In a landmark move toward building a more equitable and inclusive nation, the government of Belize officially inaugurated the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities on September 4, 2026. The new body is tasked with translating the legal protections enshrined in the 2024 Disabilities Act into tangible, life-changing improvements for thousands of Belizeans living with disabilities.
Composed of 11 cross-sector representatives from government agencies, civil society organizations, the labor movement, and the private sector, the commission will carry out a broad mandate: strengthening legal safeguards for disabled people, upgrading accessibility across public and private spaces, shaping national disability-inclusive policy, and overseeing consistent implementation of the 2024 Disabilities Act. During the official launch ceremony, all commission members received their Instruments of Appointment and have already begun outlining immediate priorities for their work. The commission is chaired by Thea Garcia Ramirez, Belize’s Minister of Human Development.
In her remarks at the launch, Ramirez highlighted the often invisible systemic barriers that have excluded disabled Belizeans from full participation in public life for generations. “For too long, persons with disabilities have encountered barriers that many of us simply do not see, we do not feel because that staircase can be effectively a wall. A document that cannot be read or heard can mean exclusion from work, from school, or even healthcare. A discriminatory attitude can be as disabling as any physical barrier. And when a person is denied an opportunity because of a disability, it is not only that individual that loses,” Ramirez said.
While the 2024 Disabilities Act legally guarantees all Belizeans equal right to full societal participation, gaps in implementation have left disabled community members at a persistent disadvantage. Marshall Nunez, Disability Desk Coordinator at the Ministry of Human Development, explained that the new commission will fill this critical gap by leading regulatory alignment, coordinating cross-government policy, and ensuring Belize upholds its international and domestic commitments to disability rights.
“The most important thing for this new commission is to develop the strategy, create national strategic direction for people with disabilities. The implementation of the law is mandated now by the law. But where we’ll go as a country, the strategy and policies that will be developed out of it. The disability legislation, it’s a very proactive legislation, you know. So there will be regulations and amendment to other type of legislation to be in compliance with what this legislation requires,” Nunez noted.
Delvitt Samuels, the legal drafter who helped craft the 2024 Disabilities Act and guide its passage, emphasized the commission’s unique role as an accessible grievance mechanism for disabled people who face rights violations. Unlike formal court processes that can create additional barriers for disabled community members, the commission will offer targeted support to help individuals file and resolve complaints meaningfully. “A disabled person specifically who is aggrieved can actually come to the commission or approach the commission, lodge his grievance her grievance and have it properly ventilated without view towards getting a remedy just like any of us would at the court and they will be provided with assistance, requisite assistance where necessary for them to interface or interact with the process meaningfully,” Samuels explained. “They interact meaningful as a matter of substance as opposed to having a rubber stamp type system or a system that pushes them through just because.”
Beyond core priorities of improving physical accessibility, expanding access to education and employment, and upgrading healthcare access, the commission will also advocate for greater representation of disabled people in Belizean politics and public leadership. The launch marks the first formal, cross-sector national body dedicated to advancing disability rights in the country, widely seen as a historic step toward full inclusion for Belize’s disabled community. This report was prepared by Britney Gordon for News Five.