Home Blog Page 120

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the CCR as it experiences threats for defending territory from shrimp industries

By
Brent Patterson
-

On May 10, PBI-Guatemala posted:

“On Monday #PBI accompanied a member of the Council of Communities of Retalhuleu (CCR) in the capital, in order to denounce before various protection institutions the threats they are suffering in relation to the defence of the territory and the struggle against large shrimp industries.

The South Coast region continues its struggle against the sugar cane and shrimp industries present in the territory and their adverse effects on the communities, in relation to access to water, small-scale agriculture and life.”

In October 2018, the Global Seafood Alliance posted: “Guatemala’s shrimp-farming industry – despite the lack of suitable areas and facing numerous challenges including various major shrimp diseases – has adopted a new, highly intensive system of small ponds and shorter cycles that can produce as much as 27,216 kg/ha/cycle. The estimated 120 shrimp farmers are expected to produce close to 25,000 metric tons of farmed shrimp in about 1650 ha of ponds in 2018.”

In May 2022, the Seafood Media Group reported: “Guatemala’s ‘Free Press’ reported that in 2021, Guatemala’s aquaculture and fishery exports will reach 134 million US dollars, and exports to Spain, the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, Portugal and other countries, of which 78 million US dollars are shrimp products. Guatemala has developed an intensive shrimp farming system that will boost shrimp exports in 2021, said Alexander de Beausset, vice-president of the aquaculture and fisheries department at Agexport [the Guatemalan Association of Exporters] in Guatemala.”

With Spain, the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, France, South Africa and Portugal noted as export markets for Guatemala in 2021, we note that in 2003 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations indicated: “According to their value, the Guatemalan shrimp exports in 2003 were distributed as follows: United States, 54 percent; Europe (Spain and France), 44 percent; other, 2 percent.”

And earlier this week, Echemi.com reported: “Last year, Guatemala exported approximately 3 million kilograms of shrimp to Mexico via the Ciudad Hidalgo customs in Chiapas. The border closure [now re-opened] jeopardized around 5,000 jobs and directly impacted the economies of 20 communities in southern Guatemala.”

Now, according to the Caribbean News Global, Guatemala’s deputy minister for integration and foreign trade Hector Marroquín was in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in March of this year noting “the potential for growth by expanding exports to include products like speciality coffee and shrimp.”

PBI-Guatemala has accompanied the Community Council of Retalhuleu (CCR) since April 2020.

PBI-Honduras visits with ARCAH that continues to denounce company contaminating the Choluteca River

By
Brent Patterson
-

PBI-Honduras has posted:

“Last week we visited @Arcah_hn [the Honduran Alternative for Community and Environmental Vindication] in Aldea Loarque.

The community denounced the contamination of the Choluteca River that has affected their health.

PBI is concerned about the health of the population and emphasises the organisation’s defence of the environment.”

On April 22, El Heraldo reported:

“A group of people protested on Monday against a chicken processing company in the south, since they can no longer stand the pollution and bad smell that emanates from the place.

The demonstrators claim that the Choluteca River, which passes through the sector, is being affected by waste, so they demand the intervention of environmental authorities.

The protest, which coincides with Earth Day, has already caused congestion in the area, so long lines of vehicles can be seen at this time in both directions of the road.

The residents, along with environmentalists, say that for more than seven years, the river has been polluted, while the neighbors are forced to endure nauseating odors.

As part of their demands, the demonstrators are asking Mayor Jorge Aldana to speak out about the situation that afflicts them.”

HCH adds:

“Residents of the Loarque sector come out to defend the Choluteca River because they claim that a company in the sector is destroying it.

The protesters denounce that they have been protesting against this company for seven years because it is polluting the river.

The residents denounce that this company is causing them discomfort in their nose and skin as a result of the contamination.

They hope that authorities will regulate this company that operates in this sector.”

El Cortijo

Defensores en Linea has previously reported: “Villagers have denounced for four years the pollution caused by the poultry company ‘El Cortijo’, its waste is seriously damaging at least four surrounding communities and the Choluteca River, where much of the company’s toxic waste falls.”

