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PBI-Canada notes “Canada Investment Summit” in Toronto this September, the risks to land defenders opposed to LNG megaprojects

By
Brent Patterson
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Image from the Juice Media video Honest Government Ad | Watch out, Canada about the PRGT pipeline and Ksi Lisims LNG terminal.

CBC News reports: “Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited 100 of the world’s biggest investors to a summit in Toronto this September. The conference aims to pitch organizations that control trillions of dollars in capital on investing in Canada. The organizations include private investment firms such as Blackrock and some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, including Singapore’s GIC.”

In December 2024, Reclaim Finance and BankTrack noted: “US investors account for 71% of the total investment in LNG expansion, with BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street topping the list.”

The prime minister announced in September 2025 that he had recommended LNG Canada Phase 2 to the Major Projects Office (MPO) for fast-tracking. In November 2025 Carney added Ksi Lisims to his list of major projects of “national interest” to be considered for fast-tracking by the Major Projects Office.

Gitanyow Hereditary Chief Watahayetsxw (Deborah Good) vowed to establish another blockade after the prime minister’s announcement on Ksi Lisims.

Video still: Chief Watahayetsxw responds to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement, November 13, 2025. Video from Laxyipyouth on Instagram.

In January 2026, The Globe and Mail reported that “Ksi Lisims is expected to make a final investment decision in 2026” while “industry analysts expect LNG Canada to make a final investment decision by the end of 2026 on whether to proceed with Phase 2.”

The CBC News article adds: “Organizers [of the tentatively titled the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto in mid-September] did not want to get into which specific projects will be pitched [but] the oil and gas industry has been calling for new investment in pipelines and LNG terminals.”

Given the repeated heavily-armed, militarized raids by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), now renamed the Critical Response Unit-British Columbia (CRU-BC), PBI-Canada is attentive to the risks to the safety and security of Indigenous land defenders resisting megaprojects, including the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline that would be built on Gitanyow territory to feed the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG terminal.

PBI-Canada is also awaiting the release of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) systemic investigation of the RCMP C-IRG now that an interim CRCC chairperson has been appointed.

We first met Gitanyow Hereditary Chief Watahayetsxw in June 2025, then again alongside Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Na’Moks in October 2025.

Additional reading: PBI-Canada observes call from Chief Na’Moks, Gwii Lok’im Gibuu and Katisha Paul against EDC financing of megaprojects (April 14, 2026).

PBI-Mexico accompanies civil society meeting with UN High Commissioner Volker Türk where Protection Mechanism highlighted

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has posted on social media:

“At the start of High Commissioner @volker_turk’s visit to Mexico, @PBI_Mexico accompanied the meeting he held with representatives of civil society organizations, where the importance of strengthening dialogue and coordination between the government and civil society organizations was expressed.

From @EspacioOsc [the Civil Society Space of Organizations], the Working Group established between 2022 and 2024 to implement the recommendations of @OACNUDH [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights] was highlighted as a best practice, with the aim of strengthening the Protection Mechanism, and a call was made to resume it.”

The link in that social media post links to a letter that says in part:

“Despite the sustained efforts of civil society to promote a proactive, structured and results-oriented dialogue that contributes to the strengthening of public policy for protection – in particular the Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists – there are currently no effective spaces for dialogue with the authorities. nor with clear signs of openness.

In this context, we consider it especially relevant to resume and give continuity to the efforts promoted jointly with the Office in Mexico of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

However, these efforts have not been taken up by the current administration and, to date, there is no clear plan of action to strengthen the Mechanism based on the diagnosis prepared or a dialogue with civil society organizations.

This situation is particularly worrying given the persistence of violence, the delay in the attention of cases by the Mechanism, the limitations in operational capacities, the inadmissibility of requests for protection, the withdrawal of measures and other widely documented structural deficiencies.

For this reason, we believe it is essential to request that in the dialogues with government agencies you highlight the importance of the continuity of the Working Group for the strengthening of the protection policy.”

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Canada congratulates Yuvelis Morales Blanco on winning the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize

By
Brent Patterson
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The Goldman Environmental Prize has announced its six 2026 winners, including Colombian environmental defender Yuvelis Morales Blanco.

