In Colombia almost 700 rights defenders and over 135 former FARC members have been assassinated since January 2016. Those killed include community leaders, teachers, trade unionists, representatives of victims and survivors groups, and water and forest defenders.
On July 26, 2019 CoDev and our Canadian partners joined thousands around the world to draw attention to the wave of violence against Colombian social leaders, and to call for an end to it.
CoDev shares this compilation of photos as a memoir of some of the actions that took place in Canada to honour the invaluable work that social leaders and human rights defenders do for life and peace in Colombia. https://youtu.be/Q2lep3MNUxs

CoDev and Cafe Etico invite you!

Thursday, December 12

4:00-8:00 pm

260-2747 East Hastings Street

CUPE Delegation with SNTAP Reps.

During the week of November 10-16, 2019, CoDev Executive Director, Steve Stewart traveled to Cuba with delegates from CUPE National and CUPE BC. What follows are a series of “reflections” written by the delegates shedding light on their experiences and thoughts as they met with their brothers and sisters in Cuba.

Since 1998, CoDev has coordinated the partnership between the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Havana province section of the National Union of Public Administration Workers (SNTAP-Havana). With the most recent 5-year CUPE-supported project wrapping up this year – a shop steward training program that included the renovation and equipping of training classrooms at the union’s offices in different Havana municipalities – CoDev organized a delegation of CUPE representatives to meet their Havana partners. The project with SNTAP is supported by both CUPE National and CUPE BC, and representatives of both made-up the five-person delegation.

Delegates sought to evaluate the work of the 2014-19 training centres project, learn about the Cuban labour movement and the new challenges it faces with the recent tightening of the US trade embargo of the island, and to begin discussions with SNTAP representatives regarding future cooperation between the two unions.

Monday, November 11, 2019
Debra Merrier, Diversity Vice-President for Indigneous Workers, CUPE National

My first day as a member of the CUPE delegation in Havana, Cuba has been both amazing and overwhelming.

We had a meeting with SNTAP representatives of the province of Havana. They told us that this week the city of Havana wold be celebrating its 500th anniversary, and talked a little about the history of the Havana province division’s partnership with CUPE, as well as the structure of the Cuban union movement.

There are 19 national unions in Cuba, all of whom belong to the Cuban Labour Federation, the CTC. With 249,000 members, SNTAP is among the four largest unions in Cuba. The education and health unions are the largest. The union representatives shared with us two great sayings for understanding life in Cuba: “It’s not easy,” but, “it can be done.”

Later, we visited the CTC building in the municipality of Plaza de la Revolution, one of several in Havana province. The unions belonging to the CTC have 15,616 members in this municipality, with most coming from the health-care, education, culture and public administration unions. We visited a training classroom that had been renovated and equipped with the support of CUPE and then met with the municipal SNTAP executive committee at their office there – Local 26. There were six executive officers who spoke with us – all women. They told us that union executive officers were elected at congresses for a five-year term. A representative cannot serve more than two terms – for a total of 10 years on the executive. They told us that in recent years, new policies have been developed by the Cuban unions to encourage more participation by youth. So now, if you are over 50, you can no longer run for an executive committee position. They also told us about a partnership the unions had developed with the University to enable union members to specialize in labour studies by attending courses on Saturdays from 9 AM – 4 PM.

Something that surprised me is that there is no automatic check-off of union dues in Cuban unions. Instead, every member comes to the municipal CTC building each month to pay their dues to the union they belong to. We asked the SNTAP representatives what happens if a member doesn’t pay. They said it is the responsibility of the stewards to remind members if they are overdue with paying their dues, but if a member doesn’t come in and make their payments for three months in a row, they could lose their affiliation to the union.

This first day of our delegation in Havana has been an emotional and very educational experience. As an indigenous person, I feel it is important for me to be a witness to all I see here and have learned.