Accompaniment

The Honduran Alternative for Community and Environmental Vindication (Alternativa de Reivindicación Comunitaria y Ambientalista de Honduras, ARCAH) is a space for community articulation and an anti-capitalist, anti-racist, anti-patriarchal, anti-colonialist and anti-classist social movement that seeks to defend territories and common goods from any project that threatens the peace and cosmovision of communities.

Since its founding in 2017, members of ARCAH have fought against the Jiniguare dam, the El Cortijo poultry company, the Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDE) and other projects in Francisco Morazán, Comayagua, Cortés and Olancho, always through resistance and permanent communication with planet earth.

PBI Honduras has been accompanying ARCAH since September 2022.

PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS on Humanitarian Mission in the municipality of Puerto Wilches

By
Brent Patterson
-

PBI-Colombia has posted:

“#PBI accompanies the community of Guayabo and @credhos_paz [the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights/ CREDHOS] who demand guarantees from the Governor’s Office for community leaders in compliance with decree 660. The community demands that the institutions provide the minimum conditions to maintain a dignified life in the communities: quality health and education.”

CREDHOS has also posted on May 10:

“At 6:30 AM, we began our Humanitarian Mission in the northern part of the municipality of Puerto Wilches, Santander. The mission was organised by the Magdalena Medio Regional Ombudsman’s Office, which we accompany as a human rights organisation.

The first stop was in the Guayabo district, municipality of Puerto Wilches, Santander, a territory with an agricultural and fishing vocation, in which an open dialogue was generated with the communities about their problems regarding the guarantee of Human Rights.

In the open dialogue, the Guayabo community explained the situation they have suffered for more than 15 years, with the intention of evicting their land and granting it to an individual. This dispute has brought with it state abandonment, since they lack an Aqueduct that allows them minimal access to drinking water, which is a fundamental right of the communities. In addition to the appalling conditions for accessing the right to education and health.

Then, we moved to the Vijagual district, jurisdiction of Puerto Wilches, Santander, where we spoke with the communities about their underlying problems in terms of education, health, sports and roads.

It is highlighted that the communities reported the presence of armed groups in the towns of El Guayabo, Vijagual and Bocas del Rosario.

This Humanitarian Mission was accompanied by State institutions, headed by the Government of Santander and the Mayor’s Office of Puerto Wilches, who assumed commitments to carry out concrete actions to guarantee the rights of the communities and their dignity.”

Decree 660

In July 2023, Pares explained:

“The Ministry of the Interior recently announced the approval and redesign of the Comprehensive Security and Protection Program for Communities and Organizations in the Territories (Decree 660 of 2018).

This program aims to provide protection to social organizations, ethnic populations, and environmental leaders who face risks due to their work. Through this initiative, it seeks to address one of the great debts that the Colombian State has in the peripheries: the collective defense of communities and territories.

The Comprehensive Security and Protection Program for Communities and Organizations in the Territories was created as part of the third point of the Peace Agreement in Colombia, with the aim of ending the conflict in the country.”

Accompaniment

PBI-Colombia has accompanied CREDHOS since 1994.

PBI-Mexico accompanies Mother’s Day mobilizations in Puebla and Mexico City as the search for disappeared continues

By
Brent Patterson
-

PBI-Mexico has posted:

“Today on #Mother’s Day in Mexico we accompany the mothers from Puebla and CDMX [Mexico City] who are demanding justice for the disappearance of their loved ones.

From PBI we recognize the great work of the search collectives in the defence and promotion of #HumanRights.”

Angulo 7 reports:

“For the searching mothers in Puebla, May 10 is not a day of celebration, but of protest against the disappearance of their relatives and because state institutions have failed them, especially the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office that does not give progress to “long-standing” cases.

Within the framework of Mother’s Day, the collective Voice of the Disappeared, first attended a mass in the cathedral, where Archbishop Víctor Sánchez Espinosa offered the religious ceremony to show solidarity with them, where he said that for dozens of women this date is not a celebration.

There, they took the opportunity to launch the slogan “May 10 is not a party” to which the leader of the Catholic flock in the state, in his speech gave them words of encouragement, as well as urged them not to give up in the search for relatives.

Subsequently, they moved to the city’s main square, for a solidarity embroidery and a clothesline, where María Luisa Núñez Barojas, founder of the collective, recalled that in 2018 she began with these protests, but now 6 years later, she is no longer alone, because “many women accompany her”.”

