Dear Mr Leo Bradley, President of the Human Rights Commission of Belize,

Sexual violence and rape in the military is endemic. Numerous times the persons reporting being assaulted while on the Belize Defence Force's numerous camps and training grounds, they were labeled "troublemakers" by their fellow military officers and forced to endure severe retaliation and harassment. In many instances, the sexual assaults were not investigated, or when investigated, the perpetrators received minimal or no punishment. Many times the women enter into a place where they are usually victims of an Invisible War, as was reported to us by News 5 on January 29th, 2020.

We are requesting that the Human Rights Commission spearheads the call for a full, independent and impartial investigation into these human rights violations and to recommend that legal and structural steps be taken by the government of Belize to eradicate sexual violence within the military including reviewing any decision not to prosecute sexual assault allegations from the Chain of Command.

Years of sexual assaults have been "internally investigated" and the effects have done nothing to stop rapists from preying on their next victims. Legal decisions need to be made by legal experts, not by commanders who have no incentive to prosecute for fear it will damage their reputations and their chances for promotion. The survivors of sexual assault in these uniformed forces have had their fundamental human rights violated and will forever be scarred by a broken military justice system if nothing is done.

By way of this petition, I support the need for the Human Rights Commission of Belize's immediate intervention to demand an independent investigation into the allegations publicised in January 29th, 2020 as well as all other allegations reported prior, in order to foster a healthy, resilient and disciplined Belize Defence Force ready to continue standing protecting the sovereignty of our country.