All Content: trade

WOLA: Promoting Human Rights, Democracy, and Social Justice

22 Dec 2011
Video
As the year winds to a close, we hope you will enjoy this video about how WOLA works with partners in the region to advance human rights in Latin America. If you have not done so, we hope you will consider making a donation to WOLA to support our continued efforts. Your support makes a difference.

Rebuilding El Salvador Sustainably

29 Nov 2011
Analysis & Commentary
Investing in small-scale, sustainable agriculture increases a country's resilience to extreme weather events, strengthens food security, and contributes to economic development in the rural sector. A decent job, food for the kids, and reduced threats from future natural disasters are powerful anchors to keep people from becoming climate refugees.

Colombia Human Rights Bulletin

October 2011
31 Oct 2011
Publication
WOLA would like to share with you the following links to documents written by WOLA and organizations we partner with in Colombia on human rights, labor rights, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous issues.

WOLA Reaction to Colombia-U.S. FTA Debate

A Statement by Executive Director Joy Olson
12 Oct 2011
News
WOLA opposed this agreement because the experience with similar agreements has taught us who the losers will be, those least able to bear the cost

FTA Turns a Blind Eye to Exploitation

U.S. Ignores Labor Rights Abuses in Colombia
6 Oct 2011
Analysis & Commentary
In the midst of the debate regarding the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, most of the U.S. Congress has convinced itself that lofty agreements have translated into tangible change. In practice, the labor rights situation in Colombia has not improved.

Labor Action Plan: Just Paper or Real Changes?

Gimena Sanchez on the Pending U.S.-Colombia FTA
23 Sep 2011
Analysis & Commentary
Twenty-two trade unionists have been murdered so far in 2011, with ten of them killed after the April 15 announcement of the Labor Action Plan. Death threats and efforts to discredit labor activists also continue.

Take Action to Protect Human Rights Defenders in Colombia

Human rights abuses continue to undermine social justice efforts under the Santos administration
13 Sep 2011
Publication
We urge you to please contact the US and Colombian authorities in order to protect human rights defenders, free those unjustly detained, and seek investigations that lead to justice for those murdered and recipients of death threats

Climate Smart Agriculture in Latin America: A Sustainable Development Alternative

8 Sep 2011
Video
Jonathan Castro, of the Educational Corporation for Costa Rican Development (CEDECO), speaks with WOLA’s Vicki Gass about how small-scale, alternative agriculture can become a powerful tool for climate change mitigation and poverty reduction.

Buenaventura, Colombia: Where Free Trade Meets Mass Graves

An article in NACLA by WOLA Senior Associate Gimena Sanchez and Kelly Nicholls of USOC
7 Sep 2011
Publication
Conditions in Buenaventura exemplify the inherent contradictions of pursuing an FTA with a country where an internal armed conflict continues to rage, where many people are mired in poverty, where workers are subject to abuses, and labor unions are quite literally under attack.

Colombia Human Rights Bulletin

August 2011
12 Aug 2011
Analysis & Commentary
The Colombia Human Rights Bulletin provides links to documents written by WOLA and organizations we partner with in Colombia on human rights, labor rights, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous issues.

U.S. Trade Representative Takes Action on Labor Rights Enforcement Case against Guatemala

10 Aug 2011
News
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced today that the United States will seek the establishment of an arbitration panel against the Guatemalan government for failure to enforce its own labor laws.

A U.S.-Colombia trade pact would not address, and might even reward, paramilitary violence

An Article by Senior Associate Gimena Sanchez in "Sojourners"
7 Jul 2011
Analysis & Commentary
Far from guaranteeing fair and safe conditions for Colombian workers, the Labor Action Plan limits their ability to exercise their rights and ignores serious concerns about security, human rights, and Afro-Colombian and indigenous land rights

Members of Congress Urge President Obama to Protect Afro-Colombians before Moving Ahead with Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Rep. Hank Johnson’s (D-GA) initiative to strengthen Afro-Colombians’ territorial rights and prevent further displacement of Afro-Colombians before moving forward with the pending Colombia FTA
7 Jul 2011
News

Groups Ask U.S. to Oppose Colombia FTA

The U.S. Should Not Move Forward on Colombia FTA without Addressing Root Causes of Violence
23 Jun 2011
News
Human rights violations in Colombia – abuses against labor activists, Afro-Colombians, human rights activists and others – continue to take place at alarmingly high levels. In this climate, it would be a mistake to approve the FTA.

Colombian Labor Rights Lawyer in Critical Condition after Assassination Attempt

Violence Against Labor Activists Continues, Despite “US-Colombia Labor Action Plan”
16 May 2011
Publication
When high-profile figures like Mr. Dario are attacked, it becomes evident that there are no guarantees for workers that peacefully and legitimately defend basic labor rights. Their vulnerability is symptomatic of a labor environment where the rights of workers do not matter.

The Week: Colombia free trade "Action Plan," Walid Makled, violence in Mexico

21 Apr 2011
Publication
Adam gives an update on the Colombian FTA debate, the extradition of a Venezuelan narcotrafficker from Colombia to Venezuela, another mass grave in Mexico, Uruguay's amnesty law, and Peru's elections.

Colombia Human Rights Bulletin

April 2011
20 Apr 2011
Analysis & Commentary
WOLA would like to share the following links to recent documents written by WOLA and organizations we partner with in Colombia on human rights, labor rights and Afro-Colombian and indigenous issues. This set of documents includes statements regarding the Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights released by President Obama on April 7, 2011.

U.S.-Colombia FTA Action Plan Falls Short of Protecting Rights

Beyond the labor and human rights issues, our organizations remain concerned about the potential impact of the trade agreement on Colombian rural communities
7 Apr 2011
News
The Obama Administration has repeatedly stressed that the Colombia Free Trade Agreement will only advance “in accord with our values.” LAWG, USOC, and WOLA agree that we are not yet there.

Dramatic Results Still Required by Colombia

WOLA Testifies Before Ways and Means Subcommittee Hearing on Colombia FTA
17 Mar 2011
News
In congressional testimony, WOLA Senior Associate for Regional Security Policy Adam Isacson asked Members to remain solid in combating impunity and egregious abuses before bringing the trade agreement with Colombia up for a vote.

President Obama's Visit to Latin America

16 Mar 2011
Publication
President Barack Obama will be visiting Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador on March 19-23. In WOLA's inaugural podcast, Adam Isacson, Joy Olson, Vicki Gass, John Walsh and Adriana Beltrán talk about what to expect as the President visits a rapidly changing region. (MP3 file, 8.7MB, 18 minutes, 10 seconds)