El Pais also reports:

“Mexico is a country of sad mothers. Thousands of relatives of the disappeared, most of them women, have come out to demonstrate on May 10, Mother’s Day, to make visible the crisis of disappearances that the country is experiencing. Collectives from all states have gathered in Mexico City in what they have called the “National March of Searching Mothers.” It is estimated that more than 100,000 people have disappeared in Mexico, most of them in the last 18 years. The day has been joined by rallies in Jalisco, Puebla, Colima, Zacatecas, Veracruz and Oaxaca, among other places.

Disappearances in the country have increased as violence intensified with the notorious “war on drugs” during the six-year term of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012). “It’s one of the manifestations of the violence that was generated in Mexico after the security strategy was militarized,” says Humberto Guerrero, human rights coordinator at Fundar. But who disappears the disappeared? That is one of the big questions surrounding the phenomenon. “Sometimes it’s organized crime, other times it’s the state. Sometimes one and the other are the same,” Guerrero responds.”

The Associated Press adds:

“Hundreds of mothers of missing people, relatives and activists marched in protest through downtown Mexico City Friday to mark a sad commemoration of Mother’s Day.

The marchers, angry over what they say is the government’s lack of interest in investigating the disappearances of Mexico’s over 100,000 missing people, chanted slogans like “Where are they, our children, where are they?” They carried massive banners that, in some cases, showed nearly 100 photos of missing people.”

Edith Olivares of Amnesty International Mexico further highlights: “More than 90% of those searching for disappeared persons are women, mothers, sisters, and daughters. They are facing disappearance, murder, attacks, and threats, and they are also facing state violence. Unfortunately, they are coming on these marches, as they have been doing for several years, to demand to be heard and listened to by the authorities.”

We continue to follow this.

CAJAR lawyer Reinaldo Villalba: “We salute those who have accompanied us in this dream of a better world”

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: PBI-Colombia with Reinaldo Villalba, February 2024.

The International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD) recently interviewed Reinaldo Villalba Vargas of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR).

Are human rights lawyers still at risk in Colombia today?

RVV: “Yes, defending human rights involves enormous risks for the integrity and lives of defenders and their families. Working with the constant risk of losing one’s freedom or one’s life is a reality in Colombia, even under the current progressive government, because the criminal structures rooted in the security forces and intelligence agencies survive, despite the efforts made to purge them.

We are well aware that this ruling will not eliminate the risk of practising as a lawyer. But we consider that the sentence, as well as being a form of reparation for the total impunity in Colombia, is undoubtedly a very important means of demanding protection and guarantees for the exercise of the profession of lawyer in the defence of human rights. The sentence requires monitoring by the State, which should lead to greater guarantees for the defence of human rights based on the practice of law.

It is very important that the international community maintains its interest in Colombia. International monitoring of the situation of human rights defenders in Colombia is crucial. Without this international support, many of us might no longer be alive.

We take this opportunity to acknowledge and salute those who have accompanied us in this dream of a better world, such as Peace Brigades International, the International Caravan of Lawyers, the International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger and so many other organisations.”

To read the full interview, go to Interview with Reinaldo Villalba on the “historic” ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the “CAJAR v. Colombia” case.

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR) since 1995.

Defence Minister Bill Blair will be the keynote speaker at the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa on Wednesday May 29

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Defence Minister Bill Blair. Photo by Canadian Press/Justin Tang.

The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) has announced via social media that Canada’s Minister of National Defence Bill Blair will be the opening breakfast keynote speaker at the CANSEC arms show that is scheduled to take place at the EY Centre in Ottawa on Wednesday May 29 starting at 7:50 am.

What is CANSEC?

CADSI promotes CANSEC as “Canada’s leading defence, security & emerging technology event” and lists its co-sponsors including L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Leonardo and BAE Systems. Exhibitors at CANSEC have also included Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, Rheinmetall and Raytheon.

The role these companies have played in arming the Israeli military’s assault on Gaza have been documented by the Oakland, California-based American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Action Center for Corporate Accountability.

The CANSEC arms show also lists “Israel representatives” as exhibitors. While not further specified, this could refer to the International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Blair on arms exports

Notably, CBC has reported: “Blair said the [federal] government will respect export permits [to Israel] approved before [January 8] and pause approvals going forward.”

