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Promoting Fair Trade, Labor Rights, Just Economic Development, and Environmental Protection in the Americas
Adopted August 9, 2003
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Background
The U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is a free trade agreement between the United States and the five Central American nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Official negotiations for CAFTA opened in January and continue now between the trade ministers of the six countries. There has only been one public hearing and no others are scheduled. The trade ministers hope to have the treaty finished and ready for approval by the national legislatures of the six countries by the end of 2003. The U.S. Congress has approved “Fast Track” legislation for these trade agreements. Fast Track allows trade agreements such as this to be brought to a vote without public debate or legislative hearings. No changes or amendments are permitted by the legislature. The agreement must be accepted or rejected as presented.
CAFTA is an extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to include Central America and its implementation is seen by the Bush Administration as an essential condition to obtaining the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which would cover all the countries in the Western Hemisphere except Cuba.
Like NAFTA and FTAA, there has been no genuine participation by civil society groups in the U.S. and the five Central American countries, all negotiations are held in secret, and access to the negotiation teams and trade ministers has been limited.
Some of the provisions of CAFTA are known at this time. Key components include the privatization of public services (health care, education, electrical generation, water systems, etc.); weakening of regulatory measures; removal of all a tariff barriers on imported agricultural products; weakening of laws protecting labor and human rights and the environment. These provisions could have devastating effects in these Central American countries where labor and human rights are already problematic and multinational corporations have started to take control of the agricultural industry, forcing many in these countries to move to cities or to leave the countries altogether.
Human rights, labor organizations and other groups are raising concerns about the effects CAFTA would have on the people and environment of Central America. The negative effects of NAFTA can been seen in Mexico and the U.S., particularly in Mexico along the U.S.-Mexico border. Many religious congregations are working in that region and have reported on the health problems, labor and human rights abuses and environmental impact on the region.
The Conference of Latin American Religious is very concerned about the trade agreements and the impact they will have in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. They have asked the Conferences in the North to give attention and priority to them as an issue of solidarity and justice.
Resolution
Therefore, the Conference of Major Superiors resolves to:
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Work in collaboration with partners in the Global South, particularly the Conference of Latin American Religious, individual Religious Conferences, and member congregations with religious in those countries, to share information about the proposed Free Trade Agreements and their impact on the people of Latin America and to offer collaborative analysis to the public, our members, and our governments about the effects these trade agreements will have on people of the Global South; |
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Work in collaboration with U.S.-based and international organizations addressing the trade issues and to raise awareness about the effects they will have on labor and human rights, the environment, health, and economic conditions; |
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Inform CMSM members through publications and notices about the status CAFTA and FTAA and suggest appropriate actions, when possible, for them to take to raise concerns and offer opinions to government leaders in the U.S. and Central American countries; |
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Establish contacts through the national office with U.S. and Central American government officials, particularly trade ministers and their staffs and representatives in order to engage in dialogue about concerns for a public and open debate on the agreements and to include adequate protection for the rights of laborers and activists, protection for the environment and assurances that fair trade will not be sacrificed for free trade that benefits multinational corporations while ignoring the needs of the people of Central America. |
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