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Canadian government congratulates next Colombian president; concerns expressed about the safety of human rights defenders

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video still: Abelardo de la Espriella.

The Associated Press reports: “Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire political neophyte, will be Colombia’s next president after electoral authorities on Wednesday [June 24] declared him the winner of Sunday’s [June 21] runoff election. …Earlier Wednesday, Cepeda conceded the election to de la Espriella and accepted a Senate seat reserved for the runner-up in the presidential contest.”

Canada

On June 25, after this declaration, Global Affairs Canada posted on social media: “Congratulations to Colombia’s new president Abelardo De la Espriella. Canada values its longstanding partnership with Colombia. Canada looks forward to continued cooperation on shared interests such as stable economic growth, expanding trade under our existing free-trade agreement, and peace and security.”

Civil society concerns

Longtime Colombian activist Dr. Manuel Rozental, who lived in exile in Canada for more than 15 years, tells Democracy Now!: “De la Espriella clearly represents a criminal approach to politics: lying, propaganda, coordination and collusion with criminal narcotrafficking, restriction of rights, and money laundering.”

Inés M. Pousadela, a Senior Research Specialist at Civicus, a global alliance of civil society organizations, also comments: “Climate activists, human rights defenders, indigenous communities and peace advocates have the most to lose from the agenda of their next government. …De la Espriella [has promised] resuming aerial bombardments against armed groups… For communities living in territories where armed groups overlap with extractive industries, this is not an abstract political debate. Human rights organizations have warned that returning to an all-out military offensive will be devastating for civilians, particularly environmental defenders and indigenous communities already facing lethal threats. Colombia is the deadliest country in the world for environmental and land rights defenders. The situation is likely to worsen.”

And Lara Loaiza Arias, a Colombian journalist and editor at NACLA (the North American Congress on Latin America), comments: “[De la Espriella] has proposed a ‘Plan Colombia 2.0,’ a remake of the multibillion-dollar U.S.-Colombia security initiative of the early 2000s, which resulted in serious human rights violations by the armed forces and ultimately failed to significantly reduce drug trafficking and violence.”

PBI accompanied organizations

After the first round in this election, the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (CREDHOS) posted on social media: “Less than 24 hours after the presidential elections, a pamphlet attributed to the ACSN [the Association of Self-Defense Forces of Colombia] circulated, declaring several people in the municipality as military targets, including social and political leaders linked to the Municipal Human Rights Committee, CREDHOS, and the Historic Pact.”

Their post adds: “These events are occurring in a context of high political tension and disputes over economic interests associated with extractive projects in the territory, including the possibility of enabling hydrocarbon exploitation through fracking.”

CREDHOS is opposed to fracking, a form of fossil fuel extractivism that de la Espriella supports.

And during a Peace Brigades International-supported advocacy tour in Europe just prior to the second round vote, Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation legal coordinator Andrea Torres Bautista told the publication El Salto: “[If the extreme right wins the election, the Comprehensive Law for the Protection of the Rights of Women Searchers] is not going to be implemented, it is going to remain on paper and there will be no guarantee of protection or recognition of women seekers.”

Bautista further stated: “But also, I think our lives are at stake. In other words, I am personally afraid that if the right wing wins, they will kill us, they will continue to physically attack us, they will continue to persecute us, they will continue to harass us, forced disappearances will increase and the security situation and guarantee to continue doing our work will no longer exist. …[We] feel that there will be no guarantee for the organizations, much less for the women searchers who have denounced the State, who have denounced the military, the paramilitaries, the guerrillas.”

De la Espriella will be sworn into office on August 7 for a four-year term.

We continue to follow the implications of the new president of Colombia on the safety and security of human rights defenders.

UN Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders Bolaños Vargas: “Security does not only involve a hard security approach”

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Andrea Bolaños Vargas.

Andrea Bolaños Vargas was appointed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on March 31, 2026.

In a feature interview with El Pais, Vargas comments on the trends she is seeing: “We see a trend towards transnational repression of defenders who go into exile. Also, the use of restrictive legal frameworks maliciously interpreted, including against international human rights law, to criminalize defenders. 75% consider that their work is being restricted by these regulatory frameworks.”

She further notes: “There is a global trend towards autocracy, authoritarianism and the weakening of the rule of law, but it would be unfair to say that it is only in Latin America. It is a global trend.”

Vargas was also asked:

Q: Why is there so much failure in protection?

