Canadian Churches signal alarm over free trade deal with Colombia

[Judi Lynn]

November 24, 2008
Canadian Churches signal alarm over free trade deal with Colombia

TORONTO, Nov. 24 /CNW/ - Ignoring the calls of both civil society and the parliamentary trade committee for a Human Rights Impact Assessment, Prime Minister Harper signed the controversial Canada-Colombia Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) on November 21st.

"It is disturbing that the Prime Minister signed this deal given Colombia's severe human rights crisis. The testimony I heard continues to haunt me to this day," said Pastor Jim Dekker, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives board member, who travelled to Colombia in 2006 to participate in one of a series of International Human Rights Tribunals.

In the last 20 years, over 70,000 people have been killed in Colombia, most of them victims of paramilitary groups with links to government officials. The United Nations declares Colombia to be the hemisphere's worst humanitarian crisis.

In November of this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, recognized that the widespread and systematic killings of civilians could constitute a crime against humanity. In 2007 there were a record number of extrajudicial killings - 330 compared to 220 in the three-year period of 2004-2006.

More:
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/11/24/3811588.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. A rushed Colombia pact

A rushed Colombia pact
Nov 25, 2008 04:30 AM

Canadians are still waiting for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to roll out his plans to cope with global recession. But when it comes to trade with Colombia, a country torn by civil war and human rights violations, Harper is on the case. On Friday he signed a free trade deal with President Alvaro Uribe at the Asia-Pacific summit in Peru.

Under Uribe, violence has abated, an insurgency has been contained and some rights violators have been charged. But Colombia still has "one of the worst track records on human rights in this hemisphere," Bloc Québécois MP Serge Cardin told the Commons yesterday.

Canadian opposition MPs, human rights groups such as Amnesty International and union leaders point out that serious problems persist. Many Colombian MPs are suspected of links to illegal armed groups including cocaine traffickers, and indigenous peoples, unionists and rights activists are still being killed.

~snip~
Fortunately, the deal requires parliamentary approval, and Harper does not have a majority. Before opposition MPs give it their nod, they should insist that Harper commission "an independent, impartial, and comprehensive human rights impact assessment," as the House of Commons trade committee urged in a recent report.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/542713

[Judi Lynn]

2. Human Rights: Human rights group tells Colombia to stop lying

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Human Rights: Human rights group tells Colombia to stop lying
Source: Amnesty International

President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia should stop making false and dangerous accusations against human rights groups that criticize his government, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today in a joint statement. Colombia should instead address the human rights concerns they raise.

Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued reports in October about the human rights situation in Colombia. After their reports were released, President Uribe accused Amnesty International of "blindness", "fanaticism" and "dogmatism". He also publicly accused José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, of being a "supporter" and an "accomplice" of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas.

"We would welcome a chance to debate the real issues with the president," said Susan Lee, Americas director for Amnesty International. "But these statements belittle his office and give a green light to those who wish to harm human rights activists in Colombia."

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are still waiting for the Colombian government to provide measured and detailed responses to the serious human rights concerns raised in their two reports.

Earlier this year, after a presidential advisor, José Obdulio Gaviria, publicly suggested that organizers of a protest against paramilitary death squads had links to guerrillas, there was a wave of threats and violence against participants in and organizers of the march, including killings.

More:
http://ionglobaltrends.blogspot.com/2008/11/human-rights-human-rights-group-tells.html