228 academics call on Canada to prohibit any future sale of weapons or light-armoured vehicles to Colombia

“They are killing us” Photo: Carlos Ortega/EFE.

On June 7, a letter from 228 academics from across Canada called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “take concrete action to urge the Colombian government to resolve the present crisis through dialogue.”

Among the signatories is University of Toronto Professor Luis van Isschot who is also a member of the Peace Brigades International-Canada Board of Directors.

The letter can be read in full here.

It highlights: “To this date, 1,649 arbitrary detentions of protesters by the police have been reported, as well as 1,248 assaults, 45 deaths, and 25 cases of sexual violence, all at the hands of security forces. Hundreds of videos posted on social media show the police firing live ammunition at protesters, often accompanied by plainclothes officers and armed civilians using firearms.”

“More than 1,100 social leaders and human rights defenders have been assassinated since the signing of the peace agreement in 2016. Most of the victims belonged to rural, Indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and environmental organizations.”

“As academics based in Canada concerned by this situation, we ask you, as Prime Minister, to take a strong stand against the repression of protestors in Colombia.”

Their three recommendations are as follows:

1- “Canada must immediately go beyond its May 9 statement to urge the Colombian government to respect the fundamental human rights of protesters, to allow the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to conduct a transparent country visit on June 8-10 with direct access to victims and their organizations, to commit to implementing the Commission’s recommendations, and to resolve the present crisis through dialogue.”

2- “Canada must also review any current or projected cooperation with the Colombian police or military and prohibit any future sale of weapons or light-armoured vehicles by Canadian companies until Colombia has reformed its National Police, among others to abolish the ESMAD and to foreclose the application of military justice to police officers.”

3- “Canada must seize this opportunity to reassess its foreign policy in Colombia, including the nexus between trade, foreign investment and human rights. Specifically, Canada must afford local communities an effective remedy in Canada against Canadian individuals and corporations whose actions compromise human rights and thus interfere with democratic dialogue.”

To read their complete letter, click here.