A: It is essential to ask the communities themselves, and we have failed in that. We have colonial or hegemonic approaches. Latin America has an advantage: there are state protection programs in seven countries. Security does not only involve a hard security approach, but also see it anthropologically, sociologically, psychologically, from other academic and professional approaches.

Q: What recommendations would you give to states to generate effective protection?

A: In collective protection, we have to ask the communities what they need and respect what they have. An indigenous community told me that their protection mechanism asked them what they needed. They replied, “We have no money for our drums.” The mechanism asked in surprise what the drums had to do with protection. The answer was clear, “with our drums we scare away the spirits and warn that something is happening.” The program gave them the money for the drums. It is a great example of a good practice, first they asked, second they listened and third they strengthened the collective protection of a community at risk.

The full interview can be read at: Andrea Bolaños: “La represión a defensores ahora es trasnacional” (El Pais, June 25, 2026).

PBI calls on OECD to adopt binding measures to hold multinational corporations to account for human rights violations

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: The OECD headquarters in Paris. Photo by MySociety.

Peace Brigades International has signed a joint letter ahead of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Inclusive Platform for Due Diligence Policy Cooperation meeting in Paris.

This meeting is taking place during the Responsible Business Conduct week (RBC week), June 29 to July 2, 2026.

The letter signed by PBI and 119 other organizations says: “We collectively call for greater ambition by OECD member states to adopt and enforce binding measures to hold multinational companies to account for individual and collective human rights violations and environmental destruction, and to ensure the provision of remedy.”

Canada is a member of the OECD along with 37 other countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Mexico and Colombia.

The letter continues: “Our message to OECD member states is that adopting measures that impose binding obligations on multinational businesses, including financial institutions, is not only long overdue but is crucial to ensure the prevention of imminent human rights and environmental abuses, as well as to ensure effective remedy for harms.”

The OECD says “senior leaders will gather at OECD headquarters in Paris to chart the future course for responsible business in a world in transition” on June 29-30 in Paris and that it will release “its inaugural Responsible Business Outlook 2026: Making Commitments Count” on June 30.

That 110-page report can now be read here.

Among the speakers listed for this OECD gathering is Terrence Cowl, Global Affairs Canada, Executive Director, Responsible Business Conduct. PBI-Canada, PBI-Mexico and representatives of Espacio OSC met with Mr. Cowl in September 2025 in Ottawa when he was the Deputy Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

CBC News reported on June 11, 2026, that the Canadian government had eliminated the CORE. After that announcement, Mongabay reported John Babcock, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, stating: “A decision has been taken to permanently streamline the CORE Ombudsperson’s work into other functions with stronger track records of effectiveness, including the National Contact Point.”

In February 2026, MiningWatch Canada commented: “Canada has had a National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (NCP) since 2000. …We have stopped using the office as its mandate, guidelines and processes are not only ineffective in addressing the harms complainants have endured, but the process itself, through its ineffectiveness and the costs it imposes on complainants, contributes to deepening the harm complainants experience.”

Earlier this month, CBC News also reported: “Advocates such as Amnesty International had urged Ottawa to go beyond the existing National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct, a mechanism developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, because activists said that body had been ineffective at pursuing corporate accountability.”

We follow this with concern.

RCMP CRU-BC vehicle seen at UBC Okanagan campus, CRCC systemic investigation report expected within months

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by The Phoenix News of RCMP CRU-BC vehicle.

PBI-Canada has been following the “systemic investigation” by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG), now called the Critical Response Unit-British Columbia (CRU-BC).

As CBC journalist Brett Forester has previously reported: “More than 100 grievances accepted for investigation contain allegations of excessive force, illegal tactics, unprofessional behaviour, racism, discrimination and charter violations by the force’s Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG).”

That investigation was launched in March 2023. In early April 2026, CBC News journalist Chantelle Bellrichard reported: “Watchdog’s report on controversial RCMP unit delayed due to lack of chairperson. Civilian Review and Complaints Commission has been without a chairperson since January 2025.”

Also in April 2026, Phoenix News, the student newspaper at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) in Kelowna, reported: “With a stonewalled federal investigation, the controversial RCMP group has recently been spotted on-campus by students, and questions are beginning to swirl as to why it might be here.”

