One day before Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Vélez arrives in Canada, the leaders of three important Canadian civil society organizations will hold a press conference to speak to the major human rights crisis in Colombia and its implications for the Canada-Colombia Free Trade deal.
When: Tuesday June 9, 9:30am
Who: Gerry Barr, Canadian Council for International Co-operation
Alex Neve, Amnesty International Canada
Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians
Where: Charles Lynch Room, Centre Block, Parliament Hill
The Canadian government wants to quickly wrap-up a free trade deal with Colombia, a country with widespread and systematic violations of human rights. But growing outcry from Canadians and opposition parties to the trade deal has slowed down the process to pass implementing legislation. Uribe is expected to urge Canada to re-ignite the process.
“Amnesty International’s latest report on Colombia documents an upsurge in threats against human rights defenders and killings of trade unionists, together with an increase in internal displacement,” says Alex Neve, Secretary General for Amnesty International Canada. “Subsistence farmers, Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities continue to be threatened and attacked in an effort to force them to flee areas of mineral, oil or agro-industrial potential. The human rights crisis continues in Colombia.”
“There needs to be substantial improvements in the human rights situation in Colombia before Canada considers signing a trade deal,” says Gerry Barr, President and CEO of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation. Norway and the US have decided to suspend or go slow on trade deals with Colombia. “Now is not the time for Canada to be signing a deal with the Uribe government. We need more measured study of the impact of this deal on vulnerable populations,” says Barr.
Canadian human rights, development and civil society organizations, together with Parliament’s Standing Committee on International Trade have called for an Independent Human Rights Impact Assessment of the trade deal - a recommendation the government has chosen to ignore.
“By ignoring the recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee for a Human Rights Impact Assessment, Prime Minister Harper is trying to force this bad deal forward, despite the growing opposition from tens of thousands of Canadians,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the United Nations General Assembly. “The situation in Colombia is so dire and Canadians across the country are speaking up to say that this kind of trade agreement does not advance human rights, but our Prime Minister is not listening.”
For More Information:
Katia Gianneschi
Media Relations
Canadian Council for International Co-operation
613-241-7007 ext. 311
katiag@ccic.ca
www.ccic.ca
Dylan Penner
Media Officer
The Council of Canadians
Cell: 613-795-8685
dpenner@canadians.org
www.canadians.org
Elizabeth Berton-Hunter
Media and External Communications Officer
Amnesty International
416-363-9933 ext 32
Cell: 416-904-7158
bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca