Home Blog Page 3

PBI-Canada notes while the UN has called for strengthening the CORE, the Canadian government has “eliminated” the position

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: On September 29, 2025, PBI-Canada and PBI-Mexico accompanied two representatives from Espacio OSC at a meeting in Ottawa with Terrence Cowl, the Deputy Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

CBC News reports: “Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government is eliminating a watchdog position responsible for investigating allegations of human rights violations committed by Canadian companies operating abroad.”

This article adds: “The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) was introduced under former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2019 to investigate potential abuses, including the use of forced labour. But Carney said on Thursday [June 11] that the role would be ‘eliminated,’ suggesting that the office hadn’t been effective. …Carney said the decision to cut the role was taken ‘a few months ago’ but it doesn’t appear that a government official had yet announced it.”

It further notes: “The CORE had been criticized for lacking the powers to fulfil its mandate. Advocates have said the office needed the ability to compel documents and testimony from companies, for example.”

UN Committee on Human Rights

On March 24, 2026, The Globe and Mail reported: “The United Nations Committee on Human Rights, which includes representatives from the United States, France and Spain, criticized Ottawa for failing to fill the post of a watchdog whose job was to investigate human rights abuses by Canadian companies operating abroad.”

The newspaper noted: “’The Committee recommended that Canada urgently appoint a new Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise and ensure the office’s independence and adequate resources,’ the panel said in its report.”

It adds: “The panel [also] called on Canada to ‘strengthen mechanisms to ensure that business enterprises under its jurisdiction respect human rights standards, including when operating abroad.’”

UN Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders

On April 11, 2025, Mary Lawlor, who was at that time the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, posted on social media: “At #HRC58 [the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council] I welcomed #Canada’s support for human rights defenders abroad. But I had to say it: Canadian extractive mining companies are putting defenders at risk all over the world. We need binding due diligence obligations, a stronger @CORE_Ombuds [Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise/CORE], and real accountability.”

In November 2024, Lawlor also called for a “significant strengthening of the CORE.”

At that time, Lawlor commented: “I have long-standing concerns as to the adequacy of the CORE, in its current form, to provide any adequate form of redress for human rights defenders and the communities they represent when their rights have been violated or been put at risk by Canadian companies operating abroad. This has been reflected in conversations I have had with human rights defenders since taking up my mandate, who, where aware of the CORE, have repeatedly told me they have no confidence in its effectiveness.”

Specifically, Lawlor called on the Government of Canada to: “Provide the CORE with legally enforceable powers to compel evidence and testimony from companies, in line with international standards and best practice on ombudspersons’ offices, to enable effective investigations of all cases and overcome the barriers presented when companies refuse to meaningfully engage with the CORE.”

Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability

In their response to the elimination of the CORE, the Canadian Network for Corporate Responsibility commented: “In our view, this represents an abandonment of basic human rights principles, leaving communities and workers who allege serious human rights abuse by Canadian companies at significant risk of further harm.”

They further stated: “To our knowledge, this decision was never communicated to the scores of communities and workers who assumed great personal risk to trust the CORE with allegations of human rights abuse linked to Canadian companies, sometimes at the direct encouragement of Canadian government officials. The government’s failure to notify directly-impacted people represents a callous disregard for human life and basic transparency, and is a betrayal of the government’s stated commitment to ‘Canadian values’. We condemn this in the strongest possible terms.”

PBI-Canada monitors attacks against HRDs

Peace Brigades International-Canada continues to document violations by Canadian companies within Canada as well as in the countries where PBI physically accompanies land and environmental defenders, including Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and now Southeast Asia (the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand).

Our initial research in July 2024, utilizing the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) database, found that 21 Canadian companies have been implicated in 88 attacks against human rights defenders over the past nine years.

We have also expressed concern that Lawlor’s office had registered 15 cases between June 2019 and March 2022 of retaliation against human rights defenders that she alleged can be linked to the activities of Canadian mining companies.

We continue to follow this.

OCHRP, Migrante Ottawa, BAYAN warn Canada’s deepening military cooperation with the Philippines will worsen the human rights crisis

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: The Ottawa Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP), Anakbayan and Migrante Ottawa rally outside the Department of Defence building in Ottawa, Thursday June 11, 2026.

The Manila Bulletin reports: “The Department of National Defense (DND) and its Canadian counterpart signed a logistics agreement designed to ‘put teeth’ into their expanding security alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty signed the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement (MLSA) and a Statement of Intent (SOI) for Deepening Defense Cooperation during a defense ministers’ meeting (DMM) at the Parliament Hill in Canada on Thursday, June 11.”

