Make Poverty History – Trade Justice
Dangerous Canada-Colombia trade deal ignores human
rights
The Canadian and Colombian governments are aiming to wrap up
negotiations on a controversial
trade agreement between the two countries by the end of the year.
You didn’t hear about it?
That’s because there has been virtually no discussion
in Parliament or in the Canadian media about the proposed deal,
even though there are a lot of unanswered questions.
Questions like why is Canada rushing
to sign a trade deal with a government that
has been condemned internally
and abroad? Even the US
Congress rejected a similar
deal last year, on the
grounds that the Colombian
government is still far
too complicit in human
rights abuses. The US Congress didn’t
want to legitimate the
Colombian government until
they improved their human
rights record. The Canadian
government doesn’t
appear to share those concerns.
In the last two decades, more than 3 million people have been
displaced and 70,000 people have died in Colombia in an internal
war. It’s a vicious conflict over control of the land,
resources and narcotics that generate wealth for a few at the
cost of so many. Who pays the price? The poor – mainly
indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombians and peasants who live on
land and resources that could make other people richer.
The Prime Minister has stated that Canadian policies in the
Americas must promote “our fundamental values of freedom,
democracy, human rights and the rule of law”. Signing
a trade deal with a government that has an extremely poor record
in these areas sends the wrong message about Canada and supports
a regime that Colombians are trying to make accountable for
their crimes.
The Conservative Party’s election platform promised
international treaties
would be brought to Parliament for ratification. So we are calling on the Canadian government to commit to bring
this controversial deal with Colombia to Parliament for approval
or rejection, and to make a decision after a thorough study
of the situation.
Trade deals that could worsen poverty and
human rights abuses should
be carefully considered by the Canadian people and their elected
representatives, not rushed through without transparency.
We are calling for:
- Parliament to make the final decision on the trade deal– it
shouldn’t be adopted without the explicit approval
of Canada’s elected representatives;
- Conduct human rights and poverty impact assessments.
Parliament’s
decision must be fully
informed of the situation
on the ground in Colombia. We must ensure that trade rules
not worsen the conditions of those living in poverty. The
impacts on vulnerable sectors such as the displaced, workers
and the poor must be taken into account in any trade deal.
More information
Read an interview with Bishop
Juan Alberto Cardona, Methodist
Church of Colombia
The Canadian Council for International Cooperation site on
the Canada-Colombia FTA
[PDF]: http://www.ccic.ca/e/docs/003_apg_2007-11-20_colombia_trade_agreement.pdf
The Canadian Labour Congress site on the Canada-Colombia FTA:
http://canadianlabour.ca/index.php/International/1277
The Canadian government website on the Canada-Colombian FTA:
http://www.international.gc.ca/tna-nac/and-en.asp
The US government website on the US-Colombia FTA: http://www.tradeagreements.gov/PendingFTAs/Colombia/index.htm
Bilaterals.org website on US-Colombian FTA: http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=3992 |
