On July 18, 2026, the Central American nation of Belize launched a groundbreaking institutional reform to strengthen its national safeguards for vulnerable youth, merging two disconnected oversight bodies into the unified Child Protection and Child Justice Steering Committee (CPJSC). Designed to address longstanding systemic weaknesses, the new committee will steer national-level reforms rather than handling individual child protection cases, operating under a structured five-year action plan spanning from 2026 to 2031.
The consolidation brings together the former Child Protection Thematic Working Group and Child Justice Steering Committee, creating a single collaborative platform that unites stakeholders across government ministries, the judicial branch, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, and international development partners. The restructuring comes after a nationwide audit of Belize’s existing child protection framework, which identified critical gaps: fragmented institutional coordination and misaligned strategies among bodies tasked with preventing and responding to childhood violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre, whose ministry holds a seat on the new committee, emphasized that years of parallel operations under two separate bodies made clear that a more integrated approach was non-negotiable. “Experience has shown over time that it’s best to have a collaborative effort,” Sylvestre noted. “You have stakeholders from various agencies, whether it be law enforcement, whether it be the court, whether it be in social service, all coming together to address the issue of child protection and child justice.” He added that having the Attorney General’s office represented directly on the committee will accelerate the legislative process for policies impacting children and families, ensuring urgent reforms move through parliament far more quickly than in previous years.
Leadership of the CPJSC is headed by Justice Natalie Dixon, with the Director of Belize’s Department of Human Services serving as Vice-Chair and the National Commission for Families and Children acting as the body’s administrative secretariat. Justice Dixon reiterated that the committee’s core mandate is focused on systemic oversight, not case management, clarifying that its work will center on tracking and guiding national reform efforts across the sector.
The committee’s work is anchored in five core strategic priorities: fortifying the overall national child protection infrastructure, updating and modernizing Belize’s outdated child justice system, expanding access to prevention programming and early intervention services, improving data collection practices and institutional accountability, and upskilling the workforce that supports children and families across the country.
Sajid Ali, representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Belize, which has supported the reform process, pointed out that children have historically been sidelined from key policy discussions that shape their lives. Ali stressed that young people’s perspectives must be placed at the center of all decisions that impact their well-being. “Strong coordination and accountability are essential to building a child protection system that can effectively respond to the needs of children and families,” he said.
The CPJSC’s 2026-2031 action plan is fully aligned with both Belize’s national Children’s Agenda and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the global treaty outlining fundamental rights for all children.