That news report further notes: “Teodoro described the security alliance as a microcosm of the entire Canada-Philippines relationship, revealing that both nations plan to enter into future partnerships covering infrastructure, critical minerals, energy, telecommunications, and businesses. …The two defense chiefs are also currently working on an upcoming information-sharing agreement to safeguard bilateral operations, according to Teodoro. He said future cooperation will also expand rapidly into cybersecurity, training exchanges, and additional multilateral maritime cooperative activities.”

The Philippine News Agency also reports: “McGuinty said the agreements build on the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) that he and Teodoro signed in Manila in November 2025.”

Photo from Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP Radio DWDD).

“Human rights crisis in the Philippines”

But BAYAN BC cautions: “Continuing Canada-Philippines military partnership will only worsen human rights crisis in the Philippines.”

Sharing this concern, the Ottawa Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP), Anakbayan and Migrante Ottawa rallied in front of the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa as McGuinty and Teodoro were received by an honour guard, then participated in the signing ceremony and joint press conference.

OCHRP notes: “Teodoro’s term has seen grave instances of human rights violations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) including the bombardments of indigenous communities in Mindoro in January, and the recent massacre of 19 people in Toboso, Negros Occidental in April.”

Military linked to killings of land and environmental defenders

Global Witness and Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) have 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. …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.”

Arms exports and human rights

PBI-Canada continues to make the link between the export of “military goods” and violations against human rights defenders, their organizations and communities. In the context of the attacks documented by Global Witness and Kalikasan PNE, we further note that a delegation from the Philippines attended the CANSEC arms show this past May 27-28, 2026, at the Cohere Centre in Ottawa.

Image from Facebook.

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

We continue to follow this.

Instagram post by OCHRP Ottawa promoting the rally held on June 11, 2026.

Sentencing of Rheinmetall representative who assaulted woman at protest against CANSEC arms show in Ottawa scheduled for July 13

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video still of the assault on May 29, 2024, outside CANSEC.

On June 8, CBC News reported that a Swiss man, an employee of the munitions company Rheinmetall, who assaulted a 21-year-old Palestinian Canadian outside the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa in May 2024 will be sentenced on July 13.

The news article notes: “David Henschel, 58, appeared at the Ontario Court of Justice in Ottawa on Friday [June 5], having returned from his home in Switzerland for sentencing submissions after pleading guilty in July 2025 to assaulting the anti-war protester.”

Previously, on July 17, 2025, CBC News had reported: “A Swiss man has pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman at an anti-war, pro-Palestinian demonstration in Ottawa during the 2024 CANSEC conference… Henschel paid a $5,000 cash deposit following his arrest. He is expected to be sentenced following submissions on Nov. 24.”

And just days after the assault, on June 5, 2024, CBC News had reported: “In a five-second video captured by people participating in the demonstration, a man appears to strike a woman wearing a hijab, knocking her to the ground. The man is then seen pushing another woman wearing a keffiyeh — a checkered scarf typically worn in Arab cultures that has also come to symbolize solidarity with Palestinians.”

We continue to follow this.

Amnesty International, lawyers, and public figures comment on the terrorism-related provisions in the sentencing of the Filton 4

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: The Filton 4, from left to right: Charlotte (Lottie) Head, 29; Leona (Ellie) Kamio, 30; Sam Corner, 23; and Fatema Rajwani, 21.

The Guardian reports: “A judge has imposed lengthy custodial sentences on four Palestine Action activists who smashed up drones and other equipment at an Israeli arms manufacturer’s UK factory [Elbit Systems in Filton, Bristol] after ruling that there was a ‘terrorist connection’ to their offending.”

This is said to have been the first time in British history that someone accused of criminal damage has been sentenced as a terrorist.

Providing additional context, Andrew Feinstein, the Executive Director of the London-based non-profit Shadow World Investigations that exposes the illicit global weapons trade, has stated: “These quadcopter drones are key instruments of genocide, used by the Israeli forces in Gaza for surveillance, targeting and to kill.”

The Guardian adds: “Representing [Charlotte Head, 29], Rajiv Menon KC had told [the judge, Mr Justice Johnson] that it was unprecedented for the prosecution to apply for a judge to sentence a defendant as a terrorist for a non-violent offence.” Menon further argued that it would be “perverse” to find who, was motivated by humanitarian concern about “an arms company trading in death and destruction”, to have a terrorist connection. Head was sentenced by Mr Justice Johnson to five years in prison.

The Guardian also reports: “In written arguments, Mira Hammad KC, representing [Leona Kamio, 30, who was sentenced to five years], said the defendants had initially been arrested on suspicion of involvement in acts of terrorism but not charged with those offences… [And] Tom Wainwright KC, representing [Samuel Corner, 23, who was sentenced to seven years and eight months], said a terrorist connection finding against the defendants would also mean the suffragettes, the Greenham Common women and the Trident Ploughshares movement were terrorists.”