The Goldman Environmental Prize notes: “As a young adult, Yuvelis Morales Blanco helped mobilize her community in Puerto Wilches against two key drilling projects, successfully preventing the introduction of commercial fracking into Colombia. In 2022, the campaign forced the country’s largest petroleum company, Ecopetrol, to suspend its contracts for the pilot fracking projects. In August 2024—with the projects still suspended—the Colombian Constitutional Court, in response to a lawsuit by a local organization, confirmed that the projects had violated the right of the Afro-Colombian community of Puerto Wilches to free, prior, and informed consent.”

The 5-minute Goldman Prize video highlighting Yuvelis’ work can be seen here.

CREDHOS accompanies Aguawil

Morales is the founder of Aguawil, the Committee for the Defence of Water, Life and Territory in the community of Puerto Wilches. Morales has commented: “This committee is quite special and is very important in Colombia as it’s a youth committee. We are all between 18 and 25 years old.”

Aguawil is accompanied by the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS), which is accompanied by Peace Brigades International.

Still from Goldman video.

Yuvelis on PBI-Canada webinars

The first death threat against Morales came in January 2021, not long after she had organized a protest in December 2020. Morales says: “Some armed men came to my house and trapped me. They put a gun to my head.”

By April 2021, Morales highlighted on a PBI-Canada webinar: “When we became a problem for the oil companies, those interested in promoting fracking and its economic benefits, they started to threaten, stigmatize, and silence us. More than eight of our youth have been threatened.”

In February 2022 Morales was forced to flee Colombia for her safety.

In May 2022, Morales spoke on another PBI-Canada webinar and made this comment about Canada: “When your companies and banks are investing in mining and energy megaprojects in other countries where human rights are being violated every day, you are not an environmentalist country, you are not a green country. I’m sorry to be so blunt. This is a reality that people don’t often want to say because when you open your mouth that could mean you are shot in the forehead.”

The two fracking projects

The two fracking projects being promoted near Puerto Wilches and the Magdalena River by Ecopetrol were called the Platero and Kalé projects.

Platero

At that time, Toronto-based Sintana Energy Inc. highlighted that it “holds an undivided 30% non-operated participation interest in a Contract for Exploration and Production for Block VMM-37” where the Platero project was to be conducted.

Kalé

And Calgary-based Canacol Energy Ltd. commented that the Platero and Kalé projects were “positive steps towards realizing the commercial potential of the unconventional shale oil field in Colombia”.

The Banking on Climate Chaos report also noted then that Toronto-based Scotiabank had provided millions of dollars in financing to Ecopetrol.

Goldman ceremony on YouTube

UPDATE: The video of Yuvelis accepting the Goldman Environmental Prize can now be seen here (starting at 1:21:00).

We congratulate Yuvelis, Aguawil, CREDHOS and all the organizations, defenders and community who have supported her work.

Still from Goldman video.

Instagram post by CREDHOS.

Despite documented rights violations, Mexican military to attend the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa, May 27-28

By
Brent Patterson
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CADSI video for CANSEC 2023.

The Mexican military is expected to attend the CANSEC arms and technology show at the EY Centre in Ottawa this coming May 27-28, 2026.

Image by CADSI (the Mexican flag is in the second row, second from the right).

This year CANSEC will feature the five biggest and most profitable weapons companies among the 300 exhibitors. One of the companies that will be at CANSEC is the Newmarket, Ontario-based Terradyne Armored Vehicles.

Human rights concerns

In their World Report 2025, Human Rights Watch noted: “Soldiers [in Mexico] have been implicated in a wide range of serious abuses against civilians, including torture, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.”

Amnesty International has also posted: “Members of the Mexican military have committed frequent crimes under international law and serious human rights violations with impunity. From 2014 to date, the CNDH [National Human Rights Commission] has received at least 6,661 complaints of human rights violations committed by SEDENA [Ministry of Defence], SEMAR [the Ministry of the Navy] and the National Guard.”

