Scrap the UK-Colombia investment treaty: how corporate courts let UK companies undermine human rights and the environment
Global Justice Now | 7 October 2024
Scrap the UK-Colombia investment treaty: how corporate courts let UK companies undermine human rights and the environment
In October 2024, the Colombia-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) reaches the end of its initial ten-year term. The UK and Colombian governments now have the opportunity to work together to terminate the treaty, which is incompatible with human rights, peace, democracy and environmental protection.
The treaty contains the controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which allows corporations to sue governments for policies they allege damage the value of their investments.
Colombia has been subjected to 23 ISDS claims over the last decade, three of which were made by UK investors using the Colombia-UK BIT.
Many of these cases have been raised by mining companies in direct response to measures taken by the Colombian government to protect the natural environment and the rights of indigenous peoples.
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