Open Letter from lawyers: An open letter signed by more than 50 lawyers and legal experts says: “Blurring the distinction between principled direct action and terrorism is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes.” Al Jazeera notes: “The letter has been signed by law professors from universities in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada as well as by dozens of practising barristers and solicitors.”

Defend Our Juries: A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries also told The New Arab: “Sentencing people as terrorists for damaging the weapons of genocide is not acceptable in a democracy and is inconsistent with the rule of law.” Defend Our Juries also posted: “Saving Lives Is Not Terrorism.”

Good Law Project: The Good Law Project says: “This grotesque distortion of the law tightens the screws on the public’s right to protest, placing more limits on our freedom to fight injustice.”

Public figures: Artists for Palestine also posted: “Sally Rooney, Greta Thunberg, Steve Coogan, and Lord John Hendy KC are among around 100 public figures warning of a miscarriage of justice if four human rights defenders receive unprecedented terrorism sentences for taking action against an Israeli arms manufacturer.”

Amnesty International UK: And Kerry Moscogiuri from Amnesty International UK said: “Today’s sentencing hearing risks marking a new low in the ongoing crackdown against protest across the UK. Criminal damage has never been treated as terrorism within the UK justice system before, and it is completely disproportionate to do so because the offence occurred at a protest.” Amnesty International UK further posted on social media: “Today’s decision shows how direct action protesters could be treated in the future. The use of terrorism laws against direct action protesters must end. Together we must continue calling out the abuse of power and fighting for our right to protest.”

Tayab Ali: Additionally, Tayab Ali, Partner at Bindmans LLP, further observed: “Meanwhile – British citizens suspected of war crimes as part of the IDF have been sentenced to 0 years imprisonment. In fact no one has even been investigated.”

We continue to follow this situation in the UK for any implications it may have on sentencing and the criminalization of protest in Canada.

—

OPEN LETTER FROM LAWYERS AND LEGAL EXPERTS

On 12 June, the Crown Prosecution Service will apply to have four young people (Charlotte Head, Leona Kamio, Fatema Zainab Rajwani and Samuel Corner) sentenced as terrorists, solely on the basis of their convictions for criminal damage. This is the first time, in British legal history, that such an application has been made in this context.

Damage to property has been a recurring feature of protest campaigns from the Suffragettes and the women of Greenham Common to Extinction Rebellion and the Trident Ploughshares movement. Military equipment has often been the target. Indeed the subject matter of the case in R v Jones, famous for Lord Hoffman’s dicta on civil disobedience, concerned extensive damage to military aircraft destined to support the invasion of Iraq. The defendants in that case were sentenced with conditional discharges.

It has never previously even been suggested that those taking such action should be treated as terrorists. Blurring the distinction between principled direct action and terrorism is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes.

The prosecution’s application is based on the motivation of the defendants, which was to prevent drones being used to kill civilians in Gaza. According to Mr Justice Johnson, in a preliminary ruling, such a motivation is consistent with section 1 of the Terrorism Act, and thereby capable of establishing a ‘terrorist connection’ for the purposes of The Sentencing Act 2020, section 69(3):

“On s1(1)(b) of the TA 2000, Rajiv Menon KC and others strongly argued that influencing government was not the purpose of the action – the purpose of the action was to damage weapons and save lives – I accept that this was one motivating factor – but that does not mean that another purpose was not to damage property to be made available to the Israeli government and thereby influence the Israeli government”.

In this analysis it is the motivation to “influence the Israeli government” to stop killing Palestinians, which justifies treating convictions for criminal damage as being on a par with acts of terrorism. That cannot be right.

If the prosecution application is successful, the Filton 4 will be sentenced as terrorists: their jail sentences will be extended, early release provisions disapplied, and upon eventual release they could be licensed as terrorists for up to 15 years, requiring them to register any new device, bank account, email, or relationship with the police.

Such an outcome would be wrong in principle for the following reasons:

i) The conscientious motivation of the defendants, which was to save lives and to uphold international law, is a mitigating factor, and it would be perverse, and contrary to basic legal principle, to treat it as an aggravating factor.

ii) It would be wrong to disregard the findings of various international bodies and legal scholars to the effect that the Government of Israel is committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, imposing a moral, if not legal, obligation on all to intercede, in particular by stopping weapons reaching the genocidaires.

iii) It is wrong in principle to sentence people on an entirely different basis from that on which they were convicted (all the more where the potential for a terrorist sentence was actively concealed from the jury).

