•  Home
•  Who We Are
•  What We Do
•  Media Centre
•  Publications
•  Humphrey Award
•  Reference
•  Links
•  Contact Us

Ottawa puts Trade ahead of Human Rights

Reports that the Prime Minister's Office and the RCMP protected Indonesian president Suharto from demonstrators at last year's APEC summit have added to mounting evidence that Canada gives a higher priority to trade than it does to human rights.

Montreal, September 10th, 1998 Reports that the Prime Minister's Office and the RCMP went to great lengths to protect Indonesian president Suharto from demonstrators at last year's APEC summit have added to mounting evidence that Canada gives a higher priority to trade and trade agreements than it does to human rights.

"APEC is a non-democratic association of nations pressing for freer trade in the Asia Pacific region without any concerns for human rights," today said Warren Allmand, president of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (ICHRDD).

The Centre was a member of the organizing coalition for the Peoples' Summit in Vancouver and co-sponsored the international labour forum with the Canadian Labour Congress. "Our goal was to remind APEC governments, including Indonesia, that trade without respect for human rights is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the long run is counter-productive for expanding trade," he said.

Mr. Allmand suggested that the behaviour of the Canadian government at the Vancouver summit appears to follow a pattern. At the 1996 APEC summit, the Philippines tried to muzzle demonstrators while in 1994 the Indonesian government quashed all protests. Since the original APEC leaders' meeting in Seattle in 1993, representatives from NGOs, grassroots groups and unions have met in similar alternative forums.

The next APEC summit will be held in mid-November in Kuala Lumpur and NGOs there are planning another parallel summit. "We are concerned about this event as the Malaysian government has already started making difficulties for local organizers," Mr. Allmand said.

The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development is an independent and non-partisan Canadian institution with an international mandate, working with citizens and governments here and around the world to promote human rights and democratic development through dialogue, strategic interventions, advocacy and public education. It focuses its programmes and activities in 13 key countries, including Indonesia.