His comment followed the passage of the motion in the House of Commons that states Canada will “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas.”

The call for an arms embargo

Multiple organizations, including the Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers), the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) continue to call on Canada to support an arms embargo.

Their call states: “While the Minister of Foreign Affairs [Melanie Joly] has verbally committed to pausing approvals of future arms export permits to Israel, Canada must go further. It must cancel existing export permits, close all export loopholes, and implement an Arms Embargo under Canada’s Special Economic Measures Act, which recognizes the necessity of a two-way prohibition.”

That call also highlights: “Canadian companies export weapons, components, and military technology to Israel, including via the United States. These military exports, whether directly or by way of intermediaries, put Canada at risk of complicity in Israel’s grave human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank.”

It further notes: “Canada also buys and permits the import of military technology from Israel. It is Israel’s sixth largest arms buyer. Gaza and the West Bank function as a laboratory for Israeli arms manufacturers. The weapons deployed against Palestinians, including during Israel’s wars on Gaza, are marketed to international customers like the Government of Canada as ‘battle-tested’ and ‘combat-proven’. Canadian tax-dollars pay for these Israeli-made weapons, providing profits to the Israeli arms industry and giving Israel moral cover for using those weapons against Palestinians.”

Blair recently challenged in Toronto

As seen in this Instagram video, a member of World Beyond War in Toronto recently challenged Blair on Canada’s continued relationship with the Israeli military.

Concerns have also been raised about the Defence Minister in relation to his opposition to calls for a ceasefire in late-October,  his comments in November suggesting that he believes the Israeli military is acting with “maximum restraint” in Gaza, his decision in December to purchase Spike LR2 missiles manufactured by Israeli state-owned arms dealer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. and most recently, as The Maple has reported: “Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) will host trial sessions for Israeli arms technology used to kill Palestinians and maintain apartheid and occupation during a three-week ‘sandbox’ event in Alberta” from May 27 to June 21.

Upcoming mobilizations

World Beyond War has highlighted that a mobilization will take place starting at 7 am on Wednesday May 29 outside the EY Centre.

This year, multiple groups, including the International League for Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), are also calling on the Government of Canada to hold “an independent and in-depth inquiry into CADSI and its direct involvement in human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”

Peace Brigades International has called on the international community to suspend the supply of arms to Israel and to show its strong support for institutions of global justice, including the International Court of Justice.

Further reading: More than 800 human rights defenders killed in Palestine over the past six months (PBI-Canada article, April 26, 2024).

BHRRC: “630 instances of attacks against people raising concerns about business-related harms” in 2023

By
Brent Patterson
-

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) has released its report titled: People power under pressure: Human rights defenders & business in 2023.

A key finding of the report is: “Between January 2015 and December 2023, the Resource Centre documented over 5,300 attacks globally against HRDs challenging corporate harm. In 2023 alone, we identified 630 attacks directly affecting an estimated 20,000 people. Over three quarters (78%) of these attacks were against people taking action to protect the climate, environmental and land rights.”

There are two references to Canada in the BHRRC report:

– “In 2023, we recorded numerous instances of attacks against people engaged in civil disobedience to urge climate action, including arrests of Indigenous defenders opposing the Coastal GasLink pipeline in Canada…”

Video: The BHRRC has noted that Wet’suwet’en land defender Jocey Alec was arrested on March 29, 2023 along with four other land defenders. On April 16, 2023, she participated in our webinar about Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) violence against land defenders.

– “On 23 October 2023, at least 30 activists were arrested following protests following the National Assembly’s approval of a contract for copper exploitation in Central America’s largest open-pit copper mine, operated by Minera Panama, a subsidiary of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, in view of the declaration of unconstitutionality of the previous contract. At the beginning of 2024, 21 of those arrested were charged with terrorism. Since the start of the protests in October 2023, several people have been injured, including journalist and activist Aubrey Baxter, who lost an eye due to excessive use of force by the police. On 1 November 2023, Diógenes Sánchez, a member of the Panamanian Teachers’ Association (Asoprof), was arrested by police following his active participation in the protests. On 7 November, Abdiel Díaz and Iván Rodríguez were shot and killed by a gunman. The Resource Centre invited Minera Panama and First Quantum Minerals to respond; they did not.”

