Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I also thank the witnesses for their presentations.
Dr. Harrison, it's been a struggle, at least for me as a member of the committee, trying to figure out how one goes about doing an independent human rights assessment. I've always been in favour of that idea, but even speaking with NGOs, I've always struggled with how one goes about doing it. The reason I say that, to give you a context as to why it is a challenge here, is that it seems that some of the NGOs who come forward and even labour and even government officials have a certain perspective and a viewpoint. I wonder if you invite independent experts....
Most people who have knowledge of Colombia seem to have a viewpoint one way or the other. They are either for or against the agreement, or they focus on the human rights and no development, or they see the human development and the progress that's taking place and sometimes suppress the human rights issues. So there are almost polar opposite views.
Some of the attacks, for example, on the Uribe government.... It is a government that was democratically elected and at one time many independent polls had its popularity at 80%. Yet the reports I've received from labour, for example, call it a dictatorial government. So it becomes very hard to read the assessment of human rights if you start labelling in a black and white scenario.
As a member of this committee, I'm trying to figure out where independence and fair-mindedness come into play. How does one arrive at that? What individuals do we call upon when it seems that academia and government and labour all have a different, polar opposite viewpoint on the situation that's taking place in Colombia?