SNTAP-Havana General Secretary Avigail Perez

Tuesday, November 12
Monique Menard-Kilrane, Senior Officer, CUPE National

The heat has not risen yet, and we are back on the road, this morning with Pepe and Mercedes. We drive to Barrio Nuevo Vedado, where we enter what is called a policlínico, a polyclinic. There are numerous of these community-based clinics throughout the province of Havana, 82 to be more precise.

The policlinic offers services that range from x-rays to pediatric, physiotherapy to traditional medicine.

After a fascinating presentation from the chief of the polyclinic, we are taken around the establishment to visit different consultation rooms, doctors, nurses, technical assistants and many more. Conchita and Jorge, both experienced doctors, are our guides through the hallways of this impressive system. A young physiotherapist reminds us of the ingenuity of the Cuban people: “Despite the embargo, we will make it work”, she says, as she shows us how they fill empty water bottles with sand to make weights for rehabilitation exercises.

The whole health care system is built around 4 principles: promotion, prevention, curing and rehabilitation. Health is seen as a holistic practice. Each policlinic is affiliated to local health clinics, 16 per neighbourhood. Conchita and Jorge guide us to the closest clinic where Marta and Leticia work respectively as doctor and nurse. Three medical students are also in residence at the clinic, including an international student from South Africa. In order to best promote, prevent, cure and rehabilitate, Maria tells us that the clinic studies the demographic and needs of the people in their neighbourhood. Home visits are carried out in a formal fashion and everything is noted, including injuries or sicknesses, social conditions and living conditions. This helps the practitioners find the best health program for each individual patient.

As this clinic’s demographic is mostly composed of seniors, Maria also invites us to a circle of grandparents, organised by the clinic every Wednesday morning. This circle is a chance for the seniors from the neighbourhood to come together and to share with Maria and Leticia. For the staff of the clinic, this is a great opportunity to better understand the needs and adjust the care.

The visits and discussions were an inspiring experience.

Wednesday, November 13
Rebecca Reynard, General Vice-President, CUPE Local 5430

We visited the Palco Convention Centre, which opened in 1979. It was developed for the Summit of the Non-Aligned Countries Movement, serves as the flag ship for State Business Groups, but also holds many international conferences. The Centre employs 4000 workers, all union members of a special branch of SNTAP, the public administration trade union. It consists of a main hall accommodating 2000 seats with a number of smaller halls accommodating up to 200 seats. During our visit the Centre was very active with a Health and Sports Convention; AFIDE 2019. There were a number of concession stands, gift shops and beautiful courtyards. Connected to the Centre by a skywalk is a large hotel. Their workers also union members. The 4000 members are organized by 10 locals with 94 units among them.

We attended the Import Office on the grounds of the Palco Convention Centre, with the intention to discover alternatives for sending a shipping container of supplies to Cuba. We were quickly made aware that this would not be possible through their service and were advised to do what we are currently doing.

CUPE Delegation with General Secretary of Tourism Workers Union Local, Viñales

Following this, we had a working meeting with SNTAP to go over where the project is now and our goals for the future. SNTAP is required to have the program proposal by January 2020 to submit for government permissions. SNTAP expressed concern that once a program is approved, the funds received can only be used for what is in the program proposal. The previous program was approved for union training. They created classrooms with equipment and trained trainers to give workshops. They are focused on health and safety, primarily the need to use protective equipment and measures and also making management aware of the importance of health and safety. They have spent what they can on union training, however are limited by accessibility issues resulting from the blockade. The remaining funds could be reassigned as a donation and that approval would need to come from CUPE and Co-Development. SNTAP suggested that the future program focus more heavily on equipment rather than funds. We also discussed a skills exchange, where one year, reps from CUPE would visit Cuba and another year where SNTAP would visit Canada.

Thursday, November 14th, 2019 – A visit to the Viñales
Carmen Michelle Sullivan, Alternate Regional Vice-President, CUPE BC

We were joined by Mercedes – Deputy General Secretary (SNTAP-Havana) and Marcel, the son of a SNTAP member, who acted as our guides. During the two and a half-hour drive to Viñales, we learned that 94% of all Cuban workers are unionized. In the country, many of the workers are self-employed, and the union has worked to organize by reaching out through door to door visits. These independent workers join the union for the benefits of advocacy for their rights, participation, and solidarity.

