ISDS Case Map
human rights
The Costa Rican Human Rights Association denounced the increase of the police repression against local citizens, students and social leaders opposed to the Free Trade Agreement with US in their Sunday statement.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called for divestment from Israeli companies: a campaign aimed at the European Union, which accounts for two-thirds of Israel's exports under an EU-Israel Association Agreement. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, has said that human rights conditions in the agreement should be invoked and Israel's trading preferences suspended. This is unusual, for these were once distant voices.
As the world prepares to celebrate the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23, a new book on the lessons learnt from that trade and how its “successor,” free trade is undermining democracy and justice in Africa has just been published.
An official from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs admitted that given the country's record of extrajudicial killings, the negotiating team is seriously concerned about whether the Philippines may qualify for a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with EU, a requisite for the country taking part in the EU-ASEAN free trade agreement.
The evidence is overwhelming: NAFTA has damaged the manufacturing industry in the US and Mexico. As the maquiladora industry thrives and human rights are continuously eroded in sweatshops across the globe, it is the responsibility of the US, the world's most insatiable consumer, to call attention to this injustice in the manufacturing sector and correct it.
Import surges of tomato paste and chicken parts already have severe impact on the ability of Ghanaian peasant farmers to feed their families. Cuts in the levels of import tariffs on these products, through an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, are likely to cause further violations of their Human Right to adequate Food.
The US Congress has postponed discussion of free-trade agreements (FTAs) signed with Peru and Panama for several months, while indicating that it will not consider the accord with Colombia at all at this time. This represents a huge setback for the Colombian government of President Alvaro Uribe, who has invested much political capital in his strong alliance with Washington and in promoting a bilateral trade agreement.
Canada started trade talks with Colombia on Monday and pledged full support for President Alvaro Uribe, who has seen his key bilateral relationship with the United States bog down in a scandal over human rights.
Free trade talks, human rights and Colombia's efforts to end its decades-old civil war will top the agenda today as Prime Minister Stephen Harper gets down to business on the first stop on his four-nation tour of Latin America and the Caribbean.
A free trade deal likely to be launched between Canada and Colombia next week will go beyond the usual focus on dollars and cents to spell out the ethical responsibilities of Canadian companies seeking to exploit the South American country's untapped resources.
