The Colombian government of Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia signed a modified peace agreement that seeks to end decades of armed conflict between them. The “new final accord” comes after marathon negotiations in Havana and just weeks after the original agreement was narrowly rejected in a national referendum. The latest agreement aims to address the concerns from the ultra-conservative sector that led the No vote. According to the Colombian government, the new deal is testament to what can be “achieved through dialogue and compromise”.
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MONTREAL — “Canada is back,” says Justin Trudeau, the charismatic and bilingual prime minister of Canada, at international gatherings, seeking to showcase the imprint he wants to put on Canadian foreign policy in contrast to that of his predecessor, Stephen Harper. The prime minister has used very precise terms in his speeches: justice, environmental care, democracy and human rights. He even dared to invoke some of them during his official visit to China in September, although the Chinese did not applaud him for it.
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Following a number of scandals in which Colombia’s national authorities granted mining titles in precious nature reserves, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that mayors have the authority to overrule Bogota. Last week’s ruling has plunged the locally active mining industry in an even bigger crisis that the global commodity slump had already put it in. The ruling implies that literally all of the government’s granted mining titles can be vetoed by the mayor of the municipality where the activity is supposed to take place or already takes place.
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The report, by the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, documents 15 years of violence and death that happened near Canadian mines in Latin America. A new report that documents 15 years of violence near Canadian mines in Latin America says the federal government is not doing enough to address the problem. The study, published Monday, charts 44 deaths, 403 injuries and 709 arrests, detentions and charges from 2000-2015 that the authors link to 28 Canadian companies’ mining projects in 13 countries in the region.
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The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project has documented troubling incidents of violence associated with Canadian mining companies in Latin America. In general, neither the Canadian government nor industry are monitoring or reporting on these incidents. What we found about the degree of violence and criminalization from 2000-2015 This Report documents incidents that are corroborated by at least two independent sources. We found:
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The peace talks in Havana between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People's Army (FARC) is a positive sign that the country’s main armed actors are serious about ending the countries 50 year war. However, the end of the armed conflict does not necessarily mean an end to violence, displacement, inequality, impunity, and militarization which are at the root of the problem in Colombia. To achieve a lasting peace with social justice, Colombia must deepen its democratic institutions and undertake profound social and political reform.
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The authorities must take immediate and effective action to once and for all put an end to the spate of recent killings of human rights defenders and social and community activists, said Amnesty international today as yet another activist was killed yesterday.
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“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Karl Marx September 9 2016. The struggle against oppression, ignominy, for freedom, respect, equality, dignity and against slavery; begun today by prisoners in the prisons of 24 states of the United States and it shows once again the resistance and decorum of the people to shout to the world that it doesn't matter the place, the situation and much less the condition where one has to fight, the right of the people to rise up against tyranny will always be unalienable.
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Crude Gold is a series of short documentaries showcasing 5 pivotal cases of foreign-funded mining exploitation connected to Canadian investors. This project is timely and urgent due to the violence experienced by activists, union leaders and indigenous peoples who are in resistance to profiled mining and petroleum extraction projects. Every year in Colombia numerous union leaders, union activists and union members are assassinated.
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