize
11 September 1991Diplomatic relations established; Guatemala recognises the independence and sovereignty of the State of Belize
1992Guatemala’s Constitutional Tribunal accepts the legality of the government’s decision to recognise Belize

The claim. Recognition did not end the territorial diferendo. Guatemala’s foreign ministry describes its claims as ones it has held consistently since independence (communiqué of 17 September 2026). The Belizean timeline traces the dispute back to the Aycinena-Wyke Treaty, which it dates to 30 April 1859 and describes as a treaty between Guatemala and the United Kingdom on the boundaries of British Honduras, and it lists an entry dated 9 April 1946 headed Aycinena-Wyke Treaty Expiration Date Declared. The Special Agreement that sends the case to the Court does not mention that treaty; it asks the Court to decide all of Guatemala’s legal claims and to draw the boundaries (Article 2, below). This page does not take a side.

What the Court has been asked to decide

The basis of the case is the Special Agreement signed by both foreign ministers at the Organization of American States in Washington on 8 December 2008, amended by a Protocol of 25 May 2015. It followed a recommendation by the OAS Secretary General of 19 November 2007 that the dispute go to the ICJ. Article 2 sets the question:

The Parties request the Court to determine in accordance with applicable rules of international law as specified in Article 38 (1) of the Statute of the Court any and all legal claims of Guatemala against Belize to land and insular territories and to any maritime areas pertaining to these territories, to declare the rights therein of both Parties, and to determine the boundaries between their respective territories and areas.

So the claim covers three things (land, islands, and the sea areas that go with them), and the Court is asked to rule on rights and draw boundaries. The case title at the ICJ is Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize).

Both countries had to approve going to court by referendum, on this question set out in Article 7:

Do you agree that any legal claim of Guatemala against Belize relating to land and insular territories and to any maritime areas pertaining to these territories should be submitted to the International Court of Justice for final settlement and that it determine finally the boundaries of the respective territories and areas of the Parties?

The ICJ’s press release of 12 June 2019 records that Guatemalans approved it in a referendum on 15 April 2018 and Belizeans on 8 May 2019. With both notifications in hand, the Court was seised of the dispute on 7 June 2019.

Where the case stands on 10 November 2026

StepDateWho prints it
Special Agreement signed8 December 2008ICJ; Belize Referendum Commission
Protocol amending it25 May 2015ICJ
Guatemala’s referendum approves15 April 2018ICJ press release 2019/25
Belize’s referendum approves8 May 2019ICJ press release 2019/25
Court seised of the case7 June 2019ICJ press release 2019/25
Memorial (Guatemala), extended deadline8 December 2020ICJ order of 24 June 2022
Counter-Memorial (Belize), extended deadline8 June 2022ICJ order of 24 June 2022
Reply (Guatemala) deadline8 December 2022ICJ order of 24 June 2022
Rejoinder (Belize) deadline8 June 2023ICJ order of 24 June 2022
Oral hearings announced17 September 2026Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Oral hearings22 to 26 February 2027Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
JudgmentNo date publishedNeither the ICJ nor the ministry gives one

The ICJ order of 24 June 2022 confirms that the Memorial and Counter-Memorial were filed within the extended time-limits. On 10 November 2026 the ICJ case page still shows that June 2022 order as its Latest Developments entry, and it does not show whether the Reply and Rejoinder were filed. The hearing dates are not on it yet: the ministry says they were notified to the two governments on 17 September 2026 and will be announced to the public by the Court in due course. Under Article 3 of the Special Agreement the case has two stages, written pleadings and then oral hearings; after the hearings, the ministry says, the Court deliberates and issues its decision.

After the judgment

Article 5 of the Special Agreement binds both governments in advance: they shall accept the decision of the Court as final and binding and implement it in full and in good faith. Within three months of the judgment they are to agree on a bi-national commission to demarcate the boundaries; if they cannot agree, either may ask the OAS Secretary General to appoint its members. Guatemala’s foreign ministry cites the same Article 5, together with Article 59 of the ICJ Statute, in its September 2026 communiqué. None of these documents indicates which way the Court will rule.

On the ground, the OAS General Secretariat opened an office in the Belize-Guatemala Adjacency Zone on 1 July 2003, according to the Belizean timeline. For crossing that border today, see the Melchor de Mencos border crossing guide.

A separate case: the Sapodilla Cayes

A second ICJ case is easy to confuse with this one. The Sapodilla Cayes case (Belize v. Honduras) was filed by Belize against Honduras in 2022 and asks which of those two countries owns the cays (in Spanish, Cayos Zapotillos). Guatemala’s foreign ministry says Guatemala has claimed the cays since independence and that they are also part of the Guatemala/Belize case, so on 3 December 2023 it asked to intervene. On 19 March 2026 the Court authorised Guatemala to intervene as a non-party, which means, per the ministry, that the judgment in that case will not bind Guatemala. Its oral hearings are set for 1 to 5 March 2027, the week after the Guatemala/Belize hearings.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Belize part of Guatemala?

No. Belize became independent from the United Kingdom on 21 September 1981 and was admitted to the United Nations on 25 September 1981. Guatemala’s government issued a statement recognising Belize’s independence on 5 September 1991, and the two countries established diplomatic relations on 11 September 1991. What remains open is Guatemala’s legal claim to land, islands and maritime areas, which both countries agreed to submit to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a final, binding decision.

Where does the Guatemala-Belize case at the ICJ stand?

The Court was seised of the case on 7 June 2019. Both rounds of written pleadings were scheduled, with the last deadline (Belize’s Rejoinder) on 8 June 2023. On 17 September 2026 Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Court had set oral hearings for 22 to 26 February 2027, after which the Court deliberates and issues its decision. As of 10 November 2026 the ICJ case page has not yet posted those dates and lists no judgment, and neither it nor the ministry’s announcement says whether the Reply and Rejoinder were filed.

Did Guatemala and Belize vote on going to the ICJ?

Yes. Under the 2008 Special Agreement, each country had to approve the submission in a referendum. According to the ICJ, Guatemalans approved it on 15 April 2018 and Belizeans on 8 May 2019.

When did Guatemala recognise Belize?

The Belize Referendum Commission’s timeline records a Guatemalan government statement recognising Belize’s independence on 5 September 1991, and diplomatic relations established on 11 September 1991, when Guatemala recognised the independence and sovereignty of the State of Belize.

Will the ICJ decision be binding?

Yes, by the parties’ own agreement. Article 5 of the Special Agreement says both shall accept the Court’s decision as final and binding and implement it in full and in good faith, and that within three months of the judgment they will agree on a bi-national commission to demarcate the boundaries. The documents say nothing about what the decision will be.

Is the Sapodilla Cayes case the same case?

No. Belize v. Honduras over the Sapodilla Cayes (Cayos Zapotillos) is a separate case filed by Belize in 2022. Guatemala was allowed to intervene as a non-party on 19 March 2026; according to Guatemala’s foreign ministry, that means the judgment will not bind Guatemala. Its hearings are set for 1 to 5 March 2027, per Guatemala’s foreign ministry.