ISDS Case Map
human rights
Canada is "very close" to concluding free trade negotiations with Colombia, Trade Minister David Emerson said on Monday, calling those opposed to the deal on human rights grounds as "dogmatic." Emerson also presented legislation to Parliament to enact a free trade pact with the European Free Trade Association, comprised of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The European Union has urged the Philippines to start negotiations for the partnership cooperation agreement, a prerequisite deal for Manila to qualify in the comprehensive free-trade agreement between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The postponement of a vote in the US Congress is just a temporary victory for Colombian workers, due primarily to the hard work of many Colombian trade unionists who have risked their lives visiting the United States to expose the crimes and violence against union leaders in their country.
The allegation could increase resistance in Washington to a US-Colombia free trade deal, blocked by House of Representatives Democrats concerned that Uribe is not doing enough to protect labor union members who are often targeted by the paramilitaries.
Human rights issues will be high on the agenda in negotiations between the European Union and the GCC on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a senior official declared in Bahrain last night.
The United States Council for International Business (USCIB) called on Congressional leaders to approve the trade pact claiming considerable progress in Colombian government efforts to protect trade unionists.
Federal Trade Minister Simon Crean says the Prime Minister has shown the Australian Government can express concerns about Tibet, without affecting the trade relationship with China.
Chinese activist groups cool on opposition to New Zealand's fair trade deal with China. Katie Small checks out the marginal minorities' views after the crackdown in Tibet.
United Future leader Peter Dunne has turned down a trip to China for the free trade deal signing to protest the treatment of Tibetan people.
Bahrain human rights activists will raise issues related to "unconstitutional" constituency boundaries at a key meeting with the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. They are joining another group of activists from GCC states, who will meet officials from the European Union Commission and European Parliament in Brussels. The GCC group will highlight their reservations on their governments' approach to various human rights issues ahead of the signing of a Gulf-EU Free trade agreement.
