Trading Away Women’s Rights: A Feminist Critique of the Canada–Colombia Free Trade Agreement

Abstract

SummaryThe internal conflict in Colombia has resulted in documented violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. In particular, Colombian women and their human rights have been disproportionately impacted by the conflict. It is within this context that the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) is being proposed, and there is serious concern that Canadian investors could perpetuate the violence or become complicit beneficiaries of human rights violations in Colombia once the CCFTA is ratified. Against this background, this article takes a feminist approach to international investment law to demonstrate that international investment agreements (IIAs) and free trade agreements with investment provisions (FTAs), such as the CCFTA, maintain and reinforce gender hierarchy to the detriment of women’s socio-economic rights, needs, and interests. By engaging in a feminist critique of the CCFTA’s provisions on non-discrimination, performance, expropriation, corporate social responsibility, reservations, investor-state arbitration, and general exceptions, as well as the labour side agreement, the ramifications of international investment law on Colombian women’s rights and women’s rights generally becomes apparent. In order to remedy these shortcomings, recommendations are made to alleviate the potential strain of international investment law and the CCFTA specifically on women’s rights.