We note with concern reports of political interference in prosecutions concerning Palestine Action. We note also that one troubling legal precedent has already been set in these proceedings: the attempt to prosecute the lead defence counsel, Rajiv Menon KC, over his closing speech, following a procedure since ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal.

We, the undersigned, consider it vital to the integrity of the criminal justice system that the Filton 4 are sentenced on the same basis that they were convicted, i.e. causing damage to drones and other property of an Israeli weapons manufacturer, with the conscientious motive of saving lives, upholding international humanitarian law and preventing unimaginable human suffering.

Signed:

Michael Mansfield KC, Barrister

Liz Davies KC, Barrister

Gudrun Young KC, Barrister

Penny Green, Professor of Law and Globalisation QMUL [Queen Mary University of London]

Declan Owens, Solicitor

David Whyte, Professor of Climate Justice QMUL

Neve Gordon, Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, QMUL

Yvette Russell, Professor of Law and Feminist Theory, University of Bristol

Bill Bowring, Barrister, Emeritus Professor of Law, Field Court Chambers, Birkbeck College

Richard Vogler, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Sussex

and 48 others

Human rights lawyer long-accompanied by PBI-Colombia welcomes confirmation of ruling against Santiago Uribe

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Daniel Prado accompanied by PBI-Colombia.

Peace Brigades International accompanied Daniel Prado Albarracín when he was a lawyer with the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP), a Colombian non-governmental organization.

This was especially significant when he represented the victims in the emblematic case of “Los Doce Apóstoles” (12 Apostles).

Threats against Prado

An arrest warrant was issued against Santiago Uribe Vélez, the primary suspect in “the 12 Apostles” case, on February 19, 2016.

The threats and harassment against Prado intensified at that time.

For example, PBI-Colombia has noted: “At the end of 2017, Prado received several threats and someone loosened all four tyres from his car.”

In August 2018, Prado told Nathalie Bienfait at PBI-Colombia: “These are tense times; you can feel the fear and the pressure.”

In May 2020, a PBI-Colombia Action Alert also noted: “Prado reported the presence of a high-power drone which fell into the patio of his residence; in addition to facing a threats and intimidation campaign as the victims’ council in the criminal case against the paramilitary group known as Los 12 Apóstoles.”

Commenting on PBI accompaniment, Prado stated: “It generates personal, psychological and physical security… if you go alone your attitude is different that if you feel the support of an international organization that is with you.”

The conviction of Uribe

In November 2024, the Superior Court of Antioquia found Uribe responsible for integrating and supporting the illegal structure.

On November 26, 2025, El Pais reported that Uribe received a 28-year prison sentence for aggravated homicide and conspiracy to commit a crime while leading a paramilitary group called the 12 Apostles.

Now, on June 4, 2026, El Espectador reports: “The Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice confirmed the sentence of 28 years and three months in prison against Santiago Uribe Vélez. The decision comes after the Superior Court of Antioquia determined that the brother of former President Álvaro Uribe committed the crimes of aggravated homicide and conspiracy to commit a crime.”

Prado reacts

Today Prado is Colombia’s ambassador to Belgium.

Caracol reports that Prado has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision with “great satisfaction”.

Infobase adds: “The official inquiry [into the 12 Apostles] began in December 1995 and for most of these 31 years the lawyer Daniel Ernesto Prado Albarracín exercised the legal representation of the victims. …After learning of the decision, journalist Daniel Coronell revealed on his radio program 6 AM W that Prado declared: ‘It was a work that has been developed for many years and I am convinced of the responsibility that Santiago Uribe Vélez has in these events.’”

The continuing case

On June 5, 2026, Caracol Radio also reported: “After 31 years, the case is not over. A specialized court in Antioquia continues the trial against three men: alias ‘Pemberty’, alias ‘the dwarf’ and alias ‘the watchmaker’. They are accused of the massacre in the village of Chorrillos and the murder of Hernán Darío Zapata Correa. This week closing arguments were presented and only the sentence remains.”

We continue to follow this.

Additional reading: The PBI-Colombia accompaniment of lawyer Daniel Prado and the sentencing of Santiago Uribe in the 12 Apostles trial (PBI-Canada article, November 26, 2025).

Video still: PBI-Colombia interviews Daniel Prado (September 2020).

“Exile under fire, crimes of the Nicaraguan dictatorship” documents transnational repression, the cases of ten Nicaraguans murdered in Honduras and Costa Rica

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Roberto Samcam was a former Sandinista rebel commander who became a high-level military officer then critic of the Ortega regime before being assassinated in Costa Rica on June 19, 2025.

