2022 Policy brief on the Americas submitted on behalf of APG to Global Affairs Canada

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Through active collaboration with civil society organisations in Latin America and the Caribbean, the APG engages in research, documentation, information sharing, awareness-raising and policy advocacy on dominant issues facing the region. Following the meeting of February 1, 2022 with Global Affairs Canada, the APG makes the following policy recommendations to the government of Canada with regards to the protection of human rights and ensuring sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

General human rights concerns and recommendations - The APG and its partners are concerned with the violent repression by state security forces of peaceful, legitimate social protest, the high numbers of threats, attacks and assassinations of human rights defenders, the alarming rates of femicides and gender-based violence throughout the region and the lack of protection for Indigenous Peoples and other ethnic minorities. 

We urge Canada to adopt and implement a human-rights-based foreign policy in the region and to give primacy to upholding commitments under the range of international human rights treaties and covenants to which Canada is a party over trade and investment interests.

Indigenous, Afro-descendants and tribal communities - Indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples continue to be disproportionately affected by threats, attacks by armed groups, and government security forces fighting over their territories and natural resources. In many of these cases, Canadian extractive companies promote corporate interests to the detriment of these communities’  collective rights and their ecosystems, which exacerbates violence. 

We call on Canada to uphold its obligations to protect internationally-recognized collective rights of Indigenous peoples and urge Canada to halt diplomatic support to Canadian-based companies accused of Indigenous human rights violations and environmental harm and conduct an in-depth investigation of these crimes. 

Environmental justice and corporate accountability - Environmental and land defenders, especially women, Indigenous peoples, and people of African descent continue to risk threats, intimidation and even attacks in multiple countries.

The APG urges Canada to work towards the implementation of existing environmental rights frameworks and emerging instruments and to hold Canadian corporations accountable by developing laws and policies that keep them accountable for the protection of human rights.

Feminist foreign policy - Gender inequality and violence against women in all its forms is on the rise while impunity for perpetrators of gender-based violence remains widespread. 

We stress the need for Canada to prioritize a human rights-oriented feminist and intersectional approach across all elements of the government’s foreign policy and to promote a “civil society space” in order to create an enabling environment for inclusive participation and democracy. 

Trade and investment and labour rights - The APG is concerned that some international trade mechanisms like the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) continue to hinder efforts to advance inclusive and sustainable models of development nationally. Furthermore, measures that Canada has advocated like gender chapters and the mainstreaming of GBA+ into new and modernised trade agreements lack enforcement mechanisms. They also don't give enough consideration to the impacts of agreements on women in partner countries and beyond the corporate and business sectors or small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

We urge Canada to incorporate strong labour rights provisions in all trade agreements, engage in extensive consultation with a wide range of civil society actors prior to negotiating new FTAs and to adopt accountability mechanisms for firms. 

Migration - Irregular migration affects most countries in the Americas and reflects ongoing armed conflict and violence, crime, violence, extreme poverty, corruption, impunity, environmental degradation, and racism in many countries. 

The APG urges Canada to support peace and democracy efforts through relevant actions that affect the underlying causes of migration in the Northern Triangle and adopt human rights-oriented approaches to migration throughout the continent. 

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