In July 2023, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project participated in an international observation mission that documented abuses against Indigenous territorial defenders opposed to the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus. The Mission reported: “Among the authorities responsible for the human rights violations identified during the mission are the National Guard, the Navy, the Sedena [the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense], the State Police…”

Consorcio Oaxaca, Tlachinollan, Cerezo Committee

Furthermore, The Guardian has reported:  “Mexico’s military has a long history of spying on activists and journalists.” It is also believed that at least 109 Mexican human rights defenders and 25 journalists were infected by the Pegasus malware, including Yesica Sánchez Maya of Consorcio Oaxaca, Abel Barrera of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre, and members of the Comité Cerezo Mexico.

Consorcio Oaxaca and Tlachinollan are members of the Civil Society Organization Space for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (Espacio OSC). The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project accompanies Espacio OSC.

In May 2022, Quetzalli Villanueva, a lawyer with the Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre in Guerrero, was a featured speaker on a PBI-Canada organized webinar about militarization of territory just prior to CANSEC that year.

Espacio OSC

Espacio OSC has expressed concern about an attack against defenders by the Civil Force in Veracruz in June 2024.

Terradyne has previously posted a tweet that suggests its vehicles have been used by the Civil Force in Veracruz and that a delegation from Mexico visited their booth at CANSEC.

Terradyne has also posted on social media that it has sold its vehicles to the Nuevo Leon police,  the Ministry of Public Security in Ciudad Guadalupe, Nuevo León, and the Saltillo Police Department – GROMS / SRT.

Still from Vanguardia video of Terradyne armoured vehicle used by the Saltillo Operational Reaction Group (GROMS).

In its World Report 2014, Human Rights Watch documented: “Mexico’s security forces have participated in widespread enforced disappearances since former President Calderón (2006-2012) launched a ‘war on drugs’. Members of all security force branches continue to carry out disappearances during the Peña Nieto administration, in some cases collaborating directly with criminal groups. In June 2013, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) said it was investigating 2,443 disappearances in which it had found evidence of the involvement of state agents.”

CANSEC, May 27-28

A wide range of social movements, peace groups, faith communities, non-governmental organizations, and individuals will be mobilizing to protest the CANSEC arms show on Wednesday May 27 and Thursday May 28.

The Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) has noted: “CFSC is planning to be present at CANSEC this year… We’re planning a silent vigil/Meeting for Worship on the afternoon of the first day of CANSEC to be a physical presence of unity and nonviolence—showing that strength comes through peace.”

For updates on the mass protest being planned for May 28, click here.

Peace Brigades International-Canada is highlighting the dangers faced by human rights defenders from the arms exports promoted at the CANSEC arms show as part of our commitment to holistic protection accompaniment.

OCHRP rejects BALIKATAN military exercise, human rights violations as the Philippines set to attend CANSEC arms show, May 27-28

By
Brent Patterson
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Image from OCHRP.

The Canadian Defence Review reports: “Marking a significant step in Canada’s Indo-Pacific engagement, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) will actively participate in Exercise BALIKATAN, an annual military exercise in the Philippines, from April 20 to May 8, 2026. …While in previous years the CAF participated as observers, this year, Canadian personnel will train shoulder‑to‑shoulder with partners in areas such as air and missile defence, coastal defence, logistics and sustainment, medical support, maritime strike operations, and multinational coordination.”

That article adds: “CAF participation in Exercise BALIKATAN this year includes: The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command is a high‑readiness organization able to deploy agile special operations forces on short notice to protect Canadians from threats at home and abroad.”

OCHRP opposes these annual war games

The Ontario Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP) has highlighted: “While Canada and the US claim to be building the defensive capabilities of the Philippines, in reality they are giving military support to a government accused of well-documented human rights abuses on activists human rights defenders, and Indigenous peoples in the name of counter-insurgency.”

Land and environmental defenders

Globally, one land and environmental defender is killed every other day. Between 2012 and 2023, at least 298 defenders were killed in the Philippines (the third highest in the world after Colombia and Brazil). It continues to be the most dangerous country in Asia for land and environmental defenders.

Global Witness adds: “Indigenous Peoples account for a staggering one-third of land and environmental defender killings in the Philippines in 2012-23. Neary half of these cases were linked to mining. The military was responsible for 64 out of 117 killings of Indigenous defenders between 2012-23.”

