I'll take the latter question and agree with you. Absolutely, there are concerns about the protection of the rights of indigenous people throughout the Americas, in our own country, and in fact right around the world. It remains one of the globe's most pressing human rights challenges. And I'm not going to get into ranking and comparing the situation of indigenous peoples in Colombia versus Guatemala, versus Peru.
I think the bottom line, though, is we're focused on the situation in Colombia. The situation for indigenous peoples in Colombia is gravely worrying and has been deteriorating recently. UN experts have identified that. A report that we put out earlier this year identified that. All of those reports have indicated that among the many factors contributing to that worsening situation for indigenous peoples, there are issues related to an economic context: access to land for mining and other natural resources, etc. It's not the only factor by any means; there are a multitude of factors, but it certainly is a significant contributing factor.
That's why we think it's something that should be of real concern to Canadian politicians in deliberating as to whether or not and under what conditions we should be entering into this trade deal. It certainly underscores why we think it's so important that there be an independent impact assessment of the human rights situation before the deal enters into force. The sorts of reforms and changes that are necessary in Colombia to address those concerns are evident. They're out there. An impact assessment can zero right in on those and identify which should be of concern before we go forward with this deal.
With respect to your first question, about improvements over the last ten years, I think I indicated there are some conflict-related indicators that have improved, for instance, the numbers of civilians who have been killed or abducted. The numbers tend to fluctuate from year to year. There are other numbers, though, that have not improved, and continue to be a very real concern. It's a very real concern for us, for instance, that the numbers of displaced Colombians continues to grow, close to 300,000 again last year.
I think the bottom line is, there's no statistical way to say the situation is 10%, 5%, 15% better or worse in Colombia this year than it was last year. Those sorts of measurements have long eluded human rights experts. I think the bottom line is that the human rights situation in Colombia remains a very grave concern in a whole variety of facets, including many that are relevant to trade and investment and economic matters, and that needs to be assessed and addressed before we go forward with this deal.