The drive was beautiful. It took only twenty minutes for us to move out of the city and into the country passing tobacco, sugar cane, rice, plantain, and banana plantations. There were intermittent farmhouses, and seemingly out of nowhere, workers would step out of the fields to the side of the highway with cheese and produce for sale.

Once we arrived in Viñales, a small town and municipality in the north-central Pinar del Río province of Cuba, we stopped at the Los Jazmines Hotel. We met with René, the General Secretary of the hotels and tourism union local. As a union leader, René is the advocate for 65 employees at the hotel. His primary role is advocating for the members to make sure management is providing adequate conditions, meals, and wages. He has a seat and voice at the table for all management meetings. Once a month, all the workers meet with management, which helps to mitigate any issues. As part of the Tourism union, the 65 members pay approximately 1% in union dues. The hotel has a lifeguard, a doctor and a nurse who belong to the public health union. The cultural workers’ union provides the musicians and performers, and cleanup of the grounds and waste removal is provided by the Municipal union, affiliated with SNTAP. All the union sectors work well together and show strong solidarity. Each province has a union school where anyone interested in becoming a union leader can receive training. The unions receive the training together, another strong indication of solidarity. Under Cuban law every 5.5 months, all workers receive 15 days vacation. They have one-year paid maternity with the option of a 2nd year at a reduced wage. Sick and disability benefits continue until the doctor clears them to be back at work. In the tourism sector, all union employees pool and share their tips.

That evening we returned to Havana, where we were treated to an evening at the Tropicana with the SNTAP and Tourism union representatives, including the national SNTAP General Secretary Yaisel Osvaldo Pieter Terry. On our way back from the Tropicana, we had the opportunity to speak with Alina, the General Secretary of the Havana section of the tourism workers’ union, about women in leadership. She said, “It is not easy in Cuba (referring to the US sanctions and blockades), it is never easy, but we can do it because we are together.” She is proud to be a union leader. She continued to say, women are mothers, wives, sisters, and because of that, they are strong. Women are nurturing, focus on teamwork, and are strong communicators. It was empowering to hear her passion.

Friday, November 15 – Banks and Tornados
Aman Cheema, Co-Chair for International Solidarity, CUPE BC

On our final day in Havana we visited the Banco Metropolitano, the Bank of the Capital in Havana. We were joined by Avigail Perez Llanes (General Secretary SNTAP Havana), and Aciel (Secretary of Economy SNTAP Havana), Rosa who is the General Secretary for the Union in the bank, Bank Manager, and Marina Vice President of Banco Metroplitano.

There are over 4000 employees in total, and 622 tellers in Havana alone. There are 4 Regional offices for more immediate issues, 94 branches, and 26 savings branches in the remote regions. Currently the bank has 525 banking ATM’s, but unfortunately the ATM Company was purchased by an American and due to the trade embargo they can no longer receive any parts or support. An alternative is currently being looked at in China. The bank is trying to transition to a digital banking model, where the citizens would use an interact card instead of hard cash. This would help the bank in using the cash for investments. To help encourage this model, the bank offers a 10% rebate if citizens use an interact card on the 15th, 16th, or 17th of the month. Repair and construction workers are also part of the same Union, but slowly there is a shift in privatization and contracting out of those jobs. The workers are part of the Public Administration Branch Union. Once per month workers meet to discuss workplace issues such as; health and safety, hours of work, and working conditions. While they don’t have specific health and safety meetings monthly like we do, they do discuss safety concerns at the monthly meetings.

Being involved in the community is an essential part for each and every worker at the bank. As Marina (VP of Bank) said “the level of consciousness is help and support one another”. In early 2019, 4,000 homes were damaged due to a tornado, the bank management and employees worked longer shifts and days, so those in need could have access to loans or the money in their accounts. As of today, 90% of the homes have been restored. Also, workers volunteer with different programs around the region, one being assisting orphaned kids who don’t have the support of any parents or families. The employees “play” the role of mom or dad, with help from the government providing meals. Finally, workers, along with management, are encouraged to donate blood for citizens and signing petitions for issues locally and abroad such as the crisis in Venezuela. The community is an integral part of the union, and coexist together, almost becoming a community union.

