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With heads of state from around the world in New York in late September 2010 for the High-level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly, the Council of the Americas, an alliance of corporations pushing for the expansion of free trade, hosted a series of talks with the presidents of Chile, Peru, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic - all countries facing environmentally devastating resource extraction projects linked to human rights violations.� The talks were sponsored by some the world's most destructive corporations, including oil giant Chevron and mining companies Barrick Gold and Freeport-McMoRan.
NAFTA-style free trade agreements, which encourage foreign investment by extractive corporations include state-investor provisions that give corporations the right to sue governments for enforcing their environmental laws. These provisions have emboldened environmentally destructive corporations, increased the repression of indigenous peoples, and exacerbated the destruction wildlife, pristine ecosystems, and the lands of peasant and indigenous communities. Chile, Peru, and the Dominican Republic currently have free trade agreements with the US (the agreements with Peru and the Dominican Republic were passed under the current sitting presidents -- the speakers at the Council of the Americas talks), and a free trade agreement with Colombia, strongly supported by President Santos, awaits a vote in the US Congress.
From Wednesday, September 22nd to Friday, September 24th, 2010, Global Justice for Animals and the Environment and our allies demonstrated against each of these talks. Follow the links below to learn more about our actions and about how free trade policies are affecting communities, the environment, and animals in each of these countries and about the misdeeds of the corporate sponsors of these events. |
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Global Justice for Animals and the Environment is a project of: Wetlands Activism Collective Phone: (718) 218-4523 Fax: (501) 633-34761 activism @ wetlands-preserve.org |