Outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez will be one of ten specially-invited guests of Stephen Harper at the G8 summit in Huntsville this Friday.
Diplomatic relations have accelerated since 2008 when, during a visit to Bogota, Harper announced the negotia- tion of a bilateral free trade agreement between the two countries.
The Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade published a report recommending the agreement be studied by inde- pendent parties. Meanwhile, the Harper government signed the accord in November 2008 in Lima at the same time as a similarly negotiated agreement with Peru.
The imminent implementation of the agreement follows nearly two years of debate surrounding its rati- fication. The agreement was adopted by law in its third reading on June 14th, during an evening vote when numerous ministers were absent, effec- tively cutting short the studies of the Standing Committee.
Asked about the impacts of the agreement on employment by the Standing Committee in May 2010, Tania Hallé of Project Accompani- ment Solidarity Colombia said, “If we create employment by displacing populations, if we kill women and children to create employment, I don’t think it’s worth creating those jobs.”
Numerous Canadian and Colombian social organizations such as the Movement of Victims of State Crimes in Colombia denounced the agreement in recent years on many levels. Ivan Cepeda of the Movement, emphasizes that beyond the negative impacts of free trade policies, the signing of agreements with Europe, US or Canada constitute specific political support for criminal politicians.
The International Criminal Court is currently investigating Colombia’s nearly five million internally displaced people, and is conducting preliminary reviews to examine crimes against humanity in the country.
The current Uribe government’s policies are expected to continue after his term and throughout 2010, as his successor, ex-minister of defence Juan Manuel Santos won the second round of presidential elections yesterday amidst an electoral fraud scandal.