The BHRRC chart above should also be read in the context of statistics provided by MiningWatch Canada that highlight: “47% of the world’s public mining companies are listed on Canadian stock exchanges. More than half of Canadian mining and exploration companies operate overseas (730).”

The report also notes:

“Many attacks involve collusion between state, private sector and other non-state actors, such as organised crime, occurring in contexts where there are high levels of impunity. This often makes it difficult to identify perpetrators. In 2023, direct perpetrators of attacks were largely state actors, with police and the judicial systems being the most common perpetrators, followed by the military/armed forces. However, this does not mean companies were not involved in attacks. In all 630 instances of attacks documented in 2023, HRDs were raising concerns about business-related actual or projected harms. A specific business was mentioned in 50% of cases.”

The full report including recommendations can be read here.

Photo of Jocey Alec by Brandi Morin.

Independent inquiry into CADSI could look at the culpability of transnational arms companies in the genocide in Gaza

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video still: The Ottawa Police Service watches as arms dealers and officials enter the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa.

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) and affiliated groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), are demanding that the Government of Canada hold “an independent and in-depth inquiry into CADSI [the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries] and its direct involvement in human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”

CADSI is the organizer of the annual CANSEC arms show that will be taking place this coming May 29-30 in Ottawa.

CADSI promotes CANSEC as “Canada’s leading defence, security & emerging technology event” and lists its co-sponsors including L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Leonardo and BAE Systems. Exhibitors at CANSEC have also included Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, Rheinmetall and Raytheon.

The role these companies have played in arming the Israeli military’s assault on Gaza have been documented by the Oakland, California-based American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Action Center for Corporate Accountability.

The CANSEC arms show also lists “Israel representatives” as exhibitors. While not further specified, this could refer to the International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

The legality of arms exports – the Genocide Convention

On January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a preliminary ruling on South Africa’s claim that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, specifically in the Gaza Strip.

In paragraph 54 of its ruling, the International Court of Justice states: “In the Court’s view, the facts and circumstances mentioned above are sufficient to conclude that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection are plausible. This is the case with respect to the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article III, and the right of South Africa to seek Israel’s compliance with the latter’s obligations under the [the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide].”

As such, the ICJ ruled that it is “plausible” that Israel is currently committing genocide against the Palestinian people.

Toronto-based university law school professors Heidi Matthews, Faisal A. Bhabha and Mohammad Fadel have argued: “Because the ICJ found a serious risk of genocide in Gaza, continuing to export arms to Israel would be illegal. It would also be flagrantly inconsistent with Canada’s obligation to prevent genocide and could expose Canada and Canadian officials to liability for participation in genocide.”

They add: “The court’s provisional measures also impact Canada’s compliance with its own laws on military exports. … The Export and Import Permits Act forbids arms permits to be issued if there’s a ‘substantial risk’ that the goods could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law.”

In early-March, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights, the Palestinian human rights NGO Al-Haq and other applicants filed an application for judicial review at the Federal Court of Canada also citing a potential violation of the Genocide Convention, Canada’s Export and Import Permits Act, the Geneva Conventions, the Arms Trade Treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Rome Statute.

Rome Statute

Article 25 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court states: “In accordance with this Statute, a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court if that person … for the purpose of facilitating the commission of such a crime [within the jurisdiction of the Court, including the crime of genocide cited in Article 5], aids, abets or otherwise assists in its commission or its attempted commission, including providing the means for its commission.”

It is arguable that several of the weapons companies that will be present at CANSEC are aiding, abetting or otherwise assisting in the commission of a plausible genocide against the Palestinian people.

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

This could also be extended to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights that places responsibilities on transnational weapons companies. It says: “The responsibility to respect human rights is a global standard of expected conduct for all business enterprises wherever they operate. It exists independently of States’ abilities and/or willingness to fulfil their own human rights obligations and does not diminish those obligations. And it exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations protecting human rights.”

Does this mean CANSEC is violating international law?

Is CANSEC a lawful activity?

Does the presence of numerous transnational weapons corporations at the CANSEC arms show make that arms show a gathering that contravenes the Genocide Convention, the Rome Statute, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other international human rights law norms?

Presumably, that is a question that could be addressed by the independent inquiry into CADSI and CANSEC that the ILPS is seeking.

