Dossier: Stephen Harper's investment-promotion visit to Honduras on August 12, 2011

August 13, 2011

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a one-day stop in Honduras yesterday, the fifth of five Latin American countries he visited on a trade and investment-promoting tour. The following is a selection of the print news coverage in Canada of the visit to Honduras. Also enclosed is an important statement addressed to Harper by women factory workers in Honduras on the day of his visit.

Porfirio Lobo is a landowner and runner-up in the 2005 election won by Manuel Zelaya. Following the overthrow of Zelaya by the Honduran military in June 2009, Lobo was "elected" president under conditions that will be familiar to those who followed Haiti's 2010/11 selection-election. Please note the highlighted sentences in the reports below that detail Canada's support to the illegal, Lobo coup regime.

CBC radio and television news covered the visit to Honduras. Its reports included mention of a troubling human rights record of the Lobo regime, though no details were provided.

CBC radio's The World This Weekend aired a report on Honduras on its edition of Sunday, August 7, in conjunction with Harper's Latin America itinerary. The report was rife with errors. It stated that Canada has been helping to restore democracy in Honduras, ever since a military coup d'etat in "late 2009." The report mentions the recent national reconciliation accord, but does not mention that it involved the return to Honduras of the overthrown president, an important victory for the people. The report credits Canada for helping bring about the accord. False, it was an initiative of Venezuela, Colombia and other Latin American countries. Canada and the U.S. were specifically sidelined. You can listen to the CBC report here, beginning at the 14 minute mark: http://www.cbc.ca/worldthisweekend/

Note that in all the print news reports enclosed here, not a mention is made of the central role of Latin American governments in bringing about the reconciliation accord. Nor is there any information of how tenuous is the accord and how human right violations have continued. Despite the continued, difficult conditions in Honduras for popular organizing, the mass movement that supported the reforms that President Zelaya sought to implement continues to expand and develop.

Interestingly, the aforementioned August 7 CBC report stated that Canada has been involved in "stabilizing" Honduras. This is the same language used to explain and justify the ongoing foreign military occupation of Haiti. The UN Security Council-sanctioned occupation force there, known as MINUSTAH, numbers some 13,000 police and soldiers. Haiti is the only country in the hemisphere suffering a foreign occupation. Soldiers from many of the countries of Latin America participate, including from Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Could one imagine Latin American countries taking part in a U.S/Canada/Europe-led occupation of Venezuela had the coup of 2002 against President Chavez succeeded in "stabilizing" that country? Alas, such is the poor understanding of Haiti in this hemisphere.

Recently, protests of several hundred people against the Haiti occupation took place in Port au Prince (July 28) and New York City (August 5). Brazil's new "Workers" Party minister of defense has publicly mused about "transforming" MINUSTAH into a force for social development. This is a tired musing that has been voiced for several years now, including from the current president of Colombia, the outgoing head of MINUSTAH (the Guatemalan Edmond Mulet) and the recently-chosen president of Haiti.

A leading organization in the defense of human and social rights in Honduras is Rights Action. Learn more about it here: http://www.rightsaction.org/ To learn more about Haiti, see the website of the Canada Haiti Action Network: www.canadahaitiaction.ca

--Website editors

Harper announces free-trade deal with Honduras

By Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News (National Post), Aug 13, 2011

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras — Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up his tour of Latin America on Friday by announcing that Canada has struck a free-trade deal with Honduras.

The development came as Mr. Harper visited the impoverished nation, where violence is common and the leftist president was deposed by a coup just two years ago. Mr. Harper made the announcement after meeting with Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. “Our government received a strong mandate to implement our ambitious job-creating free-trade plan that will benefit Canadians,” Mr. Harper said.

“A free-trade agreement with Honduras is a key part of our government’s agenda to open new markets for Canadian businesses, create new opportunities for our workers and contribute to Canada’s future prosperity.”

Critics have said the Mr. Harper government is moving too quickly to provide credibility to the current right-wing Honduran regime at a time when the country is still suffering human-rights abuses, poor treatment of underpaid workers and a high crime rate. But Mr. Harper applauded the current government for establishing a ministry dedicated to “justice and human rights” and for trying to learn the lessons of where it went wrong in its recent political coup. “We strongly believe that prosperity, general and widespread, is essential to any nation’s full enjoyment of peace, freedom and democracy,” said Mr. Harper at a joint news conference with Sosa. “And if prosperity is the key to these great objectives, so is trade the key to prosperity.”

Mr. Harper said the new trade agreement will benefit many Canadian workers and business sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing and mining. “Our experience shows that the removal of barriers to trade is the most efficient tool that governments possess to generate growth and to create jobs.”

The agreement, which includes side agreements on labour standards and environmental protection, must now be ratified by Honduran politicians and by Canada’s Parliament.

In addition to his meeting with Lobo on Friday, Mr. Harper was scheduled to visit a textile manufacturing facility and hold a roundtable with businessmen. Among the Canadian companies doing business in Honduras is Montreal-based Gildan, which produces products such as T-shirts and employs thousands of Hondurans.

In addition to putting the focus on a new trade deal, Mr. Harper came here with a clear objective: to help provide stability and international credibility to a country that has been plagued for years by political crisis and brutal criminal activity.

Mr. Harper’s visit is the first by a major foreign leader since Honduras was readmitted earlier this year into the Organization of American States. It had been drummed out of the organization following the spectacle of its president, Manuel Zelaya, being ousted by the military in a 2009 coup. He was forced to go to Costa Rica and, despite many efforts to return and regain his presidency, he failed.

At the time, Canada condemned the coup. However, in late 2009, another presidential election was held and Zelaya’s political rival — the current president — won. Since then, Canada has moved to recognize his democratic bona fides, lobbying to have the country readmitted to the Organization of American States.

Canada appears to have been persuaded that the Honduran government, which appointed a Truth and Reconciliation commission to learn the lessons from the controversial coup, is on the right track. Canadian officials say the Lobo government appears to be following the recommendations of that commission, which submitted its report recently, and is serious about battling human rights problems in the country.

On his trip to Latin America this week, Mr. Harper has dismissed critics who say he doesn’t care about the human-rights records of the countries he visits, such as Colombia. Rather, he says Canada is closely monitoring the issue and that economic prosperity, through enhanced international trade, is one of the best ways to bring a populace out of poverty and reduce human-rights violations.

In 2010, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Honduras totalled $192-million. Canadian exports totalled $40.8-million — mainly fertilizers, machinery and dye. Imports totalled $151.2-million – mainly fruits and textiles. The Harper government, with free-trade deals already in place with Colombia and Costa Rica, is keen to increase trade with Honduras now that it has struck a similar arrangement with the country. Still, there is little doubt that the security woes faced by Honduras won’t be resolved with any easy fix.

On its own website, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department warns Canadians considering travelling to Honduras that the country is a dangerous place. “The security situation has seriously deteriorated in Honduras,” says the warning. “Travellers should exercise a high degree of caution throughout the country, as Honduras has the highest homicide rate in Central America. Growing poverty and the increased presence of street gangs contribute to an already significant crime rate, and the apprehension and conviction rate of criminals remains low.”

Protesters denounce free-trade deal

Agreement will help crime-ridden Honduras 'emerge from poverty,' Harper argues

By Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News (Ottawa Citizen),  Sat. August 13, 2011

Prime Minister Stephen Harper boasted Friday that Canada's new free-trade deal with Honduras will help that crimeridden country emerge from poverty and political chaos, adding that his opponents are just "selfish" trade protectionists.

But within minutes of Harper making that claim at a signing ceremony with his Honduran counterpart, protesters who were kept outside the gates of the event offered a different story. They complained the trade deal will further diminish the rights of local workers and add to the profits of Canadian businesses that already oper-ate textile factories and mining operations in this country with "impunity."

Harper wrapped up his tour of Latin America by announcing the trade deal with Honduras, an impoverished nation where violence is common and the leftist president was deposed by a coup just two years ago. Harper made the announcement after meet-ing with Honduran President Porfirio Lobo. He said the trade deal is a "key part" of the Conservative government's agenda to open new markets for Canadian businesses. He also added that it would be good for Hondurans, denying a suggestion that his government only wants to ensure Canadian companies can operate in countries with lax labour standards.

"Trade does, of course, raise people from poverty. People who favour protectionism are not, as I've said before, driven by concerns about poverty or human rights. They are driven by a desire to protect local interests. Protectionists are selfish and short-sighted in their perspectives."

Harper said enhanced international trade is one of the best ways to bring a populace out of poverty and reduce human rights violations. "We strongly believe that prosperity, general and widespread, is essential to any nation's full enjoyment of peace, freedom and democracy. And if prosperity is the key to these great objectives, so is trade the key to prosperity."

Harper paid tribute to Lobo, who he said is working hard to reverse years of human rights violations that have marred the country. However, critics have said Harper is moving too quickly to provide credibility to the current right-wing Honduran regime at a time when the country is suffering human-rights abuses, poor treatment of underpaid workers and a high crime rate.

Canada’s free trade talks with Honduras draw criticism

By Olivia Ward, Toronto Star, August 11, 2011

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper continues his Latin America tour amid global market chaos, he is making stops in countries he hopes will expand Canada’s trade and make it less dependent on the turbulent U.S. economy.

