Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales Energy to be tried by the Peoples Tribunal on the Extractive Industry in Colombia Call-out

for participation in Canadian delegation We wish to invite you to take part in organising a Canadian delegation that will attend the Peoples Tribunal on the Extractive Industry in Colombia . The delegation will accompany USO, the Colombian oil industry workers union as well as members of the Colombia Friendship and Solidarity Network (Redher); two organisations that have led the struggle against human rights abuses committed by Pacific Rubiales Energy, a Canadian multinational, in the oil fields of the Meta department. The Peoples Tribunal on the Extractive Industry in Colombia is an opinion tribunal that will hear cases against both multinational companies and the government policies that are fuelling extractive industries in Colombia. A more detailed description of the Tribunal is available in the Annex. Given the alarming culture of impunity that prevails in Colombia, it is extremely important that Canadian opinion leaders take part in the Tribunal in order to provide visibility for the event as well as protection for the organisers and the witnesses who will be taking the stand. Conflict in Colombia and Canadian investment Having signed the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) in 2011, the Canadian government committed itself to promoting human rights in Colombia. A civil war has been unfolding in the country for over 50 years and Colombia is recognised as one of the most dangerous places in the world for human rights defenders. Data from the SIADDHH, a Colombian watchdog group that keeps track of human rights violations, shows that attacks on human rights defenders have gone up by 49% in the past year. A total of 69 human rights defenders were murdered in 2012, the highest number of such murders in a decade1. Of particular concern for Canadians is that the preliminary conclusions of the Alternative Report on the Impacts of the Colombia-Canada Free Trade Agreement indicate that Canadian foreign direct investment has contributed to this deteriorating situation. Toronto-based Pacific Rubiales Energy is one such example. Pacific Rubiales employs approximately 14,000 workers in the Puerto Gatan and Campo Rubiales regions of the Meta department. Since 2010, the unfolding conflict between the company, its workers, and the local population has resulted in numerous labour and human rights violations. The company is accused of union-busting, harsh working conditions, illegal hiring practices, and low wages in contravention of both Colombian labour law and international standards set by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). In addition, the company is accused of orchestrating attacks against unionized workers, including slander, death threats, murder, and attempted murder. Furthermore, the company also finds itself at odds with local indigenous communities and small farmers who are defending their land from encroachment and environmental destruction. Pacific Rubiales in the court of public opinion Inspired by the Permanent Peoples Tribunal initiative, popular in the early 2000s 2, the Peoples Tribunal on the Extractive Industry in Colombia has two main objectives. First, the Tribunal aims to open a political space where social movements can publicly expose
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El efecto placebo, Informe Anual 2012, Sistema de Informacion sobre Agresiones contra Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos en Colombia, SIADDHH, Programa Somos Defensores, Bogota, 2013. 2 The Permantent Peoples Tribunal (PPT) is an international opinion tribunal founded in Bologna, Italy, in June 1979. The PPT is independent from State authorities and examines and provides judgements relative to violations of human rights and rights of peoples.

the impacts of large-scale mining and energy projects, including impacts on labour, social, environmental, indigenous, and human rights. Second, the Tribunal aims to build a body of evidence, including reports and testimonies from victims and experts alike, that will feed into future political and legal action against the rights violations being committed by multinational companies in Colombia. The Tribunals final session will take place in Bogot from August 3-5, 2013. The Tribunal will hear cases against mining, oil, and hydroelectric energy projects, while the Pacific Rubiales conflict will be presented as a case study of the oil sector in general. During the preliminary hearings, which will take place on July 13, 2013, an audience of over one hundred experts, researchers, jurists, human rights defenders, journalists, affected community members, union leaders, and workers will hear the full details of the accusations against Pacific Rubiales. Representatives of the company are also invited to answer to the various charges and testimonies. Relevance to the Canadian public The charges that will be laid against Pacific Rubiales at the hearing are of particular importance to Canadians not only because the company itself is Canadian, but also because the Canadian government is a big backer of Colombias oil sector. Canada thus also helps to fuel the ongoing social, labour and environmental conflicts in the region. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), soon to be folded into the Department of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Development (DFAITD), helped rewrite Colombias investment laws such that foreign direct investment in the extractive sector grew five-fold between 2002 and 2009. Pacific Rubiales is prominently featured in public debate in Colombia, which has led to the companys decision to sue certain journalists, thus muzzling public criticism of the companys rights violations and disproportionate economic power. Pacific Rubiales public relations strategy (including its advertising slogan Pacific is Colombia) aims to whitewash its reputation as it prepares to increase its holdings in Colombia. Investments in new projects in the Campo Rubiales oil fields are being planned for 2015 while the companys state-issued exploitation license will also be up for re-negotiation that same year. Why its important to take part in the public hearing against Pacific Rubiales Putting together a high-profile delegation to attend the hearing will help: 1. Expose the asymmetrical enforcement of national and international law with respect to multinational companies and local communities; 2. Ensure Canadian and international public attention is drawn to the Tribunal at a time when most media and political attention is focused on the peace negotiations between the government and the FARC-EP, thus highlighting the seriousness of the situation; 3. Counter the misleading public relations campaigns that highlight multinationals corporate social responsibility projects; 4. Guarantee the safety of the organisers and witnesses who will publicly testify against these companies; 5. Increase the Canadian publics awareness of the social and environmental conflicts caused by Canadian multinational companies such as Pacific Rubiales; 6. Expose the case of Pacific Rubiales and thus feed into ongoing public campaigns in Canada and around the world that seek to regulate the activities of multinational companies and pressure them into living up to their social obligations.

For more information contact PASC : info@pasc.ca 514 966 8421