Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Having worked to help negotiate free trade agreements, I was going to say that it's not just about trade. There are many components of these agreements that help establish the rule of law and level playing fields, including common standards, such as FIPAs, foreign investment protection agreements, for example, which are fundamentally important in establishing the rule of law.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Suchitoto.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, that was one of the factors.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Again, that's a very good question. I'm not aware of an update on the February 13 murder, so I will have to get that information. One of the things that we are doing at the OAS is trying to work with the local authorities. This is why we were so concerned about the Attorney General's office and the various fiscalías, the various sub-Attorneys General, who may not have had the tools or the interest, if you know what I mean, to investigate some of these trials.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We do have investigative authority. What we are trying to do is to build the institutional capability so that the Hondurans themselves can do those investigations. There is a purge law, a depuración; a law was passed in the congress recently to purge the police. That's a terrible word; I didn't translate very well from Spanish.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think the only way to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2009 is to work with the political parties to come to a national consensus. I don't believe that any of the three parties who have a chance of winning the elections next November want anxiety about insecurity, as is the case now.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That is a good question and there is no easy answer to it. I believe that if we want to help these countries, especially those in Central America, it is essential to focus on creating sound and reliable state institutions. This is a process that will take years. Without these reliable institutions, it would be impossible to resolve the problems of impunity or corruption.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I share my colleague from Gildan's enthusiasm for Honduras. It is a country that is very endearing despite the difficulties. I think there are a couple of issues that make this more complex. The first is the political uncertainty following the coup. There are grave and deep divisions in Honduran society that still need to be resolved.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  There are bottom-up and top-down societal divisions. One of the things that ails a lot of the Americas, a lot of Latin America, is the inequity in society. This is especially acute in Honduras. This is why I think it's so important that Canadian companies like Gildan are present and promoting best practices and CSR.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Embajadora, and other members of the commission. My name is Adam Blackwell. I'm the secretary for multidimensional security and the senior Canadian at the OAS, the Organization of American States. I'd like to thank you for inviting me to appear before you today.