Canada should support democracy, not just condemn the government, in Venezuela

Backing a mediation effort would be a good start.

By JIM HODGSON, STEVE STEWARTPUBLISHED : Wednesday, May 10, 2017 12:00 AM“The Venezuelan people are again dying in the streets as they battle an ongoing coup d’étatbeing carried out by a group of politicians who oppose our government, and who since April 19 have been carrying out acts of violence, killing people and destroying our national patrimony, just as they did in 2002 and 2014.”These are the words of Bishop Elida Quevedo of the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela (UEPV), but hers is not a story that you will see in major media. Instead, facts are distorted to make it appear that it is government forces who repress a “pro-democracy” movement. Bishop Quevedo goes on to describe the April 20 attack on a maternal and child hospital, and sniper shootings of pro-government demonstrators and security forces.As a coalition of Canadian civil society organizations long engaged in solidarity, social justice, and development work in the Americas, we call for a more even-handed approach to issues in Venezuela than that shown recently by Canada and several other members of the Organization of American States (OAS).Since early April, opponents of the government of President Nicolás Maduro have participated in demonstrations—some of them peaceful, but many that have included acts of vandalism, arson, and attacks on security forces. Protests began after the Supreme Court suspended some powers of the opposition-dominated National Assembly after it refused to comply with court rulings on electoral corruption and foreign investment. Even though the court decision was almost immediately rescinded, protests continued.Since then, as many as 37 people have been killed. In cases where public security forces have been linked to violence, investigations are carried out and in some cases, charges filed. The dead include trade union leader Esmin Ramírez, killed after being kidnapped April 23 in the southeastern state of Bolívar, and Jacqueline Ortega, an organizer of an alternative food distribution program in greater Caracas.Clearly, the situation in Venezuela is marked by polarization. But instead of building bridges to enable dialogue between the government and sectors of the opposition that reject violence, the government of Canada and the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights have echoed the voice of the OAS secretary general, Luis Almagro, and taken up the cause of the hardline opposition.On March 28, Almagro had pressed the OAS permanent council to expel Venezuela from the organization. When it was evident he could not rally a majority of members to apply the OAS Democratic Charter against Venezuela, the session ended without a vote.But on April 3, without the presence of either Bolivia (president of the OAS Permanent Council) or Haiti (the vice-president), just 15 of the 35 members (including Canada) approved a resolution “by consensus”—despite opposition from four other members—declared an “alteration of the constitutional order” in Venezuela and resolved to “urge action by the Venezuelan government to safeguard the separation and independence of powers.”On April 28, Venezuela served notice that it would begin a two-year process to withdraw from the OAS. With regard to Venezuela, the OAS has consistently failed to fulfill its role as a space for multilateral dialogue to resolve conflicts.In challenging Venezuela’s democracy, Canada has aligned itself with the governments of Colombia, Mexico, and Honduras—all of which face serious human rights issues themselves—plus several others, including Brazil which, after the removal last year of the democratically elected president, is also facing waves of popular protest.The government of Canada should make clear its support for constitutional government, electoral democracy, and the rule of law in Venezuela. It could support a mediation initiative led by former heads of government from Panama, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Spain. This initiative proposed last year by the Union of South American Nations and has sparked the interest of Pope Francis.Canada should condemn foreign intervention in Venezuela’s internal affairs via the funding and training of groups and individuals seeking regime change through violence or other unconstitutional means, and support dialogue as the only appropriate means of achieving peace and reconciliation in Venezuela.Jim Hodgson is a member of Common Frontiers, a Canadian civil society coalition on trade justice issues. Steve Stewart is executive director of CoDevelopment Canada, a Vancouver-based international development agency.The Hill Timeshttps://www.hilltimes.com/2017/05/10/canada-support-democracy-not-just-condemn-governmentvenezuela/106330

Join CoDev in calling for an independent human rights Ombudsperson for Canada’s international extractive sector