On Friday he lands in Honduras, bringing a free trade agreement closer to completion. But critics say it is an unlikely choice for partnership with Canada.

One of the poorest countries in the region, most of its rural population lives on less than $2 a day. It’s also one of the most violent, with reports of politically linked killings and drug gangs that ruthlessly control poor neighbourhoods. Honduras has also struggled with international disrepute since a 2009 coup that ousted leftist president Manuel Zelaya. It was followed by a widely criticized election and the installation of a new government headed by President Porfirio Lobo of the right-leaning National Party.

But after the election, Canada and the U.S. backed the Lobo government, and Canada has spent months negotiating a free trade deal that observers say is close to completion.

Canada backed a truth commission that was part of a political reconciliation deal, and along with the U.S., pushed for Honduras’s readmission to the Organization of American States, which had expelled it after the coup. Harper’s visit will be the first by a foreign leader since Honduras was welcomed back to the democratic fold.

But critics say a Canadian trade deal with Honduras would be premature, and that its human rights record is still appalling. “There’s a whole column of indicators that show Honduras is further behind than even a decade ago at maintaining and supporting democratic institutions,” says Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington. “What it really says is that on key issues Canada and the U.S. haven’t provided the kind of inspired leadership that would show their commitments to democracy go beyond their rhetoric.”

Honduras’s economic performance has begun to improve, although it has one of the world’s highest crime rates, and dozens of opponents of government including journalists, labour and agricultural leaders have been killed. The government denies it has any connection with the murders.

Critics say human rights are unlikely to be the main issue during Harper’s visit. “It’s about consolidating allies and economic interests,” says political science professor Todd Gordon, of York University, an expert on Honduras.

Gordon said Ottawa has used its support for the Lobo government to seek access for its mining and business executives, and bring about legislative changes that would benefit them. “The political connections have been strengthened and that’s now bearing fruit, consolidated by Harper’s visit.” And he added, “The economic benefits are investment and profits to be made from cheap labour and resources.” Canada has also signed free trade deals with Colombia and Peru.

In Bogota on Wednesday, Harper said critics of free trade with Colombia who talk about human rights are really more concerned about protectionism. “We can’t block the progress of a country like this for protectionist reasons, and (they’re) trying to use human rights as a front for doing that,” Harper said at the presidential palace, after being asked about critics who cite human rights concerns in dealing with the country.

The NDP opposed the Tories signing a free-trade agreement with Colombia in 2008, but the deal passed and it takes effect Monday.

Canadian projects mining and manufacturing projects have been operating in Honduras over the past few years, amid controversy over their effects on indigenous communities and the environment. Indigenous rights groups allege their land and water have been polluted, while independent reports speak of deforestation, land erosion and water shortages.

Canada and Honduras agree on free trade deal

By Steve Rennie, Toronto Star, August 13, 2011 (excerpts)

...Harper’s stop in San Pedro Sula was the first state visit to Honduras by a foreign leader since the country was allowed back into the Organization of American States in June, following a (June) 2009 coup that ousted the country’s leftist president.

Canada was one of the first countries to throw its support behind Porfirio Lobo Sosa, a wealthy rancher elected president of the tiny Central American country in November 2009, months after former leader Manuel Zelaya was deposed.

At the time, both the Union of South American Nations and Mercosur — an economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — declared they would not recognize the results of the 2009 election in Honduras or the legitimacy of the Lobo presidency on the grounds that doing so would legitimize the coup.

Canada also initially condemned the coup. “Canada condemns the coup d’etat that took place over the weekend in Honduras, and calls on all parties to show restraint and to seek a peaceful resolution to the present political crisis,” said a June 2009 statement by Peter Kent, who at the time was minister of state of foreign affairs for the Americas.

The OAS readmitted Honduras two months ago, with the backing of Canada and the United States, after the new president allowed Zelaya to return from exile to the country he once ruled...

Factory Conditions in Honduras: Open Letter to Stephen Harper from Women Workers of Honduras

Choloma, Cortés, Honduras August 12, 2011

To: The Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper, Prime Minister of Canada Mr. Porfirio Lobo Sosa, President of Honduras Mr. Africo Madrid, Secretary of State for the Interior The International Community Especially to the Honduran people

The Honduran Women’s Collective, CODEMUH, has continually and systematically produced information about the vulnerable position faced by workers in the maquila industry in Honduras, about the violation of human and labour rights, and the damages done to the health of workers by their work activities, especially in the company Gildan Activewear, a transnational company owned by Canadians. This information has been given to governments and the entities responsible for labour law enforcement in Honduras; national and international social movements and organizations; human rights protection systems; and the Fair Labour Association (FLA).

