General News and Announcements

Monday, December 1, 2008

On November 21, the Canadian government signed a tentative free trade agreement with Colombia, following a similar agreement with Peru earlier this year. KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justices Initiatives, of which the United Church is a member, has been expressing concerns about these trade talks since they began over a year ago. Colombia is a country in a severe human rights crisis, which Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been ignoring during negotiations, and free trade will serve to further inequalities without addressing the root causes of the conflict. There is now a period for debate in the House of Commons before the agreement is finalized in early 2009.

Learn more and participate in the KAIROS action* for human rights security before trade agreements are made. For further background, you can also read an interview* with United Church partner Bishop Juan Alberto Cardona of the Methodist Church of Colombia.