That article adds: “UBCO is not the first campus to take clear note of the presence of the CRU-BC on its campus beyond the campus encampments of 2023-2024, as UBC-Vancouver has recently seen. By virtue of a freedom of information request filed by Breach Media, it has become known as recently as March 2026 that the then-C-IRG was actively monitoring the UBC-Vancouver campus encampment of 2024 as soon as it became active.”

More from The Breach on this at: “A notorious RCMP unit shaped B.C. universities’ reaction to Palestine encampments: From Fairy Creek to university campuses, CRU-BC is positioning itself as the go-to police force for repressing dissent”.

In a statement provided to The Phoenix News about the CRU-BC on the UBCO campus, RBC Off-Campus commented: “It is shameful that UBC has repeatedly welcomed the RCMP onto campus under the guise of ‘security’ and ‘community safety’. Cops don’t make us safe. Normalizing police presence is dangerous. we know that the CRU branch of the RCMP has collaborated with universities to suppress life-affirming, anti-genocide student protest for Palestine. We know that they violated Indigenous Land Defenders’ charter rights. Cops off campus means more safety for everyone.”

The RBC Off-Campus campaign has denounced the building of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory in northern British Columbia. The RCMP C-IRG launched three militarized raids on the territory (in January 2019, February 2020 and November 2021).

In May 2022, CBC News reported: “In a letter dated April 29, [the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination/CERD] said the governments of Canada and British Columbia ‘have escalated their use of force, surveillance, and criminalization of land defenders to intimidate, remove and forcibly evict Secwepemc and Wet’suwet’en Nations from their traditional lands…’ The letter goes on to name the RCMP, the RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) and private security forces as the perpetrators.”

CRCC report expected within months

With the appointment of an interim chairperson CRCC in April 2026, we anticipate the report will be released within the broad timeframe of early-July (at the very earliest) to mid-October 2026 (at the very latest).

Filipino president to visit Canada, plans to deepen military cooperation as attacks against human rights defenders continue

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Carney meets with Marcos, Jr., October 2025.

On June 26, 2026, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that “the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will visit Vancouver, British Columbia, from July 1 to 4, 2026.” That announcement highlights that the intention of this visit is to “identify further opportunities to deepen our economic and security partnership.”

The Manila Standard also reports: “President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. will make an official visit to Canada from July 1 to 4 as Manila and Ottawa seek to expand cooperation in trade, defense, and regional security. …The visit comes as Canada and the Philippines deepen ties across a range of sectors, including commerce, defense, energy, critical minerals, food security, tourism, and cultural exchanges.”

The announcement also comes just days after the release of a report by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders that follows “a five-day fact-finding visit conducted from 2 to 6 March 2026 in Metro Manila [and] prior online consultation with Filipino human rights defenders in exile.”

The report “shows that repressive counter-terrorism laws and counter-insurgency policies have been used to attack and criminalise land and environmental rights defenders, human rights lawyers, journalists, trade unionists, and women human rights defenders, including those from Indigenous Peoples’ communities.”

It further highlights: “Threats, harassment (especially surveillance and ‘red-tagging’), arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings have been the most common forms of attacks against defenders.”

It also follows the release this month of the United Nations “Human Rights Count 2026” report that notes worldwide: “Since 2015, at least 5,995 defenders have been killed or disappeared worldwide. …Projected figures for 2025 indicate that at least 743 defenders were killed and 202 disappeared.”

In June 2020, the UN had reported that in the Philippines: “At least 208 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists, including 30 women, plus at least 40 legal professionals had been killed since 2015, many of whom were working on politically sensitive cases or advocating for land and environmental rights of farmers and indigenous peoples and housing rights of the urban poor.”

Most recently, Front Line Defenders reported that 4 human rights defenders had been killed in 2025 in the Philippines, while Global Witness documented that 8 land and environmental defenders had been killed in 2024.

In December 2024, Global Witness and the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) reported: “Since 2012, the Philippines has been ranked as the deadliest country in Asia for people protecting land and the environment, with mining linked to a third of all killings documented by Global Witness.”

They further highlighted: “The military has been linked to the highest number of documented killings and detentions of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines over the past decade. These abuses have gone unchecked.”

On June 18, 2026, at the time of the release of the report on the Philippines by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Shahindha Ismail, the Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) commented: “President Marcos Jr.’s failure to dismantle his predecessor’s apparatus of repression and to foster accountability for human rights violations means that human rights defenders are still not safe in the Philippines.”

We continue to follow this with concern.

Photo: Ottawa Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP).

Photo: BAYAN BC post on social media.

