On May 14th, Olivier de Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, will participate in a special presentation on trade and human rights in Colombia. The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which came into force in August 2011, was heavily criticized for its potential to exacerbate the human rights crisis in Colombia. Both countries have agreed to produce a yearly Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) of the agreements.
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The report, commissioned by CUPW and authored by Asad Ismi, details the impact of Canada’s trade policies with and investment in Colombia. The author reports shocking human rights abuses linked to prominent Canadian companies. The report alleges that at least six Canadian owned companies are linked with military and paramilitary repression in Colombia and two companies in particular are linked to at least eight murders of trade unionists and human rights activists.
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PASC will hold a table and give a workshop Saturday, May 19, in the : Montreal Anarchist Bookfair May 19 -20 2012 10 am - 5 pm At CEDA : 2515, rue Delisle, and Centre culturel Georges-Vanier 2430, rue Workman, a few minutes from Lionel-Groulx metro. Details at : www.anarchistbookfair.ca
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It was just after daybreak on a hazy January morning in Bogota and the 300 bankers were bleary. Summoned at dawn to the auditorium at the foot of their 50-storey office tower, most of them had guessed that their employer—Eduardo Pacheco, owner of Banco Colpatria—was about to confirm the closing of a deal. And no small deal. Canada’s Scotiabank, they understood, was taking a controlling stake in Colpatria. But how did this explain the monstrous transgression against bankers’ hours?
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Ottawa, Canada – Talisman Energy is creating environmental damage in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest and operating in Achuar indigenous territory without consent, a group of Achuar leaders claimed today during a press conference on Parliament Hill. The press conference was sponsored by New Democratic Party MP Hélène Laverdière, who offered introductory comments, and was also attended by NDP MP Craig Scott.
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The French historian, Jules Michelet, when asked to give a brief lecture on English civilization, said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, England is an island." And with that, he walked off the podium.
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Bogota (ICRC) – Violations of humanitarian law, including forced displacement, threats of violence, rape and damage to civilian objects, have increased in Colombia, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has found. In presenting its report today on its activities in Colombia in 2011, the ICRC seeks to remind all parties to the conflict of the importance of strictly respecting the rules of international humanitarian law.
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The ICRC visits more than 70 detention facilities in Colombia to check that the conditions of detention comply with international humanitarian law and other minimum standards. The findings of those visits are shared with the authorities in confidence with a view to improving the detainees' situation. Extract from Colombia report 2011.
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Police arrived at the Santa Isabel mine in Colón-Génova on February 21, 2012. The officers asked these local miners to attend a meeting to see if they could sort out their licensing request; However, when the roughly twenty-five miners arrived, they were read their rights and arrested. About a week later, a report ran on television stating that police had arrested a group of illegal miners in Colón-Génova who were making over 150 million pesos ($CAD 84,500) per month and using their earnings to fund the FARC and Los Rastrojos, a paramilitary group.
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Colombia’s Congress last night passed bills to implement a free-trade accord with the U.S., advancing the agreement ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit this weekend for the Summit of the Americas.
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