The following words were shared by Amnesty International Canada’s Secretary General Ketty Nivyabandi at a webinar on April 4 with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, David Boyd, and defenders of the right to a healthy environment in Ecuador: Fanny Kaekat Utitiaj of Amazonian Women Defenders of the Forest and the Shuar Arutam People, Hortensia Zhagui of Kimsakocha Agroecology, and Ivonne Ramos of Acción Ecológica.

In the photo: “DANGER, DANGER, DANGER” reads the yellow tape during a protest outside Canada’s Embassy in Quito on March 4. The big banner reads “Free Trade Agreement with Canada = More Extractivism (followed by a poison symbol) | Canadian mining out because it is destroying the environment”. Photo credit: Acción Ecológica @AcEcologica

It is an honour to join such an amazing panel of speakers for this important discussion about human rights, Indigenous rights, the right to a healthy environment, and what’s at stake in trade talks between Canada and Ecuador.

Why is this discussion so timely, so vital?

Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng has given notice that Canada is about to begin negotiating a trade agreement with Ecuador.

Attracting more mining investment in Ecuador is a goal. It’s why Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa visited the Mining Convention in Toronto last month. What else have we been told? According to goals that have now been officially tabled, Canada is pursuing an inclusive trade agreement that benefits workers, women, and Indigenous Peoples.

Yet in contrast, Canada did not include workers, women and Indigenous Peoples who will be affected in Ecuador in its consultation with stakeholders about the deal.

Inclusive trade relations require rigorous attention to human rights, especially the rights of Indigenous peoples which have been violated repeatedly both in Ecuador and here in Canada.

Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada

Equally concerning is Canada’s stated desire to include strong investor protections and a mechanism called investor-state dispute settlement. Canadian officials have said that these investor protections are a priority for Canadian mining industry stakeholders.

David Boyd, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, who we will hear from shortly, has warned about the catastrophic consequences of investor-state dispute settlement on human rights and the environment. He will unpack that for us, so I won’t say more other than that Amnesty International Canada, Mining Watch Canada and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have all recommended against inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement.

There are other issues of concern. Ecuador does not have a good record when it comes to respect for Indigenous rights. Oil and mining projects in Ecuador are approved without the free prior and informed consent of affected communities and Indigenous people, projects that threaten lands, water, food security, health, and safety.

There must be no more sacrifice zones. To that end, the voices of mining and oil-affected communities and Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador, those who are already experiencing violations of their rights, must be heard. Indeed, they should be at the center of decision-making.

Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada

An executive decree has only worsened the situation, as has deployment of the military for policing, with expanded powers.

Scant days ago, Amnesty International expressed concern over reports of alleged excessive use of force by security forces against communities in Cotopaxi province protesting a Canadian mining company and a pro-mining executive decree.

Lives are at risk!

Oil companies are being allowed to continue to install climate-destroying gas flares, despite a court ruling against them. Amazonian girls who have courageously spoken out against the flares recently faced false accusations by the Minister of Energy and Mines. Then days later, a homemade bomb exploded outside the home of one of the girls.

Such incidents are certainly not new. Impunity is the norm. The culprits know they will get away with attacks, even assassination, to silence voices of opposition to projects that themselves are a threat to the rights and safety of communities.

Meanwhile, Amnesty is concerned that there has been no accountability or reparations for oil spills in the Amazon in 2020 and 2022, which caused enormous harm to the environment on which entire communities depend.

Will a new trade deal exacerbate or profit from such a troubling scenario? Especially in the absence of mandatory human rights and environment due diligence and access to remedy when rights are breached by Canadian companies. An impartial human rights impact assessment is an important assessment tool, as UN experts and the Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations have recommended. Yet Minister Ng has made no mention of a human rights impact assessment.

It is cause for huge concern. Inclusive trade relations require rigorous attention to human rights, especially the rights of Indigenous peoples which have been violated repeatedly both in Ecuador and here in Canada.

Our eyes must remain wide open to these disturbing realities – and our voices joined in alliance and solidarity with all who seek to ensure that the economic rights of corporations do not trample over the right to water and clean air, the right to food security and food sovereignty, the right to a safe and healthy environment. For all. There must be no more sacrifice zones. And to that end, the voices of mining and oil-affected communities and Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador – those who are already experiencing violations of their rights — must be heard. Indeed, they should be at the centre of decision-making.

LEARN MORE

Watch the full webinar to hear testimony from defenders of the right to a healthy environment in Ecuador and the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment (interpretation to English).

TAKE ACTION

Sign this e-action calling on Canada’s Trade Minister to ensure there is no Ecuador trade deal without human rights, consultation and consent.

Send a message via this E-Urgent Action calling on Ecuador to guarantee the rights of Amazonian girl climate defenders to speak up without fear of harm.