Take action today to call on the Canadian government to ensure communities affected by Canadian oil, mineral and gas corporations have access to justice. Write your MP and the Minister of International Trade to let them know you want Canada to be a leader in protecting human and environmental rights by creating an independent human rights Ombudsperson.For too long Canada’s extractive industry has not been held accountable for its actions overseas. Human rights violations by Canadian mining corporations are widespread and well-documented. Canada needs an independent human rights Ombudsperson with full investigatory powers and the ability to make recommendations for remedies.Almost 10 years ago, industry and civil society leaders recommended creating an independent human rights Ombudsperson to address serious violations of human rights or environmental damage. The Canadian Network for Corporate Responsibility recently proposed draft legislation to create just such an office. During the 2015 election, most parties, including the Liberal party, committed to creating an independent ombudsperson’s office. Such an office is long overdue.As it stands, the offices in Canada responsible for overseeing corporate social responsibility (the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor and the National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines) lack independence, investigatory powers, and are not mandated to make recommendations for remedies. Communities whose human rights have been violated by Canadian corporations operating in their territory deserve more. It’s time the Government of Canada to take action and make Canada Open for Justice.

Message from CoDev's newest partner "Totlahtol Yoltok" in Veracruz, Mexico

In January 2017, a collective of Mexican indigenous educators in Veracruz began a new project supported by CoDev and the BC Teachers Federation, Aimed at strengthening indigenous education in the  Nahuatl speaking communities of the Altas Montañas region. We share with you a message from Lucia Morales,  coordinator of the Totlahtol Yoltok ("Our Living Word") project:

Answering a Partner's Call

Our partner MEC has been dealing with an extraordinary situation.

Eleven maquila workers were jailed recently for being involved in peaceful protests forimproved working conditions, including access to potable water, realistic production targets and the rehiring of two laid off union workers. While MEC has a solid team of labour lawyers, this particular situation required criminal expertise given the nature of the charges. MEC came to CoDev seeking financial assistance to hire a criminal lawyer to defend these workers.The workers were employed by a factory owned by one of the largest Korean-based garment manufacturing multinationals, SAE-A Trading. At the time of the peaceful protest, factory management called in the military police to arrest these workers, including several from other factories who happened to be there as well. Among the arrested was a pregnant woman and one with a serious heart condition.Families of the arrested called MEC for support. MEC was successful in having all of the charges dropped except for one: “obstruction of official duties.” The Public Prosecutors Office refused to drop the charges in spite of the fact that the factory owners had dropped all their initial charges, hence the need for a criminal lawyer to argue the case on behalf of the workers.The insistence of the Public Prosecutor’s office in proceeding with charges against the workers, as well as the use of national military police to violently quell a peaceful protest are examples of a private-public alliance where industry and the jobs it creates are defended at the cost of workers’ rights. This is particularly troubling given that Nicaragua has a government that professes to defend the rights of the working class. MEC requested USD$2100 to cover the expenses. In addition to contributing CoDev funds, we also sought assistance from our Canadian Partners to help defray the costs. The BC Government and Employees’ Service Union, CUPE National, CUPE BC, the Hospital Employees’ Union and the United Nurses of Alberta answered the call without hesitation. In the end, we were able to send a total of USD$2650. MEC is using the extra funds to conduct media outreach and ensure coverage of the trial. This kind of joint effort is just another example of solidarity in action.UPDATE: The workers charged in the case were released on bail and are currently awaiting trial. Originally set for September 21, the Public Prosecutors Office delayed the trial to October 20, and then again to November 1. MEC has told us that the workers are extremely anxious, with the delays compounding their stress. CoDev will be on the phone with MEC to find out the results of the trial, and look forward to sharing what we hope will be good news for workers’ rights in Nicaragua.

New Video - Non Sexist & Inclusive Pedagogy

View our brand new video describing NSIP on You Tube!

Non-Sexist and Inclusive Pedagogy is aproposal which began with unionized teachers in Costa Rica, for developing liberating, democratic and inclusive educative practices. The pedagogical proposal is in constant transformation as teachers, students and communities participate in the analysis of their reality and create ways to transform it. Several teachers' unions in the Central American region have created teaching aids for elementary or secondary levels, and which today have been endorsed by Ministries of Education as official textbooks in the classroom. NSIP workshops have taken place in: Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Canada.The regional coordination for Non-Sexist and Inclusive Pedagogy Program is led by Maria Trejos Montero and Esperanza Tasies Castro.For more information visit the NSIP (PNSI) website.

