Representatives of Catalan civil society organizations and institutions, including ICIP director Tica Font, visited the Colombian city of Buenaventura from April 27 to May 2. The aim of the trip was to carry out on-site monitoring of the conduct of the company TCB-Terminal de Contenidors de Barcelona through its subsidiary in Colombia. The delegation’s trip has been organized to coincide with the announcement of a public hearing before the Colombian Senate, entitled “Victims of development and an unconstitutional state of affairs,” which will explore the situation of the city, immersed in a serious humanitarian and human rights crisis.
The Catalan Coordination Group for Peace and Human Rights in Colombia (“Taula Catalana per la Pau i els Drets Humans a Colòmbia”) and Lafede.cat have been investigating complaints made by Colombian organizations against Grup TCB. In June 2015 they brought a Colombian delegation to Catalonia to explain to Parliament the data and allegations contained in the report “Communities under siege: the impact of a Catalan company, Grup TCB, in Buenaventura, Colombia.” This report details the situations of violence generated by the economic and urban development plans in the Colombian city, in which Catalan companies are directly or indirectly involved. All the parliamentary groups expressed their commitment to monitor the situation. In addition to the ICIP director, the Catalan delegation also included the president, vice president and coordinator of “Taula Catalana per la Pau i els Drets Humans a Colòmbia”, Michela Albarello, Tono Albareda and Amaia García, respectively; Julián Artacho, representative in Colombia of the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation; Gabriela Serra, Member of Parliament for the CUP; Joan Maria Soler, vice president of the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona, and Josep Maria Fisa, representative of the Archbishop of Barcelona and of “Justícia i Pau”.
27.01.2016
