2013: How the first year of a new B’ak’tun worked out for us

I know I am mixing my Mayan and Gregorian calendars but, since we were waiting for the end of the last B’ak’tun on 21 December 2012, so much has happened that this year feels like it is has gone by in a flash. With all that activity to cover I am inevitably going to forget something but here is the traditional end of year Embassy review with some highlights from 2013.

For the British government 2013 has been the year of the 3 T’s– Trade, Transparency and Tax.  As the Prime Minister said: “When taxes are not paid, people suffer and public trust in business is corroded. When trade isn’t free, all our economies lose out. When transparency is lacking, the wealth of a nation cannot be properly shared with its people.” To give some examples of how we have engaged with Guatemala and Honduras on these issues: Honduran and Guatemalans attended the Open Government Partnership meeting in London to discuss national action plans on transparency (with a local event on transparency with the Escuela de Gobierno in Guatemala);  the trade pillar of the Association Agreement between the EU and Central America entered into force in both Honduras and Guatemala and we spoke about the opportunities this could bring and hosted trade missions of British companies interested in the market; we held a regional conference on government procurement in Panama; and we worked on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative with representatives from government, civil society and the private sector.

Some amazing progress has been made on the international stage with relevance for this Embassy and its work with Guatemala and Honduras. Both countries supported the Arms Trade Treaty, both supported human rights resolutions in the UN’s third committee and both signed the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict declaration with Foreign Minister Carrera agreeing to be a champion of the cause.  Also it has been a tremendous year working with Guatemala on the Security Council.

As an Embassy we also try and add value and support the development and human rights issues in the countries where we work. The Guatemalan Vice President’s attendance at the G8 event to combat global problems on malnutrition acted as a spur to us working with SESAN to donate all the proceeds of a charity breakfast to celebrate the birth of HRH Prince George to a nutrition recovery centre in Purulha. We have also worked on projects in both countries with active government officials and tremendous civil society organisations on preventing violence, preventing drug abuse, supporting indigenous communities, supporting human rights defenders, forensic investigation  and promoting prison reform.  We have also worked with our neighbours, the British High Commission in Belmopan, to support bilateral projects between Belize and Guatemala.

Finally it has been a year full of  fun. I want to thank the Embassy team and our partners for all their creative ideas for incorporating British music, film and sport to brighten up our days. I enjoyed running in the 5k to celebrate the anniversary of Erick Barrondo’s historic Olympic medal, had fun watching James Bond in the Parque Central, supported local Honduran and Guatemalan rugby enthusiasts playing a tournament with other clubs from Central America, cheered myself hoarse when Honduras qualified for the World Cup (and of course when England did too) and sang along to British music such as Queen and the Beatles.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the Embassy this year. We couldn’t do it without you.