Fighting and Dying For Justice in Honduras

Just two short weeks after the death of Berta Cacerés, another member of her organization was gunned down and brutally murdered. Nelson Garcia, father of five, was on his way home for lunch when two unidentified assailants shot him in the face, four times.Local reports indicate that his murder occurred shortly after the Honduran government sent in bulldozers and heavily armed police to evict 150 Indigenous people from their homes, homes built on ancestral land. Garcia was meeting with these families just before his assassination.Cacerés and Garcia were members of the Indigenous rights group, Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). The group was founded by Berta Cacerés in 1993 to fight for and protect the rights of her people, the Lenca, their ancestral lands and natural resources. Over the years COPINH succeeded in stopping 50 logging projects and 10 hydroelectric dams, securing 100 communal land titles and 2 Indigenous municipalities. And so much more.COPINH’s latest struggle and the one for which Cacerés and Garcia lost their lives, was the fight to prevent the construction of the Agua Zarca megadam. The dam is to be constructed over the Gualcarque River, a vital source of water for the Lenca people. The Lenca began peacefully protesting the construction when plans were revealed in 2011. When their appeals fell on deaf ears they began demonstrating. By 2013, police were arresting the protesters en masse. Cacerés was forced into hiding due to the numerous threats against her life and her family members. These threats are well documented. And still even with the world watching and listening, she died.Despite the international outcry condemning Berta Cacerés’ assassination, Nelson Garcia became the fourteenth member of COPINH to be murdered since its inception and one of more than 100 human rights and environmental activists to be murdered in Honduras between 2010 and 2014.How many more will meet a similar end? We need to scream “Enough!!” until we are hoarse.

Canada’s role in the struggle between human rights and corporate rights

When we think about international development and its goal of improving the standard of living of people in the global south, we really need to start at home and look at how our own country’s policies – particularly trade policies – affect human rights.Canada and the countries with which we have signed International Investment Agreements (IIAs) are also signatories to numerous human rights treaties. Yet in spite of article 103 of the United Nations Charter stating that human rights obligations shall prevail when there is a conflict between human rights treaties and other agreements, it is the trade agreements that enjoy strong enforcement mechanisms.A strong case in point is the International Investment Agreement Canada implemented with Colombia in 2011. The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCOFTA) is just one of 57 IIAs signed by Canada as of January 1 2015. Like other agreements, the CCOFTA promotes market liberalization, privatization and deregulation, but it differs from the others in that it also requires a yearly report on the agreement’s impact on human rights.Colombia’s tarnished human rights record includes the dismal status of leading the world in killings of trade unionists. But the country also contains extensive mineral and oil deposits that Canada’s extractive industry was hungering to get a bigger slice of. Adding the annual Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) was the then-opposition Liberal’s price for endorsing the Conservative government’s treaty with Colombia.A recent report by the Canadian Council for International Cooperation’s Colombia Working Group found that the HRIA reports filed by the Canadian government annually since 2011 do not even examine the human rights impact of Canadian investment in the extractive industry.The CCOFTA provides generous investment protections for the Canadian extractive industry investment with investor-state arbitration provisions to guarantee those rights, but only voluntary and unenforceable provisions for corporate social responsibility.With the recent signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership, the new government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to signal a continued commitment to free trade and the enshrining of corporate rights. In his mandate letter to International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Prime Minister Trudeau states that a priority of her ministry must be to “Refocus Canada’s development assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable…” Putting human rights before corporate rights is one way the government could achieve this mandate.Although International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland has cautioned that “There is a big difference between signing and ratifying”, the Liberal Party made clear their support for free trade in their campaign platform. The Government of Canada has committed to consulting with Canadians before ratifying the agreement. If you would like to share your views on the TPP with the government, visithttp://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/tppptp/index.aspx?lang=eng, where the government provides an email for feedback.