Israeli arms exports reach record levels in 2025, as does the targeted killings of Palestinian human rights defenders and journalists

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Canada’s new CC-330 Husky refueling aircraft will be equipped with technology supplied by Elbit Systems.

The Israeli military has been implicated in the killing of at least 74 Palestinian human rights defenders over the last three years (including 43 human rights defenders in 2025, according to Front Line Defenders). The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also noted that Israeli military forces have killed at least 203 journalists during that same three-year period. CPJ has further reported: “Israel was responsible for nearly 75% of the journalists and media workers killed by drones from 2023 to 2025.”

Earlier this year, the three largest Israeli weapons companies – Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael – reported increased revenues.

Last month, Israel Defense noted that Elbit Systems had “reported full-year revenues of $7.94 billion [in 2025], a 16% increase from $6.83 billion in 2024”. Israel Aerospace Industries also noted: “Gross profit in 2025 rose by USD 292 million to about USD 1,433 million compared with about USD 1,141 million in 2024.” And Rafael reported that in 2025: “Sales reached $6.28 billion — surpassing the $6 billion threshold for the first time. 46% of sales were to international customers.”

Now, The Times of Israel reports: “Annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2025, for the fifth consecutive year, up nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year, according to Defense Ministry figures released [on June 2, 2026]. The ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate, known as SIBAT, said defense exports totaled nearly $19.2 billion last year, up from $14.8 billion in 2024 — the previous record high.”

It is believed that SIBAT exhibits at the annual CANSEC arms show in Ottawa that attracted 50 international delegations in 2025 and 60 in 2026.

The article adds: “Europe was the largest purchaser of Israeli defense goods, buying 36% of the total exports in 2025, or $6.9 billion. …The Asia-Pacific region followed [at 32% with sales increasing from] around $3.4 billion in 2024 to $6.1 billion last year. …Middle Eastern and North African nations … accounted for 15% of the arms purchases, up from 12% in 2024. …[while] North America accounted for 13%, Latin America for 2%, and sub-Saharan Africa for 2%.”

Canada buys Israeli weapons systems

The Jerusalem Post noted in March 2024 that “the Canadian Defense Ministry purchased Israeli weapon systems worth more than a billion dollars” over the last decade, including “LR 2 Spike missiles from Rafael”, “MMR radars produced by the Elta Systems of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)”, and “small Skylark UAVs from Elbit System, the export version of the IDF’s ‘Sky Rider,’ which is also used in Israel’s current war in Gaza and is operated by ground brigades to identify enemies in the vicinity.”

In March 2024, The Maple also reported: “The Canadian military recently announced plans to purchase $43 million of a type of Israeli-made missile that has been flagged by human rights groups over its use in Israel’s past and present bombing campaigns on the Gaza Strip. …Defense News confirmed earlier this month that the missile system of choice would be the Spike LR2, manufactured and sold by Israeli state-owned arms dealer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.”

In December 2024, Esprit de Corps further reported: “The federal government spent U.S. $32 million ($45 million Canadian) to purchase Spike anti-tank missiles for use by Canadian Forces personnel in Latvia.”

In November 2023, Elbit Systems noted: “Elbit Systems Ltd. was awarded a contract by Airbus Defense and Space to supply the Direct Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM) and Infrared (IR) Missile Warning Systems for installation on the MRTT A330 refueling aircraft for Canada.” The first MRTT A330 (known as a CC-330 Husky), part of a CAD $3 billion contract for four new aircraft and the conversion of five other aircraft, will be delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 2027.

Alex Cosh, the news editor of The Maple, has explained: “First, and most obviously, these contracts use taxpayer dollars to help sustain the profitability of Israeli companies that play key roles in supplying the Israeli military with the tools it needs to carry out the genocide in Gaza. Second, by feeding the growth of Israel’s domestic arms industry, Canada is helping Israel to reduce its reliance on foreign imports, thus weakening the potential impact of current and future arms embargoes on Israel.”

It is not clear if Canada directly or indirectly bought military goods from Israel in 2025, but in recent years Canada sold $14.67 million dollars of military goods to Israel in 2025, $18.91 million in 2024, and $30.64 million in 2023.

The call for a two-way arms embargo

Organizations in Canada that support a two-way arms embargo that “recognizes the necessity of a two-way prohibition” include Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers), Labour for Palestine, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Anglican Church of Canada, BAYAN Canada, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), International League of People’s Struggle in Canada, WILPF Canada, World Beyond War, Peace Brigades International-Canada.