The limits of “lawful protest”

In the meantime, protests are now being organized against CANSEC.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has highlighted: “Protesting is an essential democratic tool and is given constitutional protection through the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantees of freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.”

The Toronto-based CCLA then cautions: “If you want to organize a larger demonstration or protest that will include marches on roadways and interruption to traffic, you will have a few issues to consider. Although peaceful assembly is a constitutionally protected activity, the right to peaceful assembly, like all rights in the Charter, is subject to ‘reasonable limits’. This means that the government can restrict rights—including protests—in certain ways without violating the Charter.”

Furthermore, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) says that its “objectives for demonstrations [include] maintain public order and preserve the peace [and] minimize disruption for Ottawa residents, businesses and visitors…”

Significantly, the OPS do not note any reference to international conventions or international human rights law.

The OPS further notes there are limits to “freedom of expression” at “demonstrations and protests” and that “Criminal Code sections that limit certain activities” include “breach of the peace or imminent breach (Section 31)”.

As such, there is a much higher probability, despite the evident irony, that the OPS would see a protest against genocide being in “breach of the peace” than transnational arms companies selling weapons to Israel.  

Photo: The OPS shoves an activist holding a banner at the entrance to the overflow parking lot at the CANSEC arms show in 2023.

Limited legal interpretations of freedom of expression

The Department of Justice Canada also notes: “Freedom of expression, does not include the right to physically impede or blockade lawful activities: Guelph (City) v. Soltys, [2009] O.J. No. 3369 (Ont. Sup. Ct. Jus), at paragraph 26.”

The Department adds: “Freedom of peaceful assembly protected under section 2(c) of the Charter has received only limited judicial interpretation.”

As such, the right of someone to block the roadway leading to an arms fair has not been tested in Canadian courts.

Notably, we look to the case of four people charged by the Metropolitan Police with “highway obstruction” after blocking an approach road to the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms show at the ExCeL Centre in London.

In the June 2021 UK Supreme Court ruling that exonerated the four, Lord Hamblen and Lord Stephens wrote: “There should be a certain degree of tolerance to disruption to ordinary life, including disruption of traffic, caused by the exercise of the right to freedom of expression or freedom of peaceful assembly…”

These judges added: “We consider that the peaceful intentions of the appellants were appropriate matters to be considered in an evaluation of proportionality.”

In an evaluation of proportionality, how would a Canadian court see a blockade of CANSEC in light of the ICJ finding of a plausible genocide and the killing of more than 13,800 children in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and April 4, 2024.

That number has only increased. On May 3, 10-year-old Shahed Awda Talla and ten other children were killed in an airstrike. CNN reports: “Three munitions experts who reviewed videos and photos showing damage caused by the strike and shrapnel left in its aftermath, independently drew the same conclusion: that the carnage was likely caused by a precision-guided munition deployed by the Israeli military.”

The culpability of transnational weapons companies in arming a genocide (and repression and human rights violations), the role of the state in permitting arms exports, the adherence to international law and human rights norms, the role of protesting in stopping arms companies implicated in genocide from conducting business, and the interpretation of freedom of expression, lawful activity and lawful protest by the police will all be crucial issues in relation to the CANSEC arms show later this month.

Further reading: More than 800 human rights defenders killed in Palestine over the past six months (PBI-Canada article, April 26, 2024).

Photo: Nour Naser Abu al-Nour of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights was killed by an Israeli airstrike on her family home in Rafah on February 20, 2024. The airstrike also killed seven members of her family including her two-year-old daughter Kenzi Jumaa.

PBI-Honduras observes COPINH sit-in following conviction of three in the ‘Fraud on Gualcarque’ case

By
Brent Patterson
-

PBI-Honduras has posted: “The Corruption Sentencing Court has just convicted 3 of the 6 former public officials accused in the ‘Fraud on Gualcarque’ case. We are observing the @COPINHHONDURAS [Civic Council of Grassroots and Indigenous Organizations in Honduras] sit-in, which requested a conviction for the 6 accused people.”

COPINH adds via social media:

“3 persons were found guilty:

– Roberto David Castillo Mejía: Manager of the [hydroelectric dam] company DESA. / Guilty of fraud.

– Carolina Lizeth Castillo Argueta: Former ENEE [Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica, the government owned and operated electrical power company] official / Guilty of fraud.