A message of thanks from NOMADESC

I sometimes wonder when I sign urgent actions and petitions what impact they have. Do leaders listen? Are our concerns heard? One thing is certain – our partners on whose behalf we write these urgent actions most certainly do hear and appreciate our solidarity.CoDev’s partner NOMADESC recently asked us to share this letter of appreciationwith all those who have raised their voices in defense of their work for social justice in Colombia. CoDev also thanks all of you who have taken the time to write letters and send messages of support – your solidarity is clearly appreciated by those on the frontlines of the struggle for a better world.Here is the original letter in Spanish, with the English translation below.NOMADESCSantiago de CalíOctober 1^st, 2015Dear friends of CoDevelopment Canada and unions in solidarity with ColombiaOn behalf of the team at NOMADESC and the organizations with which we carry out our work of prevention, attention and defense of human rights in the southeast of Colombia, we wish to extend our warmest greetings of friendship and brother- and sisterhood.With this letter, we want to express our profound thanks for all your work on urgent actions regarding cases of threats and persecution against members of NOMADESC and the arbitrary arrest of ACIN’s indigenous leader Feliciano Valencia. Thank you for taking the time to carry out actions of prevention and defense of the rights of those of us who continue dreaming of justice and social transformation in Colombia.The work that you do is an important demonstration of solidarity, struggle and resistance in the midst of a world where social humanism has lost its value thanks to the imposition of the economic interests of a few, who wish to eliminate the possibility of thinking differently, and who persecute those of us who work to defend the rights of everyone.Thank you for accompanying us in this difficult work of defending the right to life, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, and bringing these issues to the attention of world leaders – in this case, Colombian leaders, who favour international economic interests over the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in our country.Thanks to your solidarity, those who violate human rights in Colombia know that we are not alone, and that important sectors of workers, human rights defenders, labour activists and humanists in Canada are aware of these injustices and demand respect for human rights defenders’ safety and freedom.Talking about peace cannot continue to be simply a discourse of Government of Colombia; to talk about peace is to talk about respect for the rights of human rights defenders, social movement leaders, and union leaders. To talk about peace is to talk about social justice, respect for difference, social transformations, truth, the inclusion of marginalized sectors, and above all, guaranteeing that the barbarity and extreme violations of human rights historically committed against the leaders of Colombia’s organized movements never be repeated.Thank you for defending the right to solidarity of the peoples of the world.A fraternal hug,Berenice Celeita A.Director of NOMADESC 

The Painted Angels of Ciudad Juárez

Local artists in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico have found a profound and beautiful way to pay tribute to the lives of missing women from their city. Painting their images in murals.The project entitled, Luchando Hasta Encontrarlas (Fighting Until We Find Them), is run by the mothers (and other members) of the missing and presumed murdered women. They work with local artists to have their daughters’ images rendered in murals so that they can never be forgotten. Many of these missing cases are linked to human and sex trafficking as well as the epidemic gang violence that exists in that region. Since 1993, more than 430 women have been killed or disappeared. According to the National Citizen Femicide Obervatory, “at least 6 women are targeted every day in Mexico.”In a show of solidarity many public buildings, churches, businesses, etc. have donated their outer walls to be used as canvases. The families work with the artists, and in some cases, assist in painting the murals. The goal of the project is to paint 200 of these colourful tributes across Ciudad Juárez so that no one in the city can ever forget the tragedy of these lost women.One such artist, Maclovio Macias put his well-honed graffiti skills to use painting the murals. His inspiration came from participating in a 200-mile march alongside the many mothers whose daughters disappeared. His first mural depicted a group of mothers and daughters from this march and was painted on the back wall of a school in a busy intersection of the city. This past summer, in an act of pure disregard for the missing and their families, this precious homage to the disappeared was painted over with white paint. Could it have been the school’s doing? A group of mothers is trying to have a meeting with the school directors to try ask questions and hopefully learn the truth.No other theories have presented themselves and no one has come forward to claim responsibility. An initial report indicated that the municipal government ordered the repainting, but this has never been confirmed. One mother lamented upon hearing the news of the repainting, that her daughter Luz Angelica whose image appeared in the repainted mural, was taken from her a second time.Maclovio vows to repaint the mural and return the faces of the missing to their mothers, families and communities. These murals are a living legacy and reminder of what has been lost. They deserve to be seen and protected.