Global Witness documented the murder of 8 more land and environmental defenders in 2024.

The State of the World’s Human Rights report (Amnesty International, April 2025) further notes that in the Philippines: “’Red-tagging’ the public vilification of human rights defenders and other targeted groups and individuals as alleged members and clandestine recruiters of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) continued. …Activists increasingly became victims of enforced disappearances. In April, labour organizer William Lariosa was reportedly abducted in Bukidnon province; the military denied holding him in custody. He remained missing at year’s end.”

Philippine peasant leader Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, the chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid Pilipinas (KMP), will be speaking in Ottawa on Wednesday April 29 at Carleton University, Paterson Hall, Room 201. He may comment on the link between weapons exports and attacks on communities.

Public forum poster.

Bell helicopters for the Philippines

Bell Textron Canada Limited will be at the CANSEC arms show this year.

In February 2018, CBC News reported: “Earlier this week, Reuters reported the Philippines inked a $233-million deal to buy Montreal-built Bell helicopters. Other reports said the deal was worth up to $300 million. The Canadian Commercial Corporation, which facilitated the deal, wouldn’t confirm the cost.”

At that time, McMaster University professor Netina Tan and graduate student Marvin Mercado commented in The Conversation: “It doesn’t take a security expert to point out that in the Philippines under Duterte’s leadership, the helicopters were likely to be used for combat purposes. There has been major news coverage of the Philippines’ bloody internal conflicts and extra-judicial killings.”

In April 2018, the National Post reported: “Just months after a contract to sell military helicopters to the Philippines was cancelled, a Canadian firm is hoping it can revive the controversial deal. … Bell says it is now back in discussions with the Philippines as a potential client for the same helicopters.”

The Philippines at CANSEC, May 27-28

The Philippines is one of 60+ international delegations that will be present at the CANSEC arms and technology trade show at the EY Centre in Ottawa on May 27-28 that includes exhibits by the five most profitable weapons companies in the world as well as the Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems.

Image by CADSI (the Philippines flag is in the third row, fourth from the left).

A wide range of social movements, peace groups, faith communities, non-governmental organizations, and individuals will be mobilizing to protest the CANSEC arms show on Wednesday May 27 and Thursday May 28.

The Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) has noted: “CFSC is planning to be present at CANSEC this year… We’re planning a silent vigil/Meeting for Worship on the afternoon of the first day of CANSEC to be a physical presence of unity and nonviolence—showing that strength comes through peace.”

For updates on the mass protest being planned for May 28, click here.

Photo: OCHRP at ILPS meeting.

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International-Canada is highlighting the dangers faced by human rights defenders from the arms exports promoted at the CANSEC arms show as part of our commitment to holistic protection accompaniment.

PBI recently launched a Southeast Asia Project to accompany human rights defenders in the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand.

The Network Against Anti-Trade Union Violence remembers the trade union commitment of Juan López in Honduras

By
Brent Patterson
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The Network Against Anti-Trade Union Violence has posted on social media:

“Juan will always be Juan, the seed of the Aguán! Nineteen months on from the murder of our comrade JUAN LÓPEZ – coordinator of the Tocoa Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods, and a councillor for the same municipality – we remember part of his struggle for life and his trade union commitment in the Aguán. #NetworkAgainstAnti-tradeunionViolence”

Infobae has reported: “López was killed on September 14, 2024, inside his vehicle after leaving a church in the city of Tocoa, despite having precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). …[The Municipal Committee] pointed out that López was killed for his active role in the defense of the Montaña de Botaderos Carlos Escaleras National Park, a protected area ‘threatened’ by the mining and energy project promoted by Emco/Pinares/Ecotek.”

“A tireless fighter for workers’ rights”

The Latin American Coordination of Banana Unions (COLSIBA) has stated: “Juan López was a tireless fighter for workers’ rights and his murder has been interpreted by the trade union movement as a direct attack on freedom of association and workers’ organization in Honduras.”

The Railroad Company Fabric Workers Union (Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Tela Railroad Company – SITRATERCO) in Honduras is among the unions demanding justice for Juan López. The Tela Railroad Company is a subsidiary of Chiquita brands. The union represents workers in the banana industry.

