Performativity in Canada’s human rights policies: support for the work of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG)

• In Event: Human rights performativity? Challenges for Guatemala and Colombia

Abstract

Since its inception in 2007, Canada has been a vocal supporter of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an innovative instrument for combatting criminal organizations and strengthening the rule of law. However, Canada’s symbolic capital has been greatly affected in Guatemala since the coming to power of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2006. On one hand, Canadian NGO funding was cut for ideological reasons and on the other hand, an explicit strategy based on commercial self-interest in the extractive sector is being favoured. Despite deteriorating relations with Canadian and transnational civil society on the issue of mining, the Harper government continues to promote human rights in Guatemala. In fact, the Government of Canada has funded important initiatives for strengthening legal representation for human rights litigation in Guatemala especially through a partnership with Lawyers Without Borders Canada (LWBC). By advancing representative human rights cases that fell outside CICIG’s mandate, it provided greater access to justice for Guatemala’s most vulnerable and marginalized populations.

Focusing on the CICIG experience and the funding of LWBC, this paper aims to make sense of Canada’s human rights policies during the Harper era (2006-2015). Using theoretical insights of Pierre Bourdieu and International Relations theory, this paper explores the securitization of human rights in Canada’s foreign policy towards Guatemala. Considering that ‘’ freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law ‘’ lie at the heart of Canada’s foreign policy, it examines the performativity of Canadian policies in Guatemala.

Author

• Marc-André Anzueto, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)