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Key says child labour not part of FTA
4-Jul-2011 Otago Daily Times
India’s use of child labour is unacceptable but free trade agreement negotiations are not the forum to deal with it, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says.
Europe links Indian FTA with Kashmir solution
14-Jun-2011 The Nation
In a significant development, the European Parliament has linked the Kashmir dispute with the signing of the EU’s proposed Free Trade Agreement with India.
Critics call trade pact lose-lose deal for Colombian labour
10-Jun-2011 IPS
Two days ago, on Jun. 7, Ana Fabricia Cordoba was killed in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood of Medellin, Colombia. Her assassination coincides with renewed efforts by free-trade advocates in Washington to pressure the US Congress to pass the long-debated US-Colombia FTA.
TPPA under fire over human rights
15-May-2011
The controversial Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is under fire over human rights issues.
Panama human rights problems spotlighted in Washington
9-Apr-2011 Panama Newsroom
The list of US criticisms of human rights infringements in Panama under the Martinelli administration continues to grow and the president, unlike the leaders of other countries seeking an FTA, has still not been invited to the White House.
HRW celebra iniciativa para vincular TLC con Colombia a derechos humanos
18-Mar-2011 EFE
El grupo de defensa de los derechos humanos Human Rights Watch celebró hoy la iniciativa presentada por seis miembros del Congreso de EE.UU. para vincular la ratificación del TLC con Colombia a mejoras en los estándares de derechos humanos.
EPAs bound to stir unhealthy competition
9-Dec-2010 KBC
Kenya Human Rights Commission has called on the government to discontinue Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) negotiations with the European Union arguing that if signed would deepen dependency on Europe.
MEPs protest FTA with Colombia
9-Dec-2010 Colombia Reports
Members of the European Parliament say that the EU’s free trade agreement with Colombia should not be approved as there has been little progress on human rights in the Andean nation, reports ABC.
Report: Human rights impact assessments for trade and investment agreements [EN, ES, FR]
23-Nov-2010 CCIC
A new report setting out key issues and methodologies for conducting human rights impact assessments for trade and investment agreements is now available on the Human Rights Impact Resource Centre website.
NGOs urge respect of rights in China trade talks
23-Nov-2010 swissinfo
Swiss non-governmental organisations have called on the government to push for human rights in planned negotiations with China on a free trade agreement.
The Second Conquest: The EU free trade agreement with Colombia and Peru
25-Oct-2010 TNI
This FDCL/TNI publication contains an overview of the FTA’s history, of human rights violations in Colombia and Peru as well as a critical analysis of the draft agreement which recently leaked to the public.
ECFA overlooks human rights: watchdog group
20-Aug-2010 Taipei Times
A watchdog organization yesterday accused the Taiwanese government of overlooking human rights and environmental issues while developing closer economic ties with China.
EU lawmakers urge probe of Colombian intelligence operations
20-Jul-2010 Deutsche Welle
EU parliamentarians have called on the Commission to look into Colombian intelligence operations in Europe designed to ‘neutralize the influence’ of critics of the Colombian government in parliament, the UNHCR and NGOs. EU officials fear that an investigation could torpedo ratification of the free-trade agreement, which they see as crucial support of Colombia.
Sri Lanka rejects EU’s rights conditions for trade benefits, saying they violate sovereignty
26-Jun-2010 Canadian Press
Sri Lanka’s trade benefits with the world’s biggest consumer market are due to expire Aug. 15. The EU had asked Sri Lanka to give a written commitment by July 1 pledging to improve human rights before it would consider renewing them.
’India and the EU are both committed to universal values’
25-Jun-2010
The European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission, Catherine Ashton, is currently visiting India to enhance Indo-EU ties. Ashish Ray asked her a few questions:
MPs divided on Canada-Colombia trade agreement
10-May-2010
Increasing trade between Canada and Colombia would help fight drug traffickers and improve human rights in the South American country, says Saskatchewan MP Brad Trost. But critics say the country’s poor human-rights record should put any free-trade plans on hold.
FTA with EU stuck on non-trade barriers
27-Apr-2010
Apart from trade issues, the free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the European Union (EU) continue to be stuck over non-trade issues like human rights, child labour and environment.
’A simple protest can lead to death’: Canada’s auto union on Colombia FTA
8-Apr-2010 Colombia Reports
Canadian Auto Workers, the country’s largest union, last week issued a press release calling on the government to halt trade negotiations with Colombia, calling the deal "a shocking betrayal of Canadians’ expectation that we don’t negotiate with human rights abusers."
Proposed Colombia trade pact amended
25-Mar-2010 CBC
The federal government has agreed to add a new element to Canada’s proposed free-trade agreement with Colombia. "It will be the first FTA in the world to require an annual human-rights assessment to be tabled in both countries’ parliaments," the amendment’s author says.
NGOs call for human rights protection in Colombia-EU FTA
16-Mar-2010 Colombia Reports
Several South American non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have called on the European Union to put better human rights provisions into its free trade agreement with Colombia