Emco Holding Group

Criterio.hn has noted that Inversiones Los Pinares is a subsidiary of the Emco Holding Group. An investigative report by Contra Corriente and Drilled reveals that U.S.-based Nucor maintained a relationship with Inversiones Los Pinares, the company behind a controversial mining megaproject in Honduras, at least until September 30, 2023, despite having claimed to have ended their ties in October 2019. Investors in Nucor have included the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (an institutional investor that manages the Québec Pension Plan), the Royal Bank of Canada, the Bank of Montreal, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Photo: On October 30, 2024, PBI-Canada visited Guapinol and saw the pelletizing plant associated with the Los Pinares megaproject.

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International has accompanied Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa (CMDBCPT) processes and Guapinol River defenders since January 2019.

PBI-Honduras accompanies International Day of Peasants’ Struggle march in Tegucigalpa as risk of criminalization intensifies

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by Plataforma Agraria.

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted on social media:

“Under the slogan ‘Land is not for sale; it must be protected and defended’, a peaceful demonstration took place to mark International Day of Peasants’ Struggles, which is celebrated every April 17. During the march, the organizations and groups united within the Honduran Peasant, Indigenous and Popular Alliance reaffirmed the ongoing struggle for land, food sovereignty and the dignity of those who sustain life from the countryside.”

In their Facebook post, PBI-Honduras tagged the National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC), the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) and Plataforma Agraria, a national network of more than 30 organizations that promotes agrarian reform and policies in favour of peasants.

Criterio.hn reports: “More than three hundred people from the agrarian movement arrived in the Honduran capital on the International Day of Peasant Struggles to demand access to land, comprehensive agrarian reform and an end to evictions and criminalization. …Brought together in the Peasant, Indigenous and Popular Alliance of Honduras, more than 30 grassroots organizations demanded social justice and access to land and denounced the persistence of deep inequalities in the countryside, the concentration of land and the historical exclusion of communities from the interests of agribusiness.”

The article highlights: “The mobilization occurs while the administration of [Honduran president] Nasry Asfura analyzes actions to strengthen the ‘legal security’ of agribusiness in land conflicts, a point that peasant organizations question for its impact on communities.”

It adds: “Along these lines, Pedro Mejía, a lawyer for the Agrarian Platform, indicated that the possible toughening of the crime of usurpation and the relaxation of evictions would intensify the criminalization of the peasant and indigenous movement, as they are used as tools to intimidate, prosecute and dispossess communities of land.”

Prensa Rural adds: “During this day of protests, which began on April 16 in Tegucigalpa, the National Police arrested peasant leader José Luis Fuentes, an incident that has caused alarm among social organisations. Fuentes, a member of the Landless Movement in El Progreso, Yoro, was detained at the El Durazno police post, at the entrance to the Central District, whilst on his way to take part in the protest actions organized as part of this commemoration. The arrest comes at a time that organizations describe as a resurgence in the criminalization of peasant leaders.”

Canada and UN vote on peasant rights

At this time, we recall that Canada abstained in the vote on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other people working in rural areas that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2018.

PBI-Honduras has previously noted that this UN Declaration recognizes key elements such as “the right to land, to natural resources and to food sovereignty, based on the principle of equality between men and women.”

Image showing Canada’s vote on the UN Declaration shared by Andrea Nuila, gender and women’s rights coordinator at FIAN International, at a PBI co-organized webinar.

We continue to follow this.

International Trade Union Confederation: “Northrop is a serial violator of consumer and labour protections”

By
Brent Patterson
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Image from “ITUC Corporate Underminers of Democracy 2025” report.

Northrop Grumman is a sponsor of the CANSEC “defence, security & emerging technology event” taking place at the EY Centre in Ottawa this coming Wednesday May 27 and Thursday May 28, 2026.

It is also a member of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), the Government of Canada-funded association that organizes the annual arms and technology trade show.

The US-based transnational corporation is the world’s sixth largest weapons manufacturer. In 2025, it was the third most profitable weapons company with USD $37.85 billion in arms revenue.

Northrop Grumman undermines democracy

In September 2025, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) noted in their report 2025 Corporate Underminers of Democracy: “This year’s list focuses on the rising threat to democracy posed by major and emerging players in the rapid militarisation of the global economy.”

