The Belize National Forensic Science Service, within the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, is organizing and hosting the 3rd Belize Forensic Science Symposium on 11th March 2022, under the theme “Fostering Community, Pursuing Innovation and Instilling Confidence: The Role of Forensics in the Justice Ecosystem.”

The Government of Belize and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) co-funded the Symposium, which will be held virtually via ZOOM, and is open to registration by participants from Belize as well as from countries in other regions of the world. This professional forensic science conference, organized this year with support from Infosegura (Evidence Based Information Management on Citizen Security in Central America and the Dominican Republic) Project, implemented in Belize through the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, is geared toward continuing professional development/continuing medical education for forensic, judicial, legal, medical, law enforcement and academic practitioners, among others. Speakers at the conference will include Judges, Forensic Pathologists, Forensic Analysts, Crime Scene Experts, Legal Medicine Experts, Professors, Managers and Laboratory Directors. The Symposium will address the Infosegura Project’s subcomponent which aims to expand spaces for dialogue on citizen security issues between government, civil society, and academia.

The specific objectives of the Symposium are to increase stakeholder awareness of the role forensic science and forensic medicine both play in the justice system; to disseminate knowledge from forensic professionals regarding innovations in the field, shared experiences and procedural successes that aim to strengthen local forensic systems; and to expand local and international forensic partnerships for targeted impact, increased public confidence and sustainability.

The Belize National Forensic Science Service co-hosted its first Symposium along with the University of Belize in 2019, which was followed by a virtual event in 2020 co-hosted with the University of Ottawa, Canada. These initiatives have, since their inception, been oriented towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 which aims to achieve “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.”