On December 10, AVSI participated in the periodic meeting of the Working Party on Latin America and the Caribbean (COLAC), a preparatory body of the Council of the European Union.
What is colac and why does it matter?
COLAC brings together experts from the 27 EU member states and representatives of European institutions to discuss the EU’s relationships with Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as with regional organizations such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
The working party focuses on:
- addressing both current challenges and long-term strategies for EU relations with the region,
- preparing meetings with countries or regional groups with which the EU has agreements, such as Chile, Mexico, and Central America,
- organizing summits between the EU and strategic partner countries, such as Brazil and Mexico,
- coordinating biennial summits between the EU and CELAC.
Human rights challenges take center stage at the COLAC meeting
The meeting opened with an informal discussion with representatives of human rights defenders and civil society organizations working in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Speakers included Camilo Tovar (Race and Equality), representing the Human Rights and Democracy Network, José Mauricio Ángel Morales (Protection International), who spoke about the EU Guidelines for Human Rights Defenders, Donovan Ortega (World Organization Against Torture), who outlined the human rights situation in Venezuela, and Nathalye Cotrino Villareal (Human Rights Watch), who, alongside AVSI’s Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Guido Calvi, shed light on the worsening human rights crisis in Haiti.
The meeting also included participation from COHOM, the Council of the European Union’s working group dedicated to human rights.
AVSI’s message: urgent action needed to protect human rights in haiti
During the session, AVSI’s Guido Calvi highlighted key recommendations from the organization’s 2023 position paper "Haiti: Immediate Action Needed to Overcome the Crisis." Drawing on AVSI’s experience in the field, he stressed the urgency of strengthening community-based services to support victims of violence, particularly gender-based violence, as the scale of human rights violations in Haiti continues to be underestimated.
Calvi emphasized that donors must not withdraw from Haiti but instead intensify their investments, especially in initiatives aimed at protecting human rights. AVSI also called for the multinational security support mission recently deployed to Haiti to operate at full capacity and even be reinforced. This effort, however, must be carried out with caution, respecting human rights and lessons learned from past interventions.
In addition to addressing security concerns, AVSI proposed creating opportunities for young people at risk of gang recruitment by focusing on education, training, and job creation. The organization also advocated for integrating food and cash assistance with investments in agriculture, including providing tools and resources to boost local productivity.
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