Video still: Yannick Wild at UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
On June 19, Peace Brigades International highlighted at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland ongoing concerns about the Canadian company Frontera Energy and cooperation agreements in Colombia.
Yannick Wild of PBI-Switzerland spoke in response to the Visit to Colombia report by the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
Recommendation 88(z) of that report noted: “Review, in the light of international human rights standards, contracts between companies and the armed forces or the National Police and agreements with the support structures of the Attorney General’s Office and ensure that there are no conflicts of interest, thus guaranteeing the impartiality of the public authorities, and suspend these agreements when there is suspicion that human rights and environmental defenders have been criminalized or subjected to violence. Ensure the transparency of these agreements in order to facilitate strict control by civil society.”
Wild stated:
“We welcome recommendation 88(z) of the report on the visit to Colombia, which calls for the review and suspension of contracts between companies and public forces when there are indications of criminalization against environmental defenders. In Colombia, since 2018, the Special Rapporteur’s concern about the link between the company Frontera Energy, the 16th Brigade of the Colombian Army, and the Attorney General’s Office in the criminalization of eight leaders from San Luis de Palenque, who were protesting environmental damage, remains unresolved.”
In that Report, then-Special Rapporteur Michel Forst expressed concern about “the apparent connection between Frontera Energy, the army’s 16th brigade and the Attorney General’s Support Office” in the criminalization of eight leaders from San Luis de Palenque for their participation in social protests against this Canadian company for the environmental damage it has caused.
PBI-Canada remains attentive to this unresolved situation.
Further reading: Colombian military has 200 cooperation agreements with corporations, including Toronto-based Frontera Energy (PBI-Canada, May 7, 2020); PBI-Canada continues to monitor the situation of eight community members criminalized for their opposition to Frontera Energy (PBI-Canada, December 3, 2024).