– Raúl Pineda Pineda: Former Mayor of San Francisco de Ojuera / Guilty of usurpation of functions and falsification of documents.

Their sentences will be announced on 24 May 2024.”

Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres has also tweeted: “My mother spoke about the criminality of David Castillo, president of DESA, and Raúl Pineda, who criminalized and attacked her #COPINH . Today that they are found guilty of fraud, falsification of documents and usurpation of functions, we only confirm their reason. Berta Lives!”

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has previously explained: “This trial seeks accountability for those involved in the network of corruption that allowed for fraudulent concessions of the Gualcarque River. These concessions are still in force in the territories of the Lenca community, violating their rights to land and water. The complaint is linked to the 2016 murder of renowned environmental and human rights defender Berta Cáceres. This trial is also emblematic because it is the first time in the country that Indigenous communities — direct victims of these criminal acts — have become parties to a corruption case for violation of their human rights.”

PBI-Honduras has accompanied the Civic Council of Grassroots and Indigenous Organizations in Honduras (COPINH) since May 2016.

Further reading: PBI-Honduras observes ‘Fraud on the Gualcarque’ trial in Tegucigalpa (August 3, 2022).

#FraudeSobreElGualcarque

UNESCO report: At least 749 environmental journalists have been attacked between 2009 and 2023

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: At least 210 environmental journalists have experienced legal attacks between 2009 and 2023. That was the experience of Maya Q’eqchi’ journalist Carlos Ernesto Choc in Guatemala.

The Guardian reports: “More than 70% of environmental journalists have been attacked for their work since 2009, according to a Unesco report, which warns of rising threats against those covering the climate crisis.”

That article adds: “At least 749 environmental journalists have faced violence and intimidation in the last 15 years, the UN body found. It said that 44 reporters were murdered between 2009 and 2023 but that resulted in just five convictions.”

And it further specifies: “Physical violence – including assaults, arbitrary detention, murder attempts and abductions – were the most common form of attack, and had risen significantly to 111 incidents in the past five years, up from 61 in 2014-2018 and 45 in 2009-2013.”

Findings in the report

The 18-page UNESCO report can be read at Press and Planet in danger: Safety of environmental journalists – trends, challenges and recommendations. It notes:

-“State  actors—police,  military  forces,  government  officials  and  employees,  local  authorities—are  responsible  for  most  of  the  attacks  for  which  there  is  perpetrator  information available. For every ten attacks in the data, state actors committed at least five. Private actors –extractive industry companies, criminal groups, protesters and local communities – committed almost three. There is not sufficient information to identify the remaining two.”

-“Journalists faced attacks while covering a range of topics, with environmental protests (196),  mining  (142),  and  land  conflicts  (115)  showing  the  highest  numbers. Other  issues  were  logging  and  deforestation  (83),  extreme  weather  events  (56),  pollution  and environmental damage (54), and the fossil fuel industry (32).”

-“Journalists  and  media  houses  covering  environmental  issues  who  were  subject  to  legal attacks constitute the second largest group registered in the data, with a total of 210 cases registered since 2009. Criminal charges lead the legal attacks with 94 incidents: 74 involving charges like public order disruption, terrorism, hate speech, and dissemination of fake news, plus 20 cases of criminal defamation.”

Journalists accompanied/known by PBI

At this time, we highlight the cases of environmental journalists who have experienced these attacks including Carlos Ernesto Choc (Guatemala), Norma Sancir (Guatemala), Pablo Isabel Hernández (Honduras), Miryam Vargas Teutle (Mexico), Samir Flores Soberanes (Mexico), as well as Amber Bracken, Michael Toledano and Justin Brake (Canada).

We also note that many other reporters have experienced attacks for their coverage of other issues of social concern including Claudia Julieta Duque (Colombia), Dina Meza (Honduras), Alberto Tejada and Jhonatan Buitrago (Colombia), Abelardo Liz (Colombia), Miroslav Breach (Mexico) and Brandi Morin (Canada).

Video: The Committee to Protect Journalists says that at least 97 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza over the last six months. Shireen Abu Akleh was shot to death by the Israeli military on May 11, 2022. In the video below, the Al Jazeera newsroom in Ramallah reacts to her murder.

We continue to follow this.

1...119120121...476Page 120 of 476