Delegation with SNTAP local at Metropolitan Bank

Demonstration in support of Xinka communities outside the Beatty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia. The museum is named for Panamerican Silver founder Ross Beatty.

By Wendy Santizo, (Education Program Director, CoDevelopment Canada)

Luis Fernando Garcia Monroy is the spokesperson for the Indigenous Xinca Parliament in Guatemala. CoDev had the honour to translate for Luis during two public events to raise awareness on how Xinca communities are engaged in a political and legal fight to protect their ancestral territories from corporate greed.

Since 2007, when Canadian transationals first began to promote the construction of a large silver mine in their traditional territories, Xinca communities have held cultural and educational events to raise awareness of the environmental impact of the extraction of gold, silver, lead and zinc on their land and water. They exchanged experiences with communities affected by the Vancouver-based Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine in San Marcos and held protests before government authorities. Once the El Escobal mine was opened, they organized peaceful protest encampments outside the main gates and blocked roads to mining traffic.

Luis explained that based on the 1996 Peace Accords, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Convention 169, and municipal codes, Xinca communities in Jalapa, Jutiapa and Santa Rosa have held numerous community consultations on whether they accept the mining projects, to which over 98% clearly said NO.

The mine was originally developed by Tahoe Resources, a spin-off of Goldcorp, but was purchased in early 2019 by Pan American Silver, a Vancouver-based transnational that has attempted to cultivate an image of environmental responsibility.

Opposition to the mine has been met with repression and violence, including the military occupation of the region in 2013, the wounding of several protesters by Tahoe Resources gunmen, and the assassination of several community environmental activists. Merilyn Topacio Reynoso, Exaltación Marcos Ucelo, Ronal David Barillas Diaz, Angel Estuardo Quevedo and Laura Vasquez are some of the community leaders opposed to the project that have been killed.

Luis, who was injured in April 2013 when Tahoe Resources security guards opened fire on protesters, said that Canadian mining companies in Guatemala violate indigenous rights, negate that indigenous communities even exist in eastern Guatemala, disrespect ceremonial grounds and deny that water has rights.

Xinca communities are demanding respect for the Peace Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous People, strict adherence to ILO Convention 169, respect for the right to protest and respect for their traditional ways for electing representatives.

During his presentation, Luis described the day he witnessed his community come under a shower of tear gas canisters and heavy beatings by national police. That was the day he decided to become a lawyer. Luis urged students at UBC’s Allard School of Law to study hard and graduate, and use all their knowledge and skills to defend indigenous communities in British Columbia who are also opposing extractive projects on their sacred and un-ceded territories.

Luis said that Pan American Silver’s El Escobal mine in southern Guatemala continues to operate despite a 2017 Constitutional Court order to suspend all activity until a process for free, prior, informed consultation of affected communities is conducted.

For more information on Pan American Silver’s El Escobal Mine:

Xinka Parliament: Ministries have failed to execute consultation over Escobal mine

https://miningjusticealliance.wordpress.com/

Join us on Saturday, 17 October 2020

To all of our Friends and Supporters,

We hope this post finds you safe and healthy.

Dessert auction admirers at the 2019 Solidarity Dinner.

We wanted to take a quick moment to update you on the status of our Annual Solidarity Dinner. As a result of the current health crisis, we have cancelled the June 6 date and rescheduled to Saturday, October 17. We look forward to hosting you at that time.

The dinner will take on a new look—no longer a summer party, but a fall event. We are looking for ideas to make it festive and appropriate to the season. (We imagine many pumpkin spice desserts at the Dessert Auction!) Some have suggested a Halloween theme! We also envision a smaller silent auction as many businesses will need a break from our asking for donations. If any of you have items you would like to donate, please do! Obviously, we can’t accept anything at the moment, but we’ll be so happy to receive your donations when we resume our normal routine. Also, if you have any creative fundraising ideas to enhance the dinner experience, we’d love to hear them. Please email Cindy at cpandini@codev.org with any and all fundraising ideas and donation offers.

