Members of the European Parliament call for the EU-Colombia free trade agreement to be suspended

On May 19, the Left in the European Parliament tweeted this photo that includes an MEP holding a sign that says: “Suspend the EU-Colombia FTA now!”.

Miguel Urbán Crespo, a Podemos Member of the European Parliament, has called for the EU-Colombia free trade agreement to be suspended.

On May 10, Urbán tweeted: “We ask [High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy] @JosepBorrellF for the suspension of the FTA.”

Urbán asks: “Does the EU intend to activate the democratic clause of the FTA in the face of this continuing violation of human rights?”

Canada-Colombia FTA

The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement will soon be marking its 10th anniversary given it came into force on August 15, 2011.

When Yessika Hoyos Morales of the PBI-Colombia accompanied José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CCAJAR) visited Parliament Hill in Ottawa in May 2009 to speak against the agreement, she stated: “If Canada ratifies the free trade agreement it will give a message to Colombians and to the whole international community that Canada supports a government that violates human rights.”

Section 15.1 of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Implementation Act stipulates that the Minister “shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament by May 15 of each year” an Annual report on human rights and free trade between Canada and Colombia.

As of May 21, that document has not yet been posted here.

It would cover the period January to December 2020 that would include the massive national strike mobilization in October 2020 that protested the killing of human rights defenders, police violence, and gender-based violence.

The current national strike that began on April 28 will mark its fourth week of ongoing daily mobilizations next week.

Link to tweet below: