Canadian Council for International Cooperation | June 2009

KEY BENCHMARKS FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE CANADA-COLOMBIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (CCFTA)

“An independent, impartial, and comprehensive human rights impact assessment should be carried out by a competent body, which is subject to levels of independent scrutiny and validation; the recommendations of this assessment should be addressed before Canada considers signing, ratifying and implementing an agreement with Colombia.”
— Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT), Recommendation 4 of the Final Report, June 2008

The CIIT recommendation for a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) for the CCFTA has generated significant national and international commendation and interest. As of May 2009, all three of Canada’s opposition parties are calling publicly for the HRIA to be undertaken as an essential step of due diligence. CCIC’s Americas Policy Group commissioned Dr. James Harrison, an international expert at the Centre for Human Rights in Practice at the University of Warwick, to provide recommendations for a credible and effective HRIA process, reflecting a commitment to human rights principles. This briefing note summarises some of the key issues raised in that paper.