Notes from Colombia

As teachers around the globe celebrate World Teachers' Day, the CoDevelopment Canada Educator's delegation, including BCTF President Jim Iker and BC Fed President Irene Lanzinger, are showing solidarity in the world's most dangerous place in the world for teachers, Colombia. The visit to Columbia comes at a crucial moment in the history of Columbia's 50-year civil war, with a peace accord on transitional justice having just been signed by President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the FARC, Timoleon Jimenez.According to FECODE, the Columbian teachers union representing 300,000 teachers from pre-school to post-secondary, between 1985 and 2015, 1,100 teachers have been killed with an even greater number threatened by or made victims of violence.The delegation includes representatives of CoDevelopment Canada, the BCTF, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, and the Centrale des Syndicats du Quebec. All four organizations are jointly funding a union project promoting schools as “territories of peace.”Called the Pedagogical Project for the Post-Conflict Period (PEPA), the project creates study circles around the country, where teachers gather to reflect on how public education can support the peace process to cultivate a durable peace. The project recognizes the key role of teachers in mentoring students to be peaceful citizens in a reimagined society that is democratic and respects human rights.Among the biggest challenges to establishing schools as "territories of peace" is the fact that many students' parents have been combatants on opposing sides of the civil war.Teachers are confronting these challenges with tremendous energy and commitment, emphasizing their “pedagogy of hope and love,” which they say is profoundly needed by traumatized children who have known nothing but war throughout their young lives.The delegation members met with students and teachers from an elementary school located in an active-conflict zone in the southern Colombian province of Pasto. The teachers have given their school the slogan “a paradise in the middle of the conflict.” Their courage, despite the assassination of two members of the school staff and the abduction of another teacher, was inspirational and humbling for the Canadian visitors.

Action urgente après l’assassinat d’une militante écologiste au Honduras

Un témoin de l’assassinat de la militante écologiste et autochtone hondurienne Berta Cáceres est retenu au Honduras

Les autorités canadiennes et honduriennes doivent agir

CoDevelopment Canada joins the many organizations expressing condemnation of the assassination of Berta Cáceres, general coordinator and co-founder of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).CoDevelopment Canada joint sa voix à celles de plusieurs organisations qui condamnent ouvertement l’assassinat de Berta Cáceres, coordonnatrice générale et co-fondatrice du Conseil national des organismes populaires et autochtones du Honduras (le COPINH).Mme Cáceres a été assassinée à La Esperanza, dans le département d’Intibucá, le 3 mars. Des individus se sont introduits dans la maison qu’elle occupait et l’ont tuée par balle. Nous craignons vivement pour la sécurité de Gustavo Castro Soto, un collègue mexicain de Mme Cáceres, qui a été témoin de son assassinat et a survécu au drame. Il est actuellement détenu au Honduras.Gustavo Castro Soto, citoyen mexicain et collègue de l’organisation Otros Mundos Chiapas, a été témoin de l’assassinat de Mme Cáceres. M. Soto avait pleinement collaboré à tous les volets de l’enquête sur l’assassinat de Mme Cáceres. Le dimanche 6 mars, alors qu’il tentait de quitter le Honduras légalement avec la protection de l’ambassade du Mexique au Honduras, M. Soto a été arrêté et détenu par les autorités honduriennes à l’aéroport sous prétexte qu’il devait poursuivre son témoignage sans avis préalable. Les autorités honduriennes ont ensuite insisté pour que l’interrogatoire de M. Soto se poursuive au sein du département d’Intibucá plutôt qu’en lieu sûr à l’ambassade du Mexique à Tegucigalpa.Après avoir donné à M. Soto l’assurance verbale qu’il pourrait quitter le Honduras après avoir complété son témoignage, le procureur général hondurien a émis une alerte migratoire de 30 jours obligeant M. Soto de demeurer dans le pays, et ce, malgré qu’il avait déjà pleinement collaboré à l’enquête. Il faut savoir que le Mexique et le Honduras sont signataires d’un traité qui prévoit la coopération dans les enquêtes criminelles et en vertu duquel Gustavo aurait pu continuer de participer à l’enquête depuis le Mexique. Rien ne justifie qu’il soit retenu au Honduras, et il est urgent que les autorités honduriennes révoquent l’alerte migratoire dont il est l’objet et collaborent avec les autorités mexicaines pour assurer son retour sécuritaire au Mexique dès que possible.De plus, la famille de Berta ainsi que le COPINH dénoncent la manipulation de l’enquête menée sur l’assassinat, car, plutôt que d’interroger les personnes dont Bertha dénonçait les menaces et qui sont soupçonnées d’être des tueurs à gage, l’enquête est orientée de sorte à davantage persécuter et criminaliser le COPINH.CoDevelopment vous invite à signer les deux lettres ci-dessous. La première lettre demande au gouvernement du Canada de faire pression sur le gouvernement hondurien pour que soit révoquée l’alerte migratoire en vertu de laquelle Gustavo est retenu au Honduras et qu’il soit promptement retourné en toute sécurité au Mexique, d’insister pour que le gouvernement mexicain maintienne et renforce les mesures assurant le bien-être physique et psychologique de Gustavo au Honduras et son retour au Mexique sain et sauf, de demander la participation d’enquêteurs internationaux indépendants agissant de concert avec la Commission interaméricaine des droits de l’homme (CIDH) vu l’inefficacité du système judiciaire du Honduras et l’absence de volonté politique d’assurer une enquête complète et impartiale sur l’assassinat de Berta Cáceres.La deuxième lettre demande aux autorités honduriennes de lever l’alerte migratoire et de permettre à M. Soto de quitter le Honduras. On y demande également aux autorités mexicaines d’intensifier les pressions sur le gouvernement du Honduras pour que M. Soto soit autorisé à quitter le Honduras.[formidable id="63" title="1"][formidable id="61" title="1"]

