`The despoliation of the land is spreading itself, (while) foreign investments, such as the mining industy and the African palm culture, are strenghtening. The growth of these industries is directly related to the forced displacements of local populations. Approximately 32% of the 280 000 displaced people who registered in Columbia in 2010, were likely coming from zones where these two economic activities have progressed significantly.' Jorge Rojas, director of the Human Rights and Displacements Counsel.
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Alfredo Molano keeps track of the controversy over the Rancheria River diversion. The diversion would allow multinationals to exploit 600 million tons of coal that lie beneath its course. For many centuries, the Guajira was considered a no man’s land: an unpopulated, deserted land where only the wind would blow. At one point there were pearls, but the Spaniards took them away. After, only cacti and loneliness remained. The indigenous people were classified as savages, therefore, it was lawful to kill them in order to defend trade and civilization. It was a wasteland.
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On may 15th 2012 canadian governement tabled the first report on the impact of Canada-Colombia free trade agreement, as expected this was a non-report...
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(Bucaramanga, Colombia) Today, local civil society groups and organizations in Bucaramanga, Colombia filed a complaint against the World Bank Group’s investment in Eco Oro Minerals’ Angostura mining project with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent grievance mechanism of the International
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Prisoners incarcerated in the “Palo Gordo” prison of Girón Santander, have announced that more than 754 prisoners—including social and political prisoners—have initiated an indefinite hunger strike; meanwhile, other prisoners in the institution will continue to perform non-violent acts of civil disobedience such as refusing to wear uniforms or rejecting routine counts by prison guards. These measures are being taken to demand guarantees for the respect of the fundamental human rights of inmates.
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JUNE 4, 2012 by LEAH GARDNER BERRUECOS, COLOMBIA—In southwest Colombia people are organizing within and throughout their villages, creating a strong network of resistance to Canadian gold mining. But they’re not fighting for concessions or reforms: they’re fighting to win.
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Careperro Mountain ("Haykatumá in the indigenous Embera language,) is one of the most sacred and important sites for the Embera culture. Beneath this mountain, lies gold, copper and other minerals. When the government awarded nine mining titles to the U.S. company Muriel Mining Corporation in 2005, for the purpose of extracting natural resources in the Chocó, the Embera communities were strongly opposed from the start.
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The Canadian government’s human rights report tabled in Parliament Tuesday regarding implementation of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement might as well have been a comic strip of three monkeys: “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Its substance is summed up in the first three pages of the eighteen-page report (that’s counting the title page and two annexes that occupy twelve pages). In essence: there will be no human rights report this year because only nine months have passed since the agreement was implemented.
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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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