The ITUC list specifies seven corporations, including Northrop Grumman.

The report states: “Northrop is a serial violator of consumer and labour protections. It has been penalised US$779m in the US for violations of false claims, benefit plan administration, export control, hazardous waste, and wage and hour laws.”

“The company also has the lowest unionisation rate among major US arms manufacturers (just 4 per cent). In the late 1990s and early 2000s, one in every five Northrop workers was a union member. By 2022, that ratio had collapsed to one in every 25, outpacing declines elsewhere in the industry.”

And it comments: “This was no accident. Industry researchers have described it as ‘a conscious strategy of the big weapons-making firms to outsource work to non-union subcontractors and states with anti-union ‘right to work’ laws.’ The result has been devastating for workplace democracy and workers’ ability to collectively negotiate fair wages and benefits. It also is impacting democracy on a wider scale, with researchers observing that this industry-wide relocation strategy ‘created a geopolitical shift that, in turn, tightened military spending’s control over the economy.’”

ITUC: Weapons industry increasingly dictate state priorities

ITUC, along with Greenpeace, 350.org, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and others, have also signed a joint statement that notes: “The weapons industry, alongside a growing network of arms traders and military contractors, increasingly dictates state priorities. As militarism takes centre stage, resources that could address the urgent challenges of climate change, poverty, and inequality are diverted into weapons systems, expanding arms races, and dangerous geopolitical standoffs.”

It adds: “The human cost of militarism and unchecked wealth concentration is almost unimaginable. Military conflicts uproot millions, with over 100 million people worldwide currently displaced due to conflict or persecution.”

“In solidarity with people affected by wars”

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Just prior to the most recent G7 summit in June 2025, the CLC signed a Labour 7 statement that highlights: “Trade unions of the Labour 7 stand in solidarity with people affected by wars on all continents, fighting for their freedoms, for social justice, for democracy, for their rights and those of future generations.”

That statement adds: “The resources have been found to significantly increase military spending, when for more than a decade, public services have been starved of resources under wrongheaded fiscal consolidation and austerity policies.”

CLC convention, May 11-15

The CLC will be holding its 31st Constitutional Convention from Monday, May 11 to Friday, May 15, 2026, in Winnipeg.

Just last month, CLC president Bea Bruske commented: “In times of war and uncertainty, the labour movement’s role is clear: to stand with working people, to defend international solidarity, and to insist that peace, justice, and democracy cannot be built through violence.”

CANSEC, May 27-28

Social movements, faith communities, organizations and individuals are now preparing to protest the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa.

The Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) has noted: “CFSC is planning to be present at CANSEC this year… We’re planning a silent vigil/Meeting for Worship on the afternoon of the first day of CANSEC to be a physical presence of unity and nonviolence—showing that strength comes through peace.”

For updates on the mass protest being planned for May 28, click here.

Additional reading: PBI-Canada notes Unifor resolution in support of Palestinian workers and their call for an arms embargo on Israel (August 27, 2025).

PBI-Mexico speaks at Espacio OSC “Proteger La Dignidad” forum in Morelia, Michoacán on strengthening Protection Mechanism

By
Brent Patterson
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The Civil Society Space of Organizations (Espacio OSC) has posted on social media:

“Press release

From Morelia, Michoacán, we are launching the #ProtegerLaDignidad [Protect Dignity] campaign and microsite, an initiative that highlights the work of human rights defenders and journalists, as well as the challenges they face in securing their protection within the state.

Michoacán ranks third in terms of the number of people enrolled in the @Mecanismo_MX [Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists] (162 as of February 2026). High levels of violence persist: 8 journalists murdered, 4 missing and more than 30 human rights defenders murdered; the most recent case was that of Roberto Chávez.

The campaign is promoting proposals to strengthen protection policies: effective implementation of the state regulatory framework, greater inter-institutional coordination, and the creation of conditions for the free exercise of human rights advocacy and journalism.

Find out more:

Website: https://bit.ly/4tdJpKx

X: https://bit.ly/4ttZ9ZO

#ProtectDignity #RightToDefend”

Proteger la Dignidad

As noted above, for more about the “Potager la Dignidad” campaign, click here.