PBI accompanies Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation legal coordinator Andrea Torres Bautista on advocacy tour in Europe

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video clip: Andrea Torres in Norway, June 19, 2026.

The Madrid-based Spanish alternative newspaper El Salto reports that Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation legal coordinator Andrea Torres Bautista is on an advocacy tour in Spain with Peace Brigades International.

El Salto explains: “Torres is a lawyer, specializing in the protection of human rights and the fight against violence against women, focusing on cases where the accused are members of the Colombian armed forces.”

The article also notes: “Torres has suffered serious attacks and death threats for her work and has precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and a protection scheme from the National Protection Unit (UNP).”

Women Searchers Act

On June 18, 2024, Law 2364 of 2024, the Comprehensive Law for the Protection of the Rights of Women Searchers, championed by the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation, was ratified by Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Seven months later, President Petro signed the Decree authorizing the Women Searchers Act.

El Salto asked Torres what would happen if “the extreme right” wins the presidential election in Colombia this coming Sunday June 21.

Torres responded: “Well, I think the worst could happen. In legal terms, surely the law is not going to be implemented, it is going to remain on paper and there will be no guarantee of protection or recognition of women seekers. But also, I think our lives are at stake. In other words, I am personally afraid that if the right wing wins, they will kill us, they will continue to physically attack us, they will continue to persecute us, they will continue to harass us, forced disappearances will increase and the security situation and guarantee to continue doing our work will no longer exist. These days, I saw an interview given by one of the right-wing candidates and he said that he was going to come out with a list in hand with the names of the human rights organizations, as well as with the names of the guerrillas. And I was going to give the colonels 30 days to bring them in or eliminate them. That’s the tone of the right, right now. That makes us feel that there will be no guarantee for the organizations, much less for the women searchers who have denounced the State, who have denounced the military, the paramilitaries, the guerrillas.”

The full article can be read at Andrea Torres, abogada buscadora: “Si gana la extrema derecha en Colombia, están en juego nuestras vidas” (Sara Plaza Casares, El Salto, June 19, 2026).

Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation (FNEB) occasionally since 2007 and in full since 2016.

Additional reading

–PBI-Canada congratulates the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation on the presidential signing of Law 2364, the Women Searchers Law (January 29, 2026)

–PBI-Colombia says threat against CREDHOS a violation to democratic participation ahead of June 21 presidential vote (June 18, 2026).

Poster for public forum in Spain, June 15, 2026.

PBI accompanies COPINH coordinator Bertha Zúniga Cáceres at UN in Geneva and on tour of European countries

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video still from UN Geneva, June 19, 2026.

On June 6, 2026, the Spanish news agency EFE reported that Bertha Zúniga Cáceres met with human rights rapporteurs at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the situation of Indigenous people in Honduras.

That article highlights: “Zuniga’s trip to Geneva, part of a tour of several European countries, is supported by Peace Brigades International, an NGO that sends international volunteers to conflict zones to protect activists from trade unionists, peasant leaders and others threatened by political violence.”

It adds that Zúniga laments [that the main actors in her mother’s death have not been brought to justice], citing among them the largest shareholders of DESA, ‘linked to one of the most powerful families in Honduras, the Atala Zablahs.’”

EFE explains: “[Her mother] Bertha Cáceres, an activist of the Lenca people and co-founder of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), was murdered on March 2, 2016 after years of defending the rights of her community that included protests against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project, promoted by the company Desarrollos Energéticos Sociedad Anónima (DESA).”

The Dutch bank FMO

The EFE article quotes Zúniga who says: “We have filed a complaint in the Netherlands against [the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO] and we hope that its responsibility will be determined.”

El Pais has previously reported: “[The report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI)] indicates without a doubt that at least part of the money used to pay the hitmen, 25,000 dollars, ‘originated in funds drawn by the [Dutch development credit bank] FMO and [the Central American bank] CABEI, in accordance with a payment order issued within the framework of the loan extended by those institutions.’”

Video still from UN Geneva, June 19, 2026.

The Global Gateway

EFE also reports: “COPINH, an organization of which Zúniga is currently general coordinator, is pushing for the inclusion of human rights and anti-corruption clauses in European Union strategies such as the Global Gateway, with extensive investments in Honduras, ‘so that the policies they implement are not left to the will of European banks or companies.’”

