ABColombia Campaigns

Write to your MP

– Letter regarding the monitoring of the implementation of the JEP sanctions, Women and Children, and the safety of HRDs

Dear xxxxxxx MP,

I am writing to you as your constituent to raise some important issues in relation to Colombia. I recently attended an event organised by ABColombia. I was concerned to learn that in October, when the UN Security Council Mission of Verification in Colombia’s mandate was due for its annual renewal, there were objections from the USA.  The UK is Penholder for this mandate. After considerable work to keep the USA on board, the UK finally agreed to remove certain aspects of the mandate. One of which was monitoring and verification of the sanctions handed down by the Transitional Justice System (JEP, Spanish acronym).

• As the UK is the Penholder on this mandate, I would appreciate it if you would enquire of the Foreign Secretary, as to whether the UK has any plans to ensure through other UN agencies the possibility of monitoring the implementation of the JEP sanctions.

The second issue that I wish to raise with you is my concern regarding the situation of women and children in Colombia. A recent UN report highlighted an upsurge in the recruitment, use, killing and maiming of children, as well as cases of sexual violence against girls and women and attacks on schools.Rape, child marriage and forced contraception affects girls as young as 12 years old, with indigenous and Afro-Colombian children being disproportionately impacted. Forced recruitment of children rose from 36 (2021) to more than 450 (2024).

Women and girls are key to the peace building process in Colombia. They recently engaged in a consultation process to develop Colombia’s first National Action Plan 1325 on Women Peace and Security (NAP1325).

• The UK supported the development of Colombia’s NAP1325, it is essential it supports politically, technically and financially, its implementation. I would therefore ask if you would request information from the UK Government as to whether they will include Colombia as a Focus Country in the revision of the UK’s NAP 1325 on Women Peace and Security.

Lastly, I have concerns about the safety of those defending the rights of women and girls and indigenous communities. In the first nine months of this year,152 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia. The lack of financial resources for women’s organisations heightens the risk they face. The UK has slashed its Overseas Development Aid Budget; these cuts are impacting at a crucial time for civil society organisations.

• I would therefore ask if you could request information from the UK Government as to what it is doing to support Colombian women’s and indigenous groups and organisations in local areas.

---

– Letter regarding ISDS

ABColombia is gravely concerned about the human rights, environmental and health impacts of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Mechanism that exists in the Colombia-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), and the impact it is having on Colombia’s ability to legislate in favour of human rights and meet its Paris Agreement commitments.

Established in the 1960s, the ISDS mechanism was intended to increase investment by providing a safety net for investors to allow for compensation in the case of expropriation of their assets. However this mechanism has now gone way beyond this.

‘Claims under the ISDS process [today] are used to challenge climate and environmental actions taken by States and to demand billions of dollars in compensation. These cases are decided not by independent judges but by arbitration lawyers, many of whom work for law firms that represent investors. This unjust, undemocratic and dysfunctional process has sparked a legitimacy crisis in the international investment regime.’

– David R. Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment.

Former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, in a report entitled “Paying polluters: the catastrophic consequences of investor-State dispute settlement for climate and environment action and human rights”, stated that multinational companies are suing governments for fulfilling their commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

In October 2024, the Colombia-UK BIT reaches the end of its initial ten-year term. The UK and Colombian governments will now have the opportunity to terminate this treaty, which is incompatible with human rights, peace, democracy and environmental protection. 

The vast majority (86%) of investor claimants are from high-income countries, whereas the majority (66%) of cases are against lower and middle-income countries. Particularly, in lower-income countries, ISDS losses can have a significant economic impact.

Recent years have seen states take a decisive shift away from the ISDS mechanism. A range of countries including Brazil, Indonesia, and South Africa have terminated or refrained from signing agreements that include it. The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have pledged not to include ISDS in their future trade agreements, and in April 2024, the US indicated that it is actively reviewing options to remove ISDS from its existing trade deals, after already committing to exclude it from future agreements.