Oidhaco and TNI Press Release: One year after Trade Agreement with Colombia is implemented, EU remains silent – August 11 2014

August 1 marked the first year of provisional implementation of the multiparty trade agreement between the EU, Colombia and Peru…“Coal mining in the north of the country, for export to EU countries, continues to cause social and environmental conflicts. Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities continue to be deprived of water sources, due to water appropriation and pollution related to mining…”, noted… Censat Agua Viva - Friends of the Earth Colombia…Despite the existence of legal instruments under the treaty, which were presented as tools for the protection of human rights, the situation for human rights defenders remains critical, and clear and transparent mechanisms for monitoring the human rights clause have not been developed by the institutions of the European Union. “Between 2010 and 2013, murders of people who defend human rights in Colombia continued to increase, which means that the Colombian State’s protection system has not been effective”, said Christiane Schwarz from the Human Rights organisation kolko…Vincent Vallies, spokesperson for Oidhaco, a network of 35 European organization…insists: “the new European parliament should develop clear and transparent mechanisms for monitoring the roadmap. With things as they stand, we can only continue to draw the conclusion that the EU favours their economic interests over the fulfilment of human rights”.