Transformative Peace: a proposal for Colombia

The conflict in Colombia is the longest running conflict in Latin America. It is clear that a Colombia without war is better than a Colombia with war. So the peace dialogues underway are positive but our Latin American partner Asociación Nomadesc reminds us in this video that there are different perspectives on peace. It is important to think about questions such as: What kind of peace is being negotiated? Who is involved in the dialogues? Under what type of economic and political models is peace being discussed?

Community Development from the Ground Up

Kirsten Daub is in Nicaragua visiting the co-operatives that provide Café Ético's coffee beans. She sends us this update.Gardeners and farmers are sure to recognize the beautiful dark earth in this photo for what it is: rich compost. But there's a lot more brewing than the eye can see. Standing next to their organic fertilizer plant, members of the Flor de Pancasán Multi-Service Cooperative are proud to explain how this initiative, supported by Café Ético, is helping to both improve organic agriculture in the region and to strengthen the co-op itself.For the past four years, Café Ético has supported a project to expand capacity of the co-ops and farmers that supply our organic, fairly traded coffee. This fertilizer plant is just one aspect of the project, but it's a great one. Rene Coronado, the co-op's manager explained how it works. The co-op mixes minerals with cow and chicken manure, molasses, rice husks, and other organic materials with yeast to create incredibly rich organic fertilizer. They're about to purchase a rock breaker so they can better pulverize the minerals, making a higher quality fertilizer than a farmer could make on their own. The co-op sells this fertilizer to members and non-members alike, helping farmers increase yields, but at a much lower price and without the negative environmental impact of chemical fertilizers. Profits from the fertilizer's sales are invested back into the co-op, helping to build the co-op's capital, and paying out dividends to members.This is just one of the many ways farmers in Pancasán are working together to collectively expand organic agriculture in their community. Café Ético is incredibly proud to have played a small part in their achievements.

Coffee and Global Warming - the Georgia Straight

Don't miss "As climate change worsens, coffee addicts may be in for a jolt", published in the Georgia Strait, and written by our own Kirsten Daub, Cafe Etico Coordinator.It's another brilliantly sunny day in Northern Nicaragua. I've just clambered down a mountainside, and stepping into the shade of Manuel Garcia's coffee farm is instant relief from the heat. As we walk through the coffee trees ...Read the full article here.