On June 15, 2026, Insight EU Monitoring reported: “The EU Council today adopted conclusions on Global Gateway, reaffirming it as the European Union’s worldwide investment strategy for building mutually beneficial partnerships and mobilising public and private resources to bridge the global investment gap. …The strategy represents the EU’s positive and comprehensive offer to partner countries, combining development cooperation, trade and investment policy.”

The European Council/Council of the European Union has explained: “The Global Gateway is an umbrella term for the EU strategy created to boost smart, clean and secure connections in the digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. The EU’s original aim was to mobilise up to €300 billion in investments worldwide between 2021 and 2027. In October 2025 the Commission announced that this target had been met, and set a new objective of mobilising €400 billion in investments by 2027.”

Accompaniment

The coordinators of COPINH have been accompanied by Peace Brigades International since May 2016.

PBI-Honduras accompanies ARCAH at press conference hours before National Congress passes “Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agro-industrial Sector”

By
Brent Patterson
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On June 3, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted on social media:

“Social organizations reject the Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agro-industrial Sector.

In a press conference, accompanied by PBI, @arcahhonduras [the Alternative for Community and Environmental Reclamation of Honduras] and other organizations have identified this Law as a direct threat to human rights that: ignores historical rights on land, weakens environmental controls, fails the right to free and informed #prior consultation, privilege to large agro-industrialists and criminalizes the social protest.

From PBI we express our concern and urge the international community to guarantee the right to protest and remain vigilant about the security situation of signing organizations.”

Reportar Sin Miedo further reports: “The coordinator of [ARCAH] Cristhopher Castillo, said that the legislation responds to the interests of large economic groups and not to the real needs of the population. Castillo explained that there is a substantial difference between community food production and agribusiness aimed at the accumulation of capital to crush the peoples.”

Law passed on June 3, 2026

Reportar Sin Miedo then reported: “A few hours after social, peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant organizations from different regions of the country expressed their rejection of the bill for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agro-industrial Sector of Honduras, the National Congress proceeded to approve it amid questions from opposition sectors.”

After that, Infobae commented: “The approval of the Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agroindustrial Sector by the National Congress has opened a broad debate among productive sectors, peasant organizations, human rights defenders and international organizations on the scope and possible consequences of the new regulations. …The implementation of the regulations and their effects in the coming months will be decisive in assessing their impact on one of the most sensitive issues in the Honduran reality: agrarian conflict and the coexistence between economic development, productive investment and the rights of rural communities.”

Immediate interventions by National Police

After the passage of the “Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agroindustrial Sector of Honduras”, El Heraldo noted: “The forces of public order will be obliged to intervene immediately in cases of strikes, demonstrations or protests on public roads. In such crisis scenarios, the National Police and road authorities must enable safe logistics corridors and clear accesses, ports and routes without delay.”

Law then expanded to include energy and tourism

Then on June 10, Criterio.hn reported: “In a clear violation of parliamentary regulations, the National Congress of Honduras expanded the scope of the Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agroindustrial Sector to include the energy and tourism areas.”

Safe House Law

And on June 15, Criterio.hn further reported: “Not satisfied with the legislative shield granted to sectors such as agribusiness, energy and tourism, the liberal deputy for Puerto Cortés, Alex Berrios Lamothe, promoted the initiative called the Safe House Law. Presented as a response to crime, the initiative deepens the protection of private property by expanding the cases of legitimate defense, even in situations where the protected legal asset is not life but property.”

In another article, Criterio.hn additionally notes: “Pedro Mejía, a lawyer for the Agrarian Platform, [says] the reform is aimed at peasant and indigenous movements that maintain processes of territorial recovery and vindication of ancestral rights.”

That article adds: “He warned that owners or companies could invoke legitimate defense to act against these populations in the face of alleged threats to their property or heritage, even when there is no risk to life, which he considers unconstitutional and contrary to international human rights standards.”

The Asfura presidency

This is happening in the context of the aftermath of the November 30, 2025, presidential election in Honduras.

The Associated Press reported: “On Wednesday [November 26, 2025, Nasry ‘Tito’ Asfura] received the endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump.”

On December 5, 2025, PBI-Honduras accompanied several peasant and Indigenous organizations in a press conference, march and stand in front of the United States Embassy in Tegucigalpa where they alleged interference of the United States government in the electoral process of Honduras.

