No free trade with Colombia without a guarantee of human rights

KAIROS urgent action
| 28.11.08

"The Colombian government needs to guarantee the human rights of all peoples before Canada considers moving forward with this trade deal." Brother Omar Fernandez, Franciscan member of the Colombian Social Movements Coalition (COMOSOC), recently in Canada to meet with KAIROS network members and Parliamentarians.

Introduction

Friends,

On November 21 Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed a free trade pact with Colombia. Parliament now has 21 sitting days to debate the contents. Colombia has the worst human rights records in the hemisphere, and partners in the area have long expressed profound concern about the consequences of this deal. KAIROS is urging Canadian church members and the public to contact their Member of Parliament.

This is also the first time a free trade agreement may come to a Parliamentary vote. Canadian churches and civil society groups have long pushed for greater transparency and more direct decision-making on free trade deals. The government has taken a step towards this and it’s important for Canadians to use it. Please help ensure a substantial debate.

Please contact your Member of Parliament. Encourage your MP to address the human rights crisis in Colombia on the floor of Parliament. Tell them to vote against the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement until a neutral Human Rights Impact Assessment is conducted and the human rights of all Colombians are guaranteed.

Below you will find a call to action, more background information, talking points, and links to other sites. On December 10 we mark the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and we hope your church or community will honour that anniversary through this and other actions. THANK YOU for taking the time to consider this request. Your action is a gift to the Colombians who risk violence for speaking out on the human rights situation they face daily.

Call to Action

Please contact your Member of Parliament today. Below are talking points you can consider including in any letter or conversation. Consider asking for a meeting when MPs return to your constituency for the holiday break. Please ask them:

- To vote against the Colombia-Canada Free Trade Agreement at this time, given the grave human rights situation and the minimal progress at improving it.

- To consider speaking to the Agreement on the floor of Parliament.

- To urge Canada to pressure the Colombian government to sever all ties with paramilitary organizations and structures.

Find out who your Member of Parliament is:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

Please let us know about your actions so we can support you better, and let us know if you have any questions or concerns:

John Lewis, International Human Rights (Latin America/ Africa): jlewis[at]kairoscanada[dot]org or toll free 1 877 403 8933 x224

Rusa Jeremic, Global Economic Justice: rjeremic[at]kairoscanada[dot]org or x225

Rachel Warden, Global Partnerships: Latin America: rwarden[at]kairoscanada[dot]org or x 242

Julie Graham, Education and Network: jgraham@kairoscanada.org or x233.

Background

KAIROS, partners and Canadian churches have voiced their deep concern about this free trade agreement, which would go into effect in January 2009. Colombians face extreme and continuing violations of their human rights, and violence directed at a very wide range of people continues unabated.

Despite Colombian government affirmations that paramilitary structures have been dismantled and that the country is "safer" thanks to its security policies, partners have documented grave human rights abuses in many territories throughout the country where paramilitary groups continue to operate freely and without consequences.

Church leaders and communities continue to be attacked. There were 324 attacks in 2007, according to KAIROS partner Justapaz. Union leaders continue to be assassinated; over 40 were murdered this year alone. Extrajudicial executions by state armed forces continue to occur, and have risen 65% between 2002-2007. 270,675 people were displaced in the first three months of 2008, adding to the existing humanitarian emergency across the country. This is the highest rate since 1987.

In the last few months, Colombia has seen massive mobilizations of Indigenous peoples and other social movements throughout the country. Indigenous communities in Colombia have opposed resource extraction on their territories, and have faced violent threats from right wing paramilitary groups as a result.

Days before the deal was signed, close to 40,000 Indigenous peoples and their supporters arrived in Bogota to protest policies that threatened their livelihoods, including the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. They demanded dialogue with the government. Instead of taking this widespread opposition into account, the government met the demonstrations with violence and pushed on with the trade agreement.

The Mexican experience under NAFTA demonstrates how existing free trade agreements privilege corporate rights over people and communities. Foreign investment rules based on NAFTA’s Chapter 11 often fail to recognize Indigenous communities’ right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) to activities on their territories. Colombian Indigenous communities have protested mining and fossil fuel extraction operations on their lands, and have faced violent threats from paramilitary groups as a result.

Canadian foreign investors in any country need to be upheld to the highest standards. They need to ensure that they are upholding human rights and international environmental standards. The situation in Colombia is NOT conducive to foreign investment that respects human rights.

Under these conditions, how can Canadians and Colombians alike feel confident that the proposed free trade agreement will respect the rights that are basic to all peoples? Michael Casey, director of Development and Peace (a KAIROS member) recently noted that "Canada should be warning companies against operating in conflict zones in Colombia, rather than giving them the green light to set up shop in an environment where it is easy to become complicit in human rights violations."

KAIROS and its members have long held the position that the free-trade model itself contributes to the erosion of peoples’ human rights. We propose a different model, in which trade agreements must prioritize international human rights law. Any trade agreements in which Canada participates must place the needs of people, communities and the Earth as their highest priority. The proposed Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement in no way meets these criteria.

Talking points for conversations or correspondence with your Member of Parliament:

* According to the Consultancy for Human rights and Displacement (CODHES), 270,675 people have been forced to flee from their homes in the first quarter of 2008: the highest rate of internal displacement since 1987. This is exacerbating the already extremely serious humanitarian situation that exists in Colombia. It has resulted in increased levels of poverty, violence and unemployment.

* The Colombian government has not been able to quell the violence that is still very present in Colombia; nor has it been able to guarantee that human rights and victims’ rights will be respected. Colombian senators and congressmen have been, and continue to be, indicted for direct collaboration with known paramilitary groups.

* Paramilitary groups continue to threaten union leaders, human rights advocates and members of the political opposition parties; according to partner organizations, over 40 union leaders have been assassinated in this year. Contrary to assertions that only rogue organizations remain, over 60 newly emergent paramilitary groups are continuing to target those who oppose the ongoing violence.

* Much of Canadian investment is and will be in the extractive industry. 75% of human rights violations and displacements occur in regions of the country where the extractive industry operates.

* This is not the kind of political environment in which Canadians want to see their government establish any free trade agreement, regardless of its impact on our own economy.

Links to more background information:

KAIROS media release: Churches signal alarm over free trade agreement with Colombia:

http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/news/archive/2008/november/article/media-release-canadian-churches-signal-alarm-over-free-trade-deal-with-colombia/

KAIROS Colombia page:

http://www.kairoscanada.org/en/rights-and-trade/focus-countries/colombia/

Development and Peace statement:

http://www.devp.org/devpme/eng/pressroom/2008/comm2008-10-23-eng.html

Joint Canadian Council for International Cooperation and Amnesty International news release:

http://www.ccic.ca/e/004/news_2008-11-24_colombia_trade_deal_signed.shtml

Mennonite Central Committee Canada: Colombia program

http://mcc.org/colombia/

Official government announcement: