but there's a long talk about what's happening in their lives. i became a journalist to be a storyteller and i always want to find those real authentic stories from everyday people who have something to share. with others i'm a fan of the salon i feel good quality here when i see ads and a good story when i hear it so my name is elizabeth saul and i work at steve allen . autumn 2016 across europe tens of thousands mobilize against planned free trade deals with the u.s. and canada belgium's well only a region is blocking sita a major european pact with canada thrusting the e.u. into crisis manager and is focused on

a little known provision routinely included in trade deals that allows foreign investors to bring investment disputes before an international arbitration tribunal and multinational corporations to sue sovereign states for billions of dollars. but what are these tribunals who handles their cases and who represent the interests of the people after all it's taxpayers who foot the bill. to get a clearer picture we delved deeper into in a pick system that circumvents national court and effectively hands foreign investors the power to dictate the policies of democratically elected governments every nation is one rouble whether it's an industrial power or a developing country. investor lawsuits against states impact everything from human rights and health to public finances and the environment this report sheds light on the extraordinary power of. international arbitration tribunals are and.

close 2 2. in colombia deep inside the amazon rain forest the canadian mining company because ego was set on extracting gold along the a porous river. it singled out a sacred site on the ancestral lands of 7 indigenous groups. but as part of environmental protection measures the colombian government designated the region as a national park in 2009 that put a stop to cacique those plants. for

years the company tried to negotiate with the colombian government then in 2016 i'm just rendell because he gets chief operating officer moved the dispute to the international arena together with because he gives us part not to be mining energy he filed suit against columbia in a court of arbitration i personally did not know of the option of international arbitration where it will always heard of the world court but we do know of my time i don't believe that was between 2 governments that were debating things. but the ability to take our case to the international court of arbitration was a welcome relief for our shareholders to know that we don't have to depend on maybe some emotional sentiment by a judge in some rural location who is being pressured by his local. mayor.

undress rendell found a suitable attorney to represent his company in paris chef. a corporate lawyer specialized an arbitration ringback. somewhere in the middle of course. your attrition. there is igniting all of the 3 or big critters that will constituent to your arbitration panel this should still take 2 weeks at least from 0 i believe columbia well challenge the jurisdiction of the courts of the court below through. make decision on this we're confident and and then we will really move to z. yes that's the case yeah hopefully hopefully they're crossing fingers they'll be productive would be nice.

to see goals starts to face difficulties with this debate going on between the ministry of mines and energy and the ministry of environment we found ourselves with the inability to work or whatever because shareholders from texas the mining and energy motivated the company to seek. arbitration as a way of solving this dispute of this difficulty between the colombian government as a whole and the company. just continue to keep you down i think what's noteworthy about this case is that cosequin had already been granted a mining from a by the state mining or farm. and suddenly from one day to the next the company is told the area is now closed you were allowed to conduct ground exploration for 10 years but now your license is no longer valid and on the scene he knew going to.

colombia should have been a mature country and because colombia signed big league free trade agreements colombia need to understand that they had to respect the agreements so that investors' money would not be lost or stolen. there was a lot of money and a lot of effort and a lot of motivation from small investors getting together small investors to combine their resources and work under the colombian government regulation and help the ministry of mines find assets for the colombian people. move along can you show me the contract to kill. as on direct and in direct expropriations again. these are the rules of arbitration to fight more of the war of course the state has the right to change its policies it can even nationalize assets if it wants to. these trade agreements don't rule such measures out. the

agreements laid out clear rules that must be taken into account. this afternoon on . most free trade agreements include the provision of investor state to speak settlement. this clause is designed to protect foreign investors and allow them to seek redress from a country when its business interests are expropriated or otherwise unfairly harmed by a country's laws or policies. he says he discoveries in the trade agreements are designed to foster economic development to that end investors need to be given reassurances and the agreements need to be deep a little. in the event of a dispute between an investor and a state the power of the participating state cannot dominate proceedings it must be possible to call upon a judge the international arbitrator between tennis and. these arbitrators are not

judges and national courts their private sector attorneys who wear different hats on a 3 member panel alternatively in the role of presiding arbitrator counsel for the state counsel for the investor. these are highly paid lawyers often belong to elite law firms that have much to gain from a lucrative investment arbitration business. they operate in strict secrecy and often side with investors even in cases where investors seem entitled to compensation are such prohibitive payouts in the interest of the affected population. when we were beginning to enter the area the northern native tribes wanted to

develop the might of this other group who was not in the might was not on the area were motivated by the n.g.o.s of foreign n.g.o.s named big guy and they were voted to go against the might so they tried to set up sacred sites on a map. by discussing with certain spiritual leaders that they were motivating to declare sacred sites but none of the sacred sites that they had identified are anywhere near the proposed might say. we don't understand what the big deal is why don't we just come to a conceived as they said in spanish why don't we just agree because if that mind could be developed all the 1st nations people would have employment by having their own salaries can provide a lot better economic conditions because then you can search planning things and

you conserving refrigerators then you don't have to waste your meat you don't have to keep going out every day and replenishing your food and women can then start considering education. what they all want to do is have an increased self-reliance and not depend on the white man and the non-indigenous government to come into. the middle east of that and yet line came 3 times yet on the response came to drop their reports joel much is 6 by only chips if you get a bill to look at your local even the b. . came. and with. it here. and there then.

we were all assigned different tax parts to guide them around the area some accompanied biologists i guided a geologist that i put we followed the path and every 100 meters he'd pick up a rock smash it and put it in his pocket. that he got here on we discover that there really is gold in the region come up with another i guess. what did they suggest. that they told us if they could mine gold in this area we would get one percent of the profits. that is there now i don't know what nobody from crecy ago talked about the projects drawbacks but if you go down the road you said they would only cut down trees on an area of 2 square metres. or drill a hole install their machine. again and then plant new trees. i said but out of this. the national park that protects the

ancestral territories of indigenous groups was established with the assistance of the ngo guy amazon us nelson ortiz is a member of the organization and regularly visits local communities to support them and their fight against the exploitation of their land. they can kill him. but they told us this company would help our communities and that if they said it would bring us many benefits that. bad economy that by working in the mine we could and so much that we could buy how colombia you know as you know news of this area we'd read many rewards yet. and you were also in the area of choco think you're going to do it yes and i learned one thing we must never again allow a multinational company to exploit the area that. the lungs of our planet in the

world. our ancestors described the water there as bryce and clear today it's a garbage dump yeah there's no life left in the water and there are unused machines everywhere and huge excavator still in operation and let's not forget the mine is going a little. if . this is the center of wisdom science and the power of this country and the men. when there wasn't mass. little birth of a child we celebrate

a kind of baptism all of these places are essential for this ceremony this think because it's their power and wisdom that promotes the growth and intelligence of a newborn child he said sit see if i see the energy of these places strengthens the child's connection to nature not even better is why these holy sites are of great importance to us but they are the source of our songs and dances from there the place where we are healed from disease because you are youth day by day are you. indigenous communities who live here in the forest belong to a dozen different ethnic groups but they all share the same beliefs about the origin of the world. save you the numerous sacred sites of that i'm just as after

living organisms in a ceremony the shaman mentioned tools a line that connects all of these sites it's the path of healing and it must remain intact and never be said that. you have to have waited to hear that benefit our ancestors described the earth as a small sphere of floating on water and i said by this wonder jungle is a rock floating on the water that it can sink very quickly. said weapon this place is like the hardest phone or 4th pillar that maintains equilibrium of the earth filled it filled it full to do that if we allow this place to be exploited he said c.c.c. to the help we move one step closer to the end of the world and was put on the. across the mouth in mice miles from our cottage and. you're good.

the. members of the local communities were not always united in their rejection of the mine. and just rendell promised them financial advantages and a better life. some indigenous leaders mostly elderly opposed mining from the outset but others were tempted to accept rental small gifts. today amazing has been called representatives of different tribes are gathering in the traditional assembly house they're concerned about a lawsuit filed by casey go on to preparing

a statement addressed to the colombian government. in it they confirm their determination to resist attempts to mine gold on their territory. they're not yellow welcome i want to talk about the gold and give my opinion from a woman standpoint and i get the time to take. him out now should we work in the mind of a bigot and by that i would have been a monica anybody why should we dig for all time. to get back to what it looked well it to us certainly i think the am i looking at it. a little with the territory although you already heard this one is our home our origin. and this land harbors raw materials that we call gems they're not disgusted and agree this land must not be exploited i think a little more than he does you are a model newark and better why we are the ethnic groups of this region have come together. this is where you have decided together. yeah there we will not work in

the mind and then look at it and then we will defend our territory we don't need anyone now says he i know you think. that the only way. that they can recall. the indigenous communities worldview is diametrically opposed to that of the mining company. and the former want to protect their intangible cultural heritage and right to self-determination the latter a focus on their profit and how they can extract gold from the depths of the amazon rain forest. demanding yeah here is a dent other than the one i bet with the so-called pleasures charcoals are already goes to bed so if you don't like it. this is called d.m.

we can do what we want but i got us a super stand it you solicited us she said yes you did but we decided to park on there and it's your loss. is it gender standers were targeted recently received for 60000000000 because that's the biggest iron ore coal mine buying in all of the a copy in all of us south america i very positive economy is going to loose the issue by car out is it going to be 60 bathers they got a decent number 3 updated 60 i'm betting it's closer to 8 or you when it's all said . $16000000000.00. for a few studies and expeditions into the amazon even $16000000.00 a some $1000.00 times smaller would be a huge compensation figure or is columbia being asked to pay for the loss of expected profits either way it smacks of speculation.

it is the will of the un to the colombian government helping them to all citizens. it needs to sound meaningful. yeah we have to get it right before we send it. to the secretary will check over everything in atlanta. this is a big letter this is our declaration it is to the colombian government to all citizens that media and all interested parties at home and abroad we hereby declare manifesto that we debate any kind of mineral extraction on our territory this practice does not correspond to our customs and traditions our lives are governed by the laws of our ancestors and by the spiritual and cultural agreements between our communities to be disputed and it is fairly serious and they look to workers.

who have time to hit the road together with the other indigenous communities. one colors party out of their representatives that are core chapeau chorus resign i will present the declaration at a forum of indigenous peoples organized by the government and local town.

alongside indigenous community members the meeting is also being attended by university experts n.g.o.s and government representatives. the forum aims to support south america's indigenous communities and both of their rights that includes the right to being heard about any plans for projects that affect their lives. more than a 1000 delegates are attending a forum. you can look at but this is a corporate responsibility that is not an option that here. juan carlos professor urges all communities to stand together to strengthen their autonomy and ward off mining and tourism projects. ek that complying with the rules of conduct also cannot be optional we're talking there about the right to be heard about corporate responsibility and the minimum standards of ethics that companies must abide by his

idea. that he had to once this information to reach a wide audience that. is. all the more. in the offices of the ngo gaia he meets mark over last kess a lawyer specialized in international corporate law and human rights. a company can't just say the colombian state which we were going to help build schools and other things owes a $16500000000.00 in the year to do it makes all their plans look like just an excuse to get rich from the outset it was probably on the basis of our partners is that no one can verify their say they can't put a price tag on their assumed profits because they simply don't know what those profits would have been but. they use consumers can not go on a risky they know very well then never get $16500000000.00. i just put that some

out there and then wait and see how much they can get out of it because a good opening business this year is the opposite would have been the lead in so i would suggest the following is that we need to present information at the arbitration that neither the company nor the colombian state can provide a list of you're going to be victim. of alaska is alarmed by the lawsuits brought against his country by foreign companies he's published numerous articles and this writing a book on the subject. in toronto he meets up with his former p.h.d. supervisor gus van heartened to discuss the upcoming proceedings. just one hearten as an expert on international investment law and a prominent critic of the system of investor state dispute settlement he's been warning of its dangers 50 years. ago in fact the last weeks have been like

a roller coaster in colombia and in these claim. the one i wanted to talk to you about the one there is a process go yet of ignoring case yes 16 belittle us i would say 20 percent of colombia's national public budget it was quite surprising because public authorities were saying that the agreements negotiated were positive for the current 3 and that foreign investors would never start a claim in the contrary in these very moment but this is what happened at the end why is that colombian law is not good enough for these foreign investors it is not the case that colombia has a weak date or ships were trying to solve our problems we're trying to become a more stable country and we have the means to do it but with these type of cases all our efforts to reach durable peace. put into question if it's not the 1st

country to be surprised by a foreign investor claims these treaties are like a ticking time bomb for taxpayer sooner or later they so there's not a lot of public discussion of these cases and no i don't like weiss i have a column in the newspaper and i try to open the bait but the only thing i got from them was a. permanent ignorance that's because it's embarrassing to the trade department to see these treaties that they negotiated being used against the country if you're a foreign investor and you want leverage against the government of course you would have an interest in many cases to keep it all confidential because if you keep it confidential and the government keeps a confidential then they can do deals and i very much appreciate the research

you're doing in colombia because we need people like you in countries all over the world to understand how the system is being implemented not just in the arbitration documents but in the back story. october 2016 europeans take to the streets to protest the lack of transparency in proposed international agreements specifically teach it the free trade and investment agreement between europe and the u.s. and see said the comprehensive economic and trade agreement between the e.u. and canada both to ease into provisions for investment operation critics say the secrecy of the operation system is a threat to democracies everywhere. i've negotiated in good faith we've always said that we're not against a treaty with canada but we don't want to pride. dog

a tradition under any circumstances we believe such disputes between companies and countries must be settled in public courts in the public interest the leader of belgium small region of wallonia small pertaining mainly to its geographic size is singlehandedly blocking the signing of the e.u.'s free trade deal with canada a region with 3500000 inhabitants stonewalling an agreement that affects 500000000 europeans a small european region standing its ground against the big e.u. . in the interest of attracting foreign investors europe has agreed to include a provision in the treaty sanctioning the mechanism of investor state dispute settlement or i.s.t.'s. the building block of this mechanism is the assumption that it deters governments from passing laws that could trigger investor lawsuits. if a country privatizers a company that has

a clear case of expropriation and warrants compensation. but if a state raises the minimum wage bans genetically modified organisms and a crime disruptors it's making decisions that can harm the value of a company's investments. that is viewed as indirect expropriation because the company stands to lose profits reason enough to file a suit against the country concerned and a private arbitration tribunal. remember that donald is suing florence i was the city's refusal to allow to open an outlet on piazza that ormal summit on also sued the city of florence for damages again for investment that hasn't even been made yet brown obviously smoking about. that are rangers. having the term indirect expropriation written into cease and most other trade deals opens

a pandora's box. it paves the way for corporate litigation against government decisions that even only potentially limit foreign investor profits international arbitration tribunals are weapons used to subvert democratic decision making. i describe these trade agreements as particle accelerators there are a certain mechanisms of globalization and ultra liberalization. and who benefits from these mechanisms the big winners are the multinationals the big losers are the citizens and the environment steve is the senses are getting arbitration proceedings that allow investors to sue is a great risk. so this is good government out of passing legislation in the public interest. let's say there are plans to pass you legislation banning integral and disrupt is an investor could threaten estates out you're welcome to pass these laws but we will file

a lawsuit against them because for us they'll result in a loss of profits because we use these substances in our products. such threats will be a deterrent to european law makers. and that will lead to an erosion of consumer protection in europe. any decision makers will balk at taking certain action out of fear of being sanction on balance is already skewed between very powerful corporations and we can states and that asymmetry will only become more exacerbated . there on the brink of a massive expansion of the war 2. so what happens when we introduce a couple of new treaties like some of the other big one is the trans-pacific. promoters of bias. like to say well we already have 2 or 3000 of these trainees

what's a couple or. the teeth that combined with the seat in the p.p. takes us yes from still having a minority role in the world to becoming an established global institution widely foreign investors have their most powerful rights at the international level of any private party in the world most people think about trade they think about goods and services being exchanged between countries and the investment component the investment chopped or of a trade agreement is about something very different is about establishing a special system of international protection for foreign assets it's like creating a new core for the world that protects only the property rights of 4 and the foreigners are of course very easily in effect very big

companies or very wealthy individuals. whose position is shared by and large community worldwide lawyers know make use n.g.o.s the old movement of the danger these agreements and opera tracing tribunals potence to citizens around the world. new people if you see the advocates it's different solutions if an investor feels unfairly hummed which can happen they should have access to a state cool even before it is in a basic this is and to balance the financial and economic interests of the investor against the general interests of the public who are directly affected by state regulation sticky but it's essential to maintain this balance of power and the. investment up a trace in proceedings launched corporations can assert their will for the most part in utmost secrecy. the secrecy not only obscures the process from the public

it's the very foundation of this parallel justice system that forces states to agree to settlements and waivers detrimental to the interests of the public and the environment. to take this case in europe and 2009 the swedish energy giant what in fact one of europe's largest energy producers filed a lawsuit against germany over a dispute with the city of hamburg the case was kept under wraps for years until it was on earth by marcus create an expert in international law at the university of new and back. every tradition or secret because no progress the parties from negotiating or anything and then in the public hearing they will say whatever they will say but the real negotiations will take place outside. in 2007 hamburg granted vattenfall

a temporary permit to operate the new more bore coal fired power plant after municipal elections the following year the greens entered government and under pressure from residents and environmental groups imposed strict conditions on operating the plant these regulations aim to limit the plant's use of river water and its impact on fish to get a permanent license fucking fall would have to comply with these new measures. but not reaction it immediately sort of attrition seeking 1400000000 euros in damages. so you're making a claim to the public official saying your decision not to grant this permit will cost the taxpayer 1400000000 euros and that that's that's a that's something that public officials think very seriously the german government

. entered secret negotiations with vattenfall that lasted until 2011 to monday it was announced a deal had been reached. this is very important the only publicly available information is that they said that. end of the story. marcus k.f.c. has examined the tribunals decision in detail it refers to an opaque settlement which button file in the city of hamburg a set of reached beforehand a court. order. and so that's what i said well if they reached a settlement in front of the rest accord in front of them this is a piece of information that i can request and the federal government refused. but the city of hamburg sent it to. the city gave me a new permit which is less restrictive than the old that's the. button so i didn't want any button filed wanted

a change in the pump and that's what they got it's hard to believe but hundreds environmental agency headed by the greens lowered the environmental standards it previously imposed. i can just imagine the conversation that took place between the federal government of germany and the city of hamburg so the federal government said well look we signed this treaty we are bound by this internationally germany has international obligations and you have to fulfill them we can't you cannot be cannot break international law i mean this is also a powerful argument especially in democracies especially in countries like germany but all over the world so germany has also fallen into the trap laid by arbitration clauses in treaties that itself has ratified and bound to blackmail from corporations. that settlement with vattenfall was signed in secrecy on march the 11th 2011. that same day

a devastating earthquake rocked japan. she manipulators us to shock the world and profoundly change policy and berlin shield by germany's 5 decade old and new clean movement a wave of protests and 450 cities underlined growing public opposition to nuclear power under pressure chancellor angela merkel made a decision the country's planned phase out of nuclear energy would be brought forward. to the markets night anything happens and then i intially the traumatic events in japan where turning point for the world and for me personally it. has

forced us to acknowledge that the risks of nuclear energy cannot be mastered safely not even in a high tech country such as japan. anyone who acknowledges the situation needs to reassess it and draw the necessary conclusions focus shima changed my attitude toward nuclear energy germany will cease using nuclear energy by 2022 it's like being in the thank. the chancellor's decision to exit nuclear power was written into law 4 months later the bundestag overwhelmingly backed the 15th amendment of the nuclear power act. soon after germany's 7 oldest nuclear reactors were shut down they included that poem spittle and conall plants both operated by the swedish utility vattenfall.

back in fall responded by filing a complaint against the legislation at the constitutional court and cost germany's highest court of civil and criminal jurisdiction. as a foreign investor it also had the option of bringing germany to international arbitration. the company had successfully taken this route before why not try again in may 2012 it submitted a separate claim against germany's nuclear phaseout this one at the u.s. based international center for settlement of investment disputes the i c s id proceedings and as purely european case were held in washington well good morning listening to them i overhear wristy arbitration hearing dikshit case number they are being slashed 12 flash 12. in a matter between one button for a b. claimants and the federal republic of germany as respondents. the presiding

arbitrator was up again for the swedish attorney cuyahoga represented the claimant vattenfall and subpoena connor represented the federal repub. have germany. gotten thoughts clane 4700000000 euros in damages as a consequence of the 13th amendment claimants lost their production licenses for the criminal plant and for good and grimsby to plant