That webpage includes 19 recommendations to strengthen the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists at both the federal and state level.

One recommendation at the federal level is to “build a comprehensive public policy that takes into account the territorial needs and the diversity of the existing regulatory frameworks in the states.” And a recommendation at the state level is to “guarantee the active participation of the Advisory Councils and/or representatives of human rights defenders and journalists in the design, implementation, and evaluation of public policies and protection plans at the state level.”

Accompaniment

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project accompanies Espacio OSC and is a member group as well.

PBI-Canada met with Espacio OSC on February 24, 2026, in Mexico City.

We continue to follow the work of Espacio OSC.

PBI-Mexico accompanies presentation of CEMDA report that documents aggressions in 2025, calls for strengthening Protection Mechanism

By
Brent Patterson
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The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has posted on social media:

“Today [April 16] we were accompanying the presentation of the annual report by @CEMDA [the Mexican Center for Environmental Law] on the situation of people and communities defending environmental human rights in Mexico during 2025.

Among other data, the states with lethal aggressions were highlighted, such as Morelos, Puebla, and Michoacán, as well as the increase in aggression events and specific aggressions compared to the previous year, rising from 94 events and 236 specific aggressions to 235 and 314, respectively.

@CEMDA and its annual report are essential for understanding the reality faced by people and communities defending rights and the environment in Mexico.

You can consult it here.”

La Jornada reports: “During 2025, ten murders of environmentalists and land defenders were recorded in Mexico – the previous year 25 cases were reported. Of these, three occurred in Jalisco, two in Oaxaca, one in Morelos, as well as in Michoacán, Guerrero and Puebla, according to a report by the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA). However, Gustavo Alanís, executive director of this organization, indicated that 2025 is the second year with the most attacks against defenders only below 2022, since he mentioned that there are not only lethal attacks in the country.”

Among those killed in 2025 (CEMDA image).

Agence France-Press notes: “In addition to the 10 murders, CEMDA recorded 135 ‘aggression events,’ ranging from cases of ‘stigmatization’ and ‘defamation’ to ‘theft’ or ‘espionage.’ Gustavo Alanís, executive director of CEMDA, said that the Mexican State is ‘the main perpetrator of aggressions against defenders.’ According to the report, various federal, state or municipal authorities participated in 76 cases of aggression, which corresponds to 56.2% of the total documented.”

Strengthening the Protection Mechanism

Infobae also reports: “In cumulative terms, in the last eleven years 199 defenders have been murdered in the country.”

That article notes: “Faced with this scenario, CEMDA urged the authorities to combat impunity, eradicate stigmatization against activists and strengthen the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.”

La Jornada also highlights: “One of the cases of aggression so far in 2026 is that of Erick Saracho, director of Alianza Jaguar, who survived gunshot wounds. He pointed out that despite belonging to the Protection Mechanism, ‘I had to press the button several times and call on other occasions because after 25 minutes of the attack the ambulance did not arrive.’ Now, he and his family had to changhotheir residence and leave the country as a protective measure.”

PBI-Canada supports call to strengthen Protection Mechanism

On March 27, 2026, PBI-Canada alongside the Americas Policy Group (APG) met on this issue with representatives from the Mexico and Trilateral Affairs Division of Global Affairs Canada, as well as the Human Rights and Freedoms Division, and the Embassy of Canada in Mexico.

Photo: PBI-Canada highlights the need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism in Mexico at APG-organized call with Global Affairs Canada.

The upcoming Canada-Mexico Dialogue in May 2026

We look forward to continuing to provide input for the upcoming Canada-Mexico Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs expected to take place in late-May in Ottawa. The thematic issues to be discussed include freedom of expression, media freedom and rights in the digital space, the theme under which the Protection Mechanism is expected to be discussed by the two countries.

We are now planning a second webinar with PBI-Mexico and Espacio OSC in advance of the Canada-Mexico Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs.

Additional reading: Espacio OSC and Consorcio Oaxaca launch “Proteger La Dignidad” campaign in Oaxaca with call to strengthen Protection Mechanism (PBI-Canada article, April 13, 2026).

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