Journal of Belizean Research

Special Issue Description: Contemporary Human Rights Challenges in Belize

This special issue of the Journal of Belizean Research examines contemporary human rights challenges in Belize through a multidisciplinary, evidence-based lens. Developed as a key output of the European Union–funded project Strengthening Human Rights Advocacy Among Youth in Belize Through Academic Research, Capacity Building, and Human Rights Education, the volume contributes to strengthening the national human rights knowledge base by advancing rigorous academic inquiry. Collectively, the eight articles interrogate how economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights are experienced, constrained, and contested within Belize’s evolving legal, technological, and socio-political landscape.

The contributions address a wide range of pressing issues, including indigenous and communal land rights, the human rights implications of artificial intelligence, emergency governance during the COVID-19 pandemic, disability and access to health and employment, migrant sex workers’ vulnerability under conditions of criminalization and stigma, intersectional discrimination affecting women and LGBTQ+ families, and adolescent well-being during periods of social and economic disruption. Using diverse methodological and theoretical approaches, the articles foreground patterns of exclusion, marginalization, and structural inequality, while also identifying opportunities for policy reform and rights-based advocacy. Taken together, the special issue not only expands the availability of empirical data on human rights in Belize but also underscores, consistent with recent trend-mapping research, that the field remains open and urgent for sustained future scholarship and intervention.