The book “Exile under fire, crimes of the Nicaraguan dictatorship” by writer and journalist Arquímedes González documents the cases of ten Nicaraguans murdered in Honduras and Costa Rica between 2019 and 2025.

Infobae reports: “[González argues] the repression of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo did not end inside Nicaragua in 2018, but spread outside the country through espionage, harassment, threats and attacks against exiled opponents.”

The article further notes: “The author compiled 24 stories of opponents and critics who since 2018 denounced surveillance, harassment and photographic surveillance. …The work records the murder of five opposition peasants in Honduras and five other dissidents in Costa Rica, according to EFE.”

Infobae adds: “[The research by González] concludes that the main targets are stateless and exiled journalists, human rights defenders, civil society leaders, and people who express themselves publicly in the media and social networks.”

González will present his book in Costa Rica on June 12 along with Claudia Vargas, the widow of Ortega critic Roberto Samcam and lawyer Salvador Marenco of the Nicaragua Nunca Más Human Rights Collective. ‘Exilio bajo fuego, crímenes de la dictadura de Nicaragua’ can be found here.

At the time Samcan was killed, the Peace Brigades International-Nicaragua Project commented: “From PBI, we express our solidarity with Roberto Samcam’s family and to the close organizations and people who are mourning and condemning this criminal attack. At the same time, we echo the United Nations statement by expressing our concern for the consequences this criminal fact has for exiled defense persons in Costa Rica. We support the request expressed by the family, organizations and defenders towards the Costa Rican State to guarantee protection for all people who have been forced to exile and apply for asylum in Costa Rica, especially for human rights defenders, so that they can continue to carry out their labour.”

PBI-Nicaragua currently accompanies four organizations: the Pinoleras Women’s Network, Las Malcriadas (The Spoiled Ones), the University Coordinating Committee for Democracy and Justice (CUDJ), and The Reflection Group of Former Political Prisoners (GREX).

The full article from Infobae can be read at Investigación documenta diez nicaragüenses asesinados en Honduras y Costa Rica entre 2019 y 2025 (Infobae, June 3, 2026). Another article about this is at ‘Exilio bajo fuego’, el libro de Arquímedes González que desvela la represión nicaragüense (EFE, June 2, 2026).

Human rights defenders and the Global Affairs Canada 2025 annual report on the export of “strategic goods and technologies”

By
Brent Patterson
-

Global Affairs Canada has released its 2025 Annual Report on Strategic Goods and Technologies Pursuant to Section 27 of the Export and Import Permits Act. These reports have been issued since 1990 and up to 2024 were more simply titled “Exports of Military goods and technology”.

The report indicates: “For the 2025 calendar year, the value of Canadian exports of controlled military goods and technology to non-U.S. destinations amounted to approximately $2.045 billion, compared to a value of $2.504 billion in 2024 and $2.143 billion in 2023.”

The United States

While the report does not specify the amount exported to the United States, the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) has stated: “Canadian defence exports to the U.S. account for 32% of all annual sales within our industry, valued at over $4.5 billion.” That could be interpreted as $1.44 billion of exports to the U.S., a figure in line with previous estimates by Project Ploughshares.

In March 2026, Project Ploughshares reported that the value of contracts concluded between the Canadian Commercial Corporation and the U.S. Depart of War in fiscal year 2025 totalled $2.07 billion.

As such, an approximate calculation the value of Canadian military exports to both US and non-US destinations could total closer to $4 billion a year.

Stated commitment to human rights

This year’s report asserts: “A key priority of Canada’s foreign policy is the maintenance of international peace and security. To this end, Global Affairs Canada strives to ensure that, among other policy goals, such as supporting Canadian foreign and defence policies and legitimate trade, Canadian goods and technology are not used in a manner that is prejudicial to human rights, peace, security or stability.”

An independent evaluation of that claim and more specifically what it means is an important measure in upholding human rights.

Saudi Arabia

For instance, the report 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.

Following a public outcry, 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 with the 50-page report: “NO CREDIBLE EVIDENCE” CANADA’S FLAWED ANALYSIS OF ARMS EXPORTS TO SAUDI ARABIA.

Israel

This year’s report on “Strategic Goods and Technologies” states: “Since January 8, 2024, the Government of Canada has not approved any new arms export permits to Israel that could be used in the conflict in Gaza, and this remains the approach. At the same time, the government also suspended export permits for parts destined for Israel that could be incorporated into items used in Gaza. All of the permits suspended in 2024 have expired and cannot be used to export to Israel.”

But the report also notes that the “value of military exports” to Israel in 2025 amounted to $14,671,705.14.

