Canada’s Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations: What Canada must do to prevent human rights abuses by Canadian mining companies abroad? The case of Canadian mining activities in Colombia

Abstract

The purpose of this Major Research Paper (MRP) is to evaluate Canadian policies towards Canadian mining companies operating abroad, with a special focus in the Colombian context. More specifically, this paper seeks to evaluate if Canada is fulfilling its international human rights obligations, as a home State, to protect human rights by exercising its duty to regulate the activities of its mining companies abroad and by providing effective remedy to the victims of human rights abuses by mining companies. The MRP follows a qualitative research method, relying on secondary sources, including academic papers, reports by international organizations (i.e. United Nations), international human rights treaties, official government documents as well as civil society reports. The analysis of this MRP shows that Canadian policies implemented thus far fall short to address mining companies’ problematic behaviour, thus failing to prevent further human rights abuses. In addition, Canada has yet to establish an effective mechanism that facilitates access to remedy for victims of abuses. In this context, Canada needs to establish mechanisms to hold mining companies accountable for their activities abroad and to provide redress to victims, in order to fulfill its home State obligations.