We have taken our cases to judicial bodies, both national and international, using legal channels in a responsible way. We have used international and inter-American systems, investigating, documenting, informing, publicizing, raising awareness and presenting proposals so that the entities responsible for applying justice would act. These entities should implement monitoring, follow up and prevention actions for effective protection that ensures human and labour rights for the working population. In addition, we have alerted these bodies to the fact that Gildan Activewear is violating the Constitution of the Honduran Republic and other labour laws, by implementing long work days and a system of unachievable production quotas.

Prime Minister Harper, there have been constant reports of Canadian company Gildan Activewear’s anti-organizing and anti-union policies, among other labour violations. For example, Gildan El Progreso in Honduras closed in 2004 to avoid the certification of a union, and recently in the Dominican Republic there have been reports of the same policies with regards to the trade union there. Other reports have surfaced of violations of other human and labour rights of workers, such as the right to live without violence, the right to work, health and life.

Presently, Gildan Activewear is contravening the legal regulations for labour, with regards to treaties and international conventions that protect occupational health and safety, by implementing 4x4 shifts in their factories, where workers work for 4 days straight, 11.5 hours per day, and then have 4 days off. With this system, it’s common that on their days off, workers do extra hours, up to 2 day shifts or 2 night shifts. This means that the work week can be 69 hours long, with a salary of $89.99 US Dollars (L$1700 Lempiras) per week.

The production goals or quotas imposed by Gildan Activewear are the highest in the industry in Honduras. To earn $89.99 per week, workers have to produce 550 dozen pieces every day, and are exposed to awkward postures, executing up to 40,000 repetitive movements in their joints, tendons, and muscles per day. These conditions produce Occupational Musculoskeletal Injuries (MSI). There is clear exploitation of workers in poor countries, juxtaposed with reporting that sales have been high during the 2011 fiscal year. In Honduras, Gildan does not pay taxes because they are exempt, so it is absurd when we see that a company with such a high level of exploitation of the work force has been applauded as one of the 50 best Canadian corporations and one of the 20 most responsible companies.

Based on these problems, workers from Gildan Activewear who are members of CODEMUH have presented proposals, and have asked the national authorities of the Labour and Social Security Secretariat to do an ergonomic inspection and evaluation of the textile and clothing manufacturing companies. CODEMUH has also presented thematic reports to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Rights to Highest Attainable Standard of Physical, Mental Health. We have also presented a complaint to the Fair Labour Association, denouncing the dangerous conditions for safety, hygiene, lack of ergonomics and work organization, low salaries, lack of pay for overtime and other benefits, as well as discrimination and workplace harassment.

CODEMUH has received complaints from more than 100 workers at Gildan Activewear. Of this group, 20 workers have rulings for a change in workstations, recommending a prohibition of repetitive movements in their shoulders, lifting their arms above shoulder level, alternating seated and standing postures, and performance of exercises every 2 hours. As well, 15 workers have received rulings qualifying their Occupational Risks with a Partial Damage Percentage given as a result of an occupational injury, all of them with MSIs. These rulings have been given by the Honduran Social Security Institute. This shows that work conditions and work organization damage the health of workers, especially with relation to the length of the work day and production goal system.

Given these facts, Mr. Prime Minister, and considering that your visit to Honduras is to promote a bilateral Free Trade Agreement between Honduras and Canada, we propose the following:

1. The Free Trade agreements that Honduras has signed with “first world” or “developed” countries, especially North American countries, have only brought higher levels of discrimination, labour exploitation, accidents and occupational illnesses, as well as making the working population poorer, especially young women.

2. Free Trade Agreements are conceived and designed fundamentally so that transnational companies and their registered brands can exploit the working population and produce huge profits, totally oblivious to the fact that in order to obtain their production and profits, there are people, women and men, who risk their lives, and that there are labour and human rights laws that must be respected.

We demand that you ask promptly for a report on labour and human rights conditions for the women and men who work at Gildan Activewear installations in Honduras; and that the Canadian government monitors working conditions for workers with Canadian transnationals. The Canadian government must force companies to comply with national laws, international conventions and international treaties to do with human and labour rights and corporate social responsibility. As well, companies must perform ergonomic studies of work stations with the active participation of workers and organizations with experience in occupational health and safety, such as CODEMUH, with the objective of correcting any deficiencies.

Taking into account that for Honduras, Free Trade Agreements have meant higher levels of exploitation, of labour and human rights violations, loss of job sources, higher labour risks, deepening of poverty and other problems: we denounce and condemn that Honduras is proceeding to ratify a bilateral Free Trade Agreement with Canada without even studying the impacts of CAFTA. Jobs Yes, BUT WITH DIGNITY!