This $14.6 million in 2025 is in addition to $18,906,035.86 in 2024, $30,641,495.83 in 2023, $21,329,783.93 in 2022, and $26,092,288.99 in 2021 for a total of over $100 million in the past five years.

Türkiye

The report also notes that the seventh largest amount of military exports in 2025 went to Türkiye totalling $60,760,039.44.

In its annual Freedom in the World report, Freedom House gave Türkiye a score of 32/100 and listed the country as “not free”.

Furthermore, Amnesty International has documented that in Türkiye in 2025: “Baseless investigations, prosecutions and convictions of human rights defenders, journalists, opposition politicians and others intensified. …The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association were arbitrarily restricted. Law enforcement officials used less lethal weapons against peaceful protesters, causing numerous injuries. …Victims of human rights violations, including alleged torture and other ill-treatment by state officials, continued to face a culture of impunity.”

It is unclear how Global Affairs Canada officials reconcile this with their stated commitment to ensure: “Canadian goods and technology are not used in a manner that is prejudicial to human rights, peace, security or stability.”

Peru

The Global Affairs Canada report also notes the “value of military goods” exported to Peru in 2025 totalled $1,998,607.10.

While $2 million is a relatively smaller number compared to exports to the United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Türkiye, this does not diminish concerns about the impact these exports could have on human rights defenders and communities.

In their 2025 report on Peru, Amnesty International documented: “Authorities used unnecessary and disproportionate force against demonstrators. The victims of excessive force during the 2022-2023 protests had still not obtained justice. Attacks on journalists and human rights defenders intensified.”

Monitoring the impact for human rights defenders

The primary mission of Peace Brigades International is the protection of human life, specifically through the accompaniment of individuals, human rights defenders, whose lives have been threatened because of their activism.

Given the Government of Canada’s stated commitment this past February 2026 to “increase our defence exports by 50%”, which could mean an additional $1 billion to $2 billion in exports, increased monitoring is required to ensure stated commitments to “human rights, peace, security and stability.”

The Philippines

The Government of Canada has not disclosed how it will increase these exports by 50% or to what countries, but there is reason for concern that exports could increase to the Philippines following the Canadian government tabling a Notice of Intent in November 2025 to enter into free trade negotiations with the Philippines and the signing of a “Status of Visiting Forces Agreement” that same month to further deepen “security cooperation” with the Philippines.

Canada’s defence minister David McGuinty has stated: “Peace is built on rules, not recklessness. …The Philippines has shown true leadership in upholding international law … and for that [it has] Canada’s greatest and deepest respect.”

Between 2012 and 2024, the Philippines was the third deadliest country for land and environmental defenders, according to data from Global Witness. They note that 306 defenders were killed in the Philippines during this period.

Global Witness has further noted about the situation in the Philippines: “The military has been linked to the highest number of killings and detentions of land and environmental defenders in the last decade.”

We continue to follow this and evaluate the available information.

—

PBI-Canada is also following the relationship between the security of human rights defenders and military exports in the context of the annual CANSEC “defence, security & emerging technology event” that is expected to take place again in May 2027 at the Cohere Centre in Ottawa.

PBI-Canada attentive to the situation for human rights defenders in the context of the presidential election on June 21 in Colombia

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: The Organization of American States (OAS-OEA) observes the opening of polling stations in Colombia, May 31, 2026.

The first round of the presidential election took place in Colombia on Sunday May 31, 2026, with a second round about to take place on Sunday June 21, 2026.

The security situation

While Peace Brigades International is a non-partisan organization, we are attentive to the security situation for human rights defenders and communities in the context of escalated violence at the time of elections.

Latin America Reports notes: “According to the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE), 386 municipalities across 31 departments have been identified as having some level of electoral risk linked to violence and the presence of armed groups.”

Just ahead of the first round vote, Lina Mejía, coordinator at the humanitarian organization Vivamos Humanos, told Latin America Reports: “It’s not just a question of whether armed groups will respect the elections themselves, but also whether there will be mobility restrictions, whether electoral materials will be protected from attacks after the vote, and whether communities will be free from intimidation.”

And The Guardian cautioned: “During the election period, there has been a surge in guerrilla attacks, homicides, kidnappings, forced displacement and massacres; and last year, the rightwing senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot during a campaign event and later died. The violence is widely seen as a reminder that although the landmark 2016 peace deal between the government and most of Farc dramatically reduced violence for years, it did not end it for good.”

First round results

The Guardian reports: “A far-right lawyer and Donald Trump admirer will go head-to-head against leftwing senator Iván Cepeda in the race to be Colombia’s next president after he won a surprise victory in the first round of voting. With 100% of ballots counted, the outsider Abelardo de la Espriella secured 43.7% of the vote – just over 10.3m votes – compared with 40.9% (about 9.6m votes) for Cepeda, a philosopher and human rights activist who has served as a senator since 2014 and is backed by the current leftwing president, Gustavo Petro.”

