On February 13, Amnesty International Canada testified before the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) as part of its study of free trade negotiations between Canada and Ecuador.
At the hearing, Amnesty International Canada drew attention to an ongoing pattern of serious violations of human rights in Ecuador and called for measures to ensure that any agreement is compatible with Canada’s international human rights obligations. This requires credible human rights impact assessments, in line with UN guidelines, paying particular attention to the impact on Indigenous peoples, racialized people, women and girls. It also requires guaranteeing that no free trade agreement with Ecuador will advance without broad, transparent, consultation and the free, prior and informed consent of affected Indigenous peoples.
In a written submission filed last year to a public consultation by Global Affairs Canada with stakeholders in Canada, Amnesty International Canada expressed concern that organizations in Ecuador had received no information that a free trade agreement was being negotiated, nor been consulted, despite far-reaching implications, especially in mining-affected communities and Indigenous territory. Ecuador’s Ambassador in Canada has said that negotiations will focus on “fostering increased mining opportunities in Ecuador”.
Read Amnesty’s testimony to the parliamentary study:
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to your study.
The UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations has called on all States to negotiate only such international investment agreements that are compatible with their international human rights obligations.
The UN Working Group has also called on all States to conduct impact assessments of international investment agreements on human rights and the environment.
Canada must comply with this recommendation as essential due diligence, in order to ensure that trade and investment objectives do not put human rights obligations at risk. So far, we have heard only that Canada’s Trade Minister will table an economic impact impact assessment in Parliament alongside the text of any agreement reached with Ecuador.
This suggests that human rights goals and Indigenous rights goals are not a serious consideration. They must be.
We are equally concerned that while stakeholders in Canada were invited to a consultation about a possible FTA with Ecuador, human rights, environmental and Indigenous peoples’ organizations in Ecuador have been neither informed nor consulted.
Canada says that mining and critical minerals are key areas for Canadian investment and avenues for growth in Ecuador. Those who will be impacted must be consulted. That’s why we included in our submission to Global Affairs Canada’s consultation the voices of women human rights defenders in Ecuador with an organization called Amazonian Women Defenders of the Forest. These Indigenous women have faced death threats and attacks for speaking up about the environmental and social impacts of resource extraction projects in their territories. This includes elevated levels of gender violence against women and girls, which have coincided with the arrival of mining and oil companies, and militarization.
This is what Amazonian Women had to say in a public statement and want you to know:
“Currently, our rights and our territories are being seriously threatened by Canadian companies which do not respect the collective rights of Indigenous peoples and operate illegitimately in Indigenous territories.
Without the participation and the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples, a Canada-Ecuador free trade agreement would pose a clear violation to our rights, as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ILO Convention 169, and the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
Without the participation and the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples, a Canada-Ecuador free trade agreement would pose a clear violation to our rights …
Amazonian Women Defenders of the Forest
Indigenous Peoples rights are not respected in Ecuador, even though it is a party to ILO Convention 169 and other international instruments.
Authorities and companies disregard Indigenous peoples’ rights through policies and largescale projects, such as oil and mining, that have not received their free, prior and informed consent and that have affected their territories, environment, health, water and food sources.
Last May, Executive Decree 754 was issued. It allows mining companies to commence activities without Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed deep concern.
There are other issues of deep concern.
Companies are being allowed to continue to install climate-destroying gas flares on their oil platforms, despite a court ruling.
Human rights defenders who speak out against irresponsible resource extraction suffer false accusations and attacks. A’i Cofán Indigenous leader Eduardo Mendúa was shot dead last February. He had been vocal in opposing oil drilling
Allow me to share the words of Pablo Fajardo, a lawyer and environmental defender with UDAPT, who is at risk because of dangerous false accusations made against him by Ecuador’s Minister of Energy and Mines.
“In all operations of Canadian companies in Ecuador, respect for human rights must come first. We cannot continue allowing more sacrifice zones. We are not against extractive activity. What we are against is the way things are being done now. The economic rights of corporations cannot be allowed to prevail over our rights to water, clean air, land, and community harmony.”
We cannot continue allowing more sacrifice zones … The economic rights of corporations cannot be allowed to prevail over our rights to water, clean air, land, community harmony
Pablo Fajardo, UDAPT
It is essential that this committee invites Pablo Fajardo, Amazonian Women Defenders of the Forest and other representatives of civil society organizations to provide input about goals for any Canada-Ecuador agreement. This would enable inclusive, progressive trade and investment.
Recommendations
Amnesty International Canada calls on Canada to comply with its obligations to international human rights standards, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Specifically, we call on Canada to:
1.Guarantee that no free trade agreement with Ecuador will advance without broad, transparent meaningful consultation with affected Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, creating conditions for and ensuring the participation of Indigenous women and their organizations, including Amazonian Women Defenders of the Forest – and that no agreement advances without their free, prior and informed consent.
2. Comply with the recommendations of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations by ensuring that:
- no investor-State dispute settlement provisions are included in any agreement with Ecuador, and
- ex ante and ex post human rights impact assessments are conducted, in line with UN guidelines, paying particular attention to the impact on Indigenous peoples, racialized people, women and girls.
3. Ensure mandatory human rights and environment due diligence, through a legal framework enshrined in legislation – and access to remedy when rights are breached by Canadian companies operating in Ecuador.
We reiterate that there should be no free trade agreement with Ecuador unless these conditions are met.
Learn more
Listen to the testimony and recommendations of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (at 15:40)