On December 8, 2025, PBI-Honduras observed several Honduran land and territory organizations, including ARCAH and the Agrarian Platform, file a “motion to annul the election results with the National Electoral Council and a complaint for electoral crimes with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”

Asfura was declared the winner of the election on December 24, 2025, and was sworn into office on January 27, 2026.

On March 4, 2026, PBI-Honduras observed a press conference organized by popular movements who warned of the “serious repercussions” of the Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agro-industrial Sector.

As noted above, that Law was passed on June 3, 2026.

We continue to follow this.

Canada to attend World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia despite attacks against human rights defenders

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo by CADSI.

The Ottawa-based Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), “the leading national voice of over 1,000 defence, security and emerging technology companies”, has posted on social media:

“A major milestone for Canada’s international delegation engagement was announced today at Eurosatory 2026 [an arms fair in Paris, France].

Representatives from the Government of Canada and Global Affairs Canada formalized an agreement on Wednesday [June 17, 2026] to secure a dedicated Canadian exhibit space at World Defense Show 2028 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [that will take place on January 16-20, 2028]. This agreement will establish the first-ever Canadian National Pavilion within the show’s North American Zone in 2028.

This will create a new platform for our future members and Canadian companies to showcase their capabilities and pursue opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing defence markets.”

This past week, CADSI also posted from Eurosatory: “We welcomed Trade Commissioner Service representatives covering Europe, the Middle East, and other priority markets to meet with our delegates, creating a unique opportunity for Canadian companies to pursue growth abroad.”

Canadian arms exports to Saudi Arabia

The 2025 Annual Report on Strategic Goods and Technologies Pursuant to Section 27 of the Export and Import Permits Act, published by Global Affairs Canada, notes: “Saudi Arabia was the largest non-U.S. export destination by value, receiving approximately $404 million in Canadian military exports (accounting for approximately 19.8% of the total value of non-U.S. military exports)…”

In 2014, the Government of Canada signed a $14.8 billion deal with the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia (KSA) to deliver over 14 years an undisclosed number of light-armoured vehicles (LAVs) to be manufactured by General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada, based in London, Ontario. The deal was arranged by the Ottawa-based Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation that brokers contracts between Canadian suppliers and foreign governments.

“No credible evidence”

Following a public outcry about the $14.8 billion sale of light-armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, Global Affairs Canada conducted a risk assessment that in September 2019 concluded: “Officials found no credible evidence linking Canadian exports of military equipment or other controlled items to any human rights or humanitarian law violations committed by the Saudi government.”

In August 2021, Amnesty International and Project Ploughshares countered this assertion with their 50-page report: “No Credible Evidence” Canada’s flawed analysis of arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Concerns for human rights defenders

In April 2026, Amnesty International further stated: “Despite a series of releases of individuals arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression, authorities continued to severely restrict freedom of expression and association, with critics and human rights defenders facing long prison terms, grossly unfair trials, and arbitrary travel bans including for those recently released from detention.”

The Dublin-based Front Line Defenders also notes: “Human rights defenders, activists and individuals [in Saudi Arabia] who criticise government policies or express dissent or diverging opinion to those of the authorities are subjected to harassment, surveillance, arbitrary detention, smear campaigns, prolonged and unfair trials. Family members of HRDs [human rights defenders] are also targeted and subjected to intimidation and harassment at the hands of the authorities.”

Overall, in the Freedom in the World report produced by Freedom House, Saudi Arabia is given a score of 9/100 and is considered “not free”.

An agenda to increase arms exports

This past February 2026, “Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy” highlighted Canada’s intention to: “Substantially increase financial support for export promotion efforts, and add new Trade Commissioners in the UK and key EU markets and ramp up Canada’s presence at major global defence and aerospace trade shows.”

The Government of Canada says this means “a stronger and more visible Canadian presence at major international defence and aerospace trade shows.”

This “more visible Canadian presence” seemingly now includes the World Defense Show 2028 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 16-20, 2028.

Arms exports and human rights

As part of our commitment to accompaniment and the protection of the lives of human rights defenders, PBI-Canada is monitoring the relationship between weapons companies and human rights violations by State-based actors importing weapons that could be used against defenders, organizations and communities.

The Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute recently called on European governments to “create a binding human rights, environmental and due diligence exclusion framework for European Union funding, preventing public money from going to companies involved in war crimes, occupation, repression, genocide, environmental destruction or serious human rights abuses.”

We continue to follow this.

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