Differing visions

Assessing the situation the day prior to the first round vote, Gimena Sanchez, a Colombia expert at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a human rights nonprofit, told Al Jazeera: “The leading candidates fall into two camps: continuity with the leftist government of Petro and an approach to security that focuses on negotiations with armed groups, and right-wing candidates who very much want to go back to a hardline security model that Colombia had in the past. You have polar opposite visions for the country.”

Thomson Reuters has reported: “Portraying himself as an outsider free ‌from political baggage, de la Espriella has proposed a tough offensive against illegal armed groups, the construction of 10 mega-prisons, and poverty reduction through better education, health care and housing for the poorest. Cepeda, a 63-year-old lawmaker and son of a murdered communist leader, …has promised to pursue peace with illegal armed groups through negotiations, an approach that has ​brought little progress under Petro. Cepeda also plans to deepen reforms meant to reduce inequality and poverty, including by raising ⁠taxes on high-income earners, granting one million hectares to victims of the country’s six-decade internal conflict ⁠and expanding health-care coverage.”

Americas Quarterly comments: “One half of the electorate supports a more inclusive, egalitarian, and sustainable socioeconomic model alongside peace negotiations to end organized violence, while the other half favors a hardline crackdown on illegal groups, socially conservative values, and minimal state intervention in the economy.”

Caldwell Manners of Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) also comments: “For communities that have spent generations demanding land, rights, recognition, and peace, the outcome of this election will shape not only public policy but also the prospects for a more just and democratic Colombia.”

June 21 vote

With the second route vote less than three weeks away, we keep in mind the concern expressed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “about political violence in the ongoing electoral process in Colombia.”

The IACHR, an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), has called on the State “to take all measures necessary to ensure that the presidential election process can be completed, in particular by preserving the safety of all presidential candidates.” It has also reminded the State “of its obligation to ensure that citizens may fully exercise their political rights safely and on an equal footing.”

At PBI-Canada we are monitoring news reports about the security situation in Colombia during this election period, following the social media posts from PBI accompanied organizations, defenders and communities, and staying in communication with our colleagues at PBI-Colombia.

ITUC report: Trade unionists and workers were killed in Angola, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico in 2025

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: The PBI-Colombia accompanied José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (Cajar) condemned the murder of Walberto Quintero Medina and expressed its solidarity with his family and with the Sinaltrainal union, whom they have accompanied for several decades in demanding guarantees for the development of their work.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has just released 2026 ITUC GLOBAL RIGHTS INDEX THE WORLD’S WORST COUNTRIES FOR WORKERS.

The latest edition of this annual report notes: “Trade unionists and workers were killed in Angola, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico.”

Peace Brigades International has projects in Colombia, Mexico and Indonesia, as well as Honduras, Guatemala, the Philippines, Kenya and Nepal. Peace Brigades International-Canada has worked to strengthen Protection Mechanisms for human rights defenders, including union activists, particularly alongside our colleagues at PBI-Mexico.

“The Americas region remained the deadliest for workers and their representatives, with extra-judicial killings recorded in Colombia and Mexico.”

Walberto Quintero Medina (Colombia)

“In Colombia, Walberto Quintero Medina, Vice President of the CUT federation’s departmental committee in Cesar and an Executive Committee member of the SINALTRAINAL union for food industry workers, was murdered on 28 April 2025. He was shot at a public establishment in front of his friends and died in hospital. Medina’s death joins a long list of crimes committed against union leaders and human rights defenders. Several SINALTRAINAL members have been murdered in the past 20 years.”

Campo Elías Urrutía Vargas (Colombia)

On 16 December 2025, trade unionist Campo Elías Urrutía Vargas was murdered on his farm in Tauramena. He was a member of the National Board of Directors of Fedearroz, the national federation of rice growers, and the National Executive of the Aguazul committee of rice farmers.”

Mario Machuca Sánchez (Mexico)

“On 4 August 2025, Mario Machuca Sánchez, union leader of the Confederación Revolucionaria de Obreros y Campesinos (CROC), was shot and killed in the parking lot of a car agency by assailants disguised as delivery workers from a digital platform.”

Noé Pérez Urquidi (Mexico)

“In October 2025, Noé Pérez Urquidi, leader of the Confederación Autónoma de Trabajadores y Empleados de México (CATEM) in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, was murdered by an armed commando in the parking lot of the Plaza Pabellón shopping centre.”

