La represa de Hidroituango es uno de los proyectos de infraestructura más grandes de Sudamérica, un coloso de ingeniería destinado a abastecer casi una quinta parte de la demanda energética de Colombia. Sin embargo, las numerosas fallas del proyecto han resultado catastróficas.

Writing in the Business and Human Rights Journal, our director Karyn Keenan relates how promises of a robust watchdog to investigate complaints against Canadian multinationals gave way to an office that lacks the powers to do its job.

Human rights advocates are denouncing the Canadian government’s financial support for a disastrous hydroelectric project in Colombia, as a leader from one of the affected communities arrives in Ottawa to meet today with officials at Export Development Canada (EDC) and Global Affairs Canada.

En total, son ocho las demandas que se han presentado en tribunales canadienses sobre abusos ambientales o a los derechos humanos vinculados a las operaciones de empresas extractivas canadienses en el exterior. En este documento se resumen las ocho demandas, sus implicaciones y los desafíos que plantea este tipo de demandas transnacionales.

Eight claims containing allegations of environmental or human rights abuse related to the overseas operations of Canadian extractive companies have been filed in Canadian courts. This document provides a summary of these eight lawsuits, their implications, and the challenges presented by transnational lawsuits of this nature.

Last week EDC announced that a review of its support for an SNC-Lavalin project in Angola cleared its staff of any wrongdoing. Yet the review process raises more questions than it answers.