We so look forward to seeing you on the other side of this crisis and until then, wish you and yours good health, good humour, and always solidarity.

The CoDev Team

CoDevelopment Canada stands with and supports the black community and all racialized communities; every day, everywhere to end racism in all forms.
Recent deaths of members of the black community in the US and indigenous communities in Canada at the hands of law enforcement leave us heartbroken. Their lives, and the lives of black, indigenous and all peoples taken by violence, matter.

CoDevelopment Canada is founded on principles of social justice and global solidarity. We know that expressions of racism in the Americas are a result of colonization, and structural violence is prevalent throughout the Americas. Our partners in Latin America also fight these forces of oppression in their governments, institutions and societies.

We stand with black, indigenous, and all communities facing injustice. We pledge to continue to work to enforce international human rights and basic human dignity everywhere, especially in our own backyard.

Click here for a list of organizations in Canada working for Black and Indigenous communities and our partner organizations in Latin America

Home

https://blacklivesmatter.ca/

Home

https://www.crrf-fcrr.ca/en/
http://www.idlenomore.ca/

NWAC

https://www.ubcic.bc.ca/
https://stopracism.ca/

Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretary Luis Almagro has increasingly sought to control what are traditionally arms-length institutions of the organization. Most recently, Almagro has meddled in the appointment of the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an independent body of the OAS charged with investigating complaints of human rights violations committed by member states. The OAS Secretary General recently refused to ratify the Commission’s recommendation to appoint Executive Secretary Dr. Paulo Abrão to a new term.

The Americas Policy Group (APG), a Canadian coalition of 27 organizations promoting human rights and equitable development in the Americas, is concerned that Almargo’s interference in the appointment of the Commission’s director undermines the ability of the IACHR to independently investigate human rights violations in the Americas. CoDevelopment Canada worked with other APG members to draft a letter of concern sent by the coalition to Canadian Foreign Minister François-Phillippe Champagne.

Please follow these links to read the APG’s letter to Minister Champagne: IHRC Lettre English

Solidarity with Maria Elena Cuadra Movement of Employed and Unemployed Women (MEC), and other Nicaraguan women’s rights organizations.
Background

CoDev has received an appeal from our Nicaraguan partner MEC for letters of support for Nicaraguan feminist organizations following recent government actions against them.

On September 25, the Nicaraguan National Police surrounded MEC’s office in Managua, preventing employees from entering the building. Officers questioned MEC employees as to the whereabouts of the organization’s director Sandra Ramos. But when Sandra Ramos arrived approached the commander of the police operation, he refused to explain the police presence at the office. The police withdrew from the MEC office about four hours after the directors’ arrival.

This act of intimidation against MEC, an organization that accompanies women in marginalized communities and particularly those who work in the country’s Free Trade Zones, comes only a few days after statements from Nicaraguan Vice-President Rosario Murillo criticizing the country’s feminist movement. In public declarations September 16 and 18, the Vice-President accused the feminist movement of promoting abortions in the Women and Children’s Commissaries (special regional offices operated by the National Police to attend to complaints of violence against women and children) and compared feminists who call for the relaxation of Nicaragua’s strict abortion laws to perpetrators of recent acts of femicide in the country.

MEC director Sandra Ramos told CoDev that she believes these actions are linked to a new bill the government introduced that would require all organizations that receive any international funding to register as “foreign agents.” The “Law for the Regulation of Foreign Agents,” was introduced to the Nicaraguan legislature September 22. Critics of the bill fear it will be used by the government to further intervene in independent human, labour and women’s rights organizations.

Please follow this link for more information in English on this issue.

MEC is asking its supporters in Canada to send the following message to Nicaraguan authorities expressing concern about the recent acts of intimidation against women’s rights organizations:

Last December, CoDev Executive Director Steve Stewart, in his capacity of Co-Chair of the Americas Policy Group (a national coalition of organizations working for human rights and development in the Americas) testified to  the Canadian Parliament’s immigration committee on the causes of forced migration from Central America. We recently discovered  an online transcript of his presentation and, since the conditions leading to forced migration from the region have only worsened since last December, we share it here:

Mr. Steve Stewart (Co-Chair, Americas Policy Group, Canadian Council for International Co-operation) at the Citizenship and Immigration Committee
December 4th, 2018 / 3:45 p.m.
Thank you.
I’ll first tell you very briefly about our organization. I’m here as the co-chair of the Americas policy group. It’s a national coalition of 32 Canadian organizations that work on human rights and development in the Americas.

While some of our member organizations, such as Amnesty International, work directly on migration, most of our work is done directly in the countries of Latin America. The majority of our members focus on three regions: Mexico, Central America and Colombia.
Given that we have a fairly limited time for the presentation, I’m only going to touch very briefly on Colombia and Mexico and focus primarily on the Central American countries, particularly Guatemala and Honduras, because I believe that’s the area where Canadian policy can play a role.

The focus in this presentation is primarily on the conditions that lead to migration. I think the speaker who preceded me did an excellent job of covering that, so I may jump over some of my points.

Colombia has the highest number of internally displaced people in the world after Syria, with 6.5 million people who are displaced. Despite the demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia last year and an end to that part of the war, violence and displacement continue. In 2017, violence in the country generated another 139,000 displacements, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Although sometimes we have the impression that there is peace in Colombia, violence is still generating large numbers of internally displaced people.

There are a number of factors behind these displacements. They’re common through all of the countries I’m referring to here. They are the impacts of free trade, extractivism, the drug trade, corruption and organized crime. It’s exacerbated, as the previous speaker mentioned, by climate change.

Exiled Honduran teacher leader Jaime Atilio Rodriguez

In late October 2019, Honduran teacher activist Jaime Rodriguez was abducted, tortured, thrown off a bridge and left for dead. He survived, and when well enough to travel, went into exile in Mexico just before the Covid 19 pandemic began. CoDevelopment Canada called on supporters to help Jaime through these difficult months of exile. As organizations and as individuals you responded with an outpouring of solidarity. On November 26 2020, Jaime will take his chances and return to his country. This is his message to you:

Message of Thanks
On my first day of pedagogy class when I began my primary school teacher studies at the Western Normal School in La Esperanza, Intibucá, my teacher Marco Tulio, congratulated us all for choosing a profession that involves so much social commitment. At the time I did not grasp the significance of his statement, but little by little this noble profession taught me the realities of our children and youth, and they become a reflection of my own reality. This makes it easier to understand the commitment of teachers all over the world to defending the rights of the people; the right to health, water, land, the rights of women and, of course, the right to education.

There are consequences for struggling for a better future for our peoples and against policies of privatization and the looting of public resources. Various colleagues have given their lives for this in Honduras, and in almost every country of the Americas.  In my case, it brought exile. But with exile came a wonderful experience of great learning.

Today I want to thank my fellow teachers, and others, in the republic of Canada, the teachers of Mexico, and educators from many countries of the Americas who supported and sheltered me with their solidarity. You, compañeros and compañeras, have shown me the true value of that word.

I want to give special thanks to CoDevelopment and the IDEA Network, to the BC Teachers’ Federation and the Surrey Teachers’ Association, to Steve, Maria Ramos and the teacher Dilcia Díaz – and to so many compañeros and compañeras who I have never met, and to whom I beg forgiveness for not naming, because that list would be very long.

I am returning to my country.

My commitment to free my homeland is today even stronger than before. I return bringing more experiences and the knowledge that, with your solidarity compañeros and compañeras, they will never break us.

But the repression will surely continue in Honduras, so I ask of you to simply follow the song of our resistance that says, “Promise me you will continue to fight.”

Gracias maestras y maestros

Jaime Rodríguez
México City, November 25, 2020