César Contreras (Mexico)

In July 2025, union leader César Contreras, who served as General Secretary of the Unión Nacional de Transportistas del Cambio (UNTRAC), was shot dead in his office in Cancún. According to witnesses, two armed men entered his office, shot him, and fled the area.”

The report additionally notes:

Juan Francisco Palacios Murillo (Mexico)

“The leader of the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM), Juan Francisco Palacios Murillo, has been missing since 13 June 2025. Earlier in June, during a demonstration against the breach of agreements related to the construction of a public building, Murillo denounced threats from members of organised crime groups urging him to withdraw. The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that his disappearance was forced and carried out against his will.”

Honduras and Guatemala

The ITUC report also documents:

-“Multinational Fyffes declined to sign a collective agreement in Honduras despite years of organising by seasonal fruit workers.”

-“In February 2026, the Honduran government ordered Fyffes/Sumitomo to compensate predominantly seasonal workers and pay fines of almost US$800,000 for labour rights violations at its melon farms in Choluteca. Fyffes subsidiaries Suragroh and Melon Export S.A. failed to pay overtime, bonuses, and social security contributions, amid inadequate occupational health and safety standards. Fyffes has declined to sign a collective agreement despite years of organising by workers, contesting the legal standing of the Sindicato de Trabajadores/as Agrícolas (STAS) and postponing negotiations.”

-“In Honduras, agricultural workers and their representatives were stuck in prolonged disputes over union recognition with their employer, while in Guatemala and Chile, union representatives faced retaliation for their organising efforts.”

The full 80-page report can be read here.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the sisters of Luz Leticia at court hearings 44 years after her disappearance

By
Brent Patterson
-

On May 13, 2026, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media:

“Last week and this week #LuzLeticia to Mirtala and Marta Hernandez Agustín to hearings of the discussion of the case of the enforced disappearance of their sister #PBIaccompanies after 44 years of her disappearance. The accused is Juan Francisco Cifuentes Cano, former chief of the Fifth National Police Corps.

During the first hearings, the sisters of Luz Leticia, Marta and Mirtala, gave their statements. During the month of May, the oral and public debate will follow.”

Then on May 16, 2026, PBI-Guatemala posted:

“This week, #PBI is accompanying Marta and Mirtala Hernández Agustín to the hearings in the case seeking to shed light on the forced disappearance of their sister #LuzLeticia on November 22, 1982. Among other evidence, an expert report was presented on documents found in the National Police Historical Archive that revealed police actions linked to the events.

To learn more about the case and the sisters’ struggle, check out our bio.”

And most recently, on May 26, PBI-Guatemala posted:

“Also, this week PBI accompanied the sisters of #LuzLeticia the sisters in their search for justice for the disappearance of the university student committed to the social struggle in favor of the Guatemalan population.

To learn more about the case and the sisters’ struggle listen to our COME CLOSER podcast in the linktree in the bio.”

That podcast can be found here.

PBI-Guatemala has previously noted: “[The mother of Luz Leticia] Doña Valentina participated in the formation of the Mutual Support Group (GAM), joining her efforts with those of other families in the same situation. It was at that time that the Hernández Agustín family came into contact with Peace Brigades International (PBI), which at that time accompanied the GAM, and which, already in 1984/85, accompanied one of the Hernández Agustín sisters who finally had to go into exile in Canada. Currently, PBI continues to accompany Valentina, Marta and Mirtala, Luz Leticia’s mother and sisters.”

Additional reading

Luz Leticia Hernández Agustín studied at the Belen Institute, School of Commerce and Faculty of Economics of the University of San Carlos.

Verdad Justicia has posted: “Luz Leticia was born on November 22, 1957, the same day she was detained-disappeared, when she was 25 years old. Her family remembers her as a woman, she was a very intelligent, affectionate woman, such a beautiful smile and a hard worker.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has noted Luz Leticia and Ana Maria López Rodríguez were “captured on November 21, 1982, by security forces made up of elements of the special operations reaction battalion (BROE) and the intelligence service. (SIM) while they were at the address located in block 4, block “E”, lot 13 of the Monte Real II neighborhood, zone 4 of Mixco.”

On the accused, Prensa Libre also reports: “Cifuentes Cano was the director of a police division and worked closely with the Army in counterinsurgency operations during the de facto government of the dictator Efraín Ríos Montt (1982-1983), as explained by the Prosecutor’s Office before the Fifth Criminal Court of First Instance. The ex-commander is accused of the forced disappearance of the university students Luz Hernández and Ana López, who 40 years later have still not been located.”

Additional reading: PBI-Guatemala accompanies family of Luz Leticia Hernández Agustín at remembrance ceremony (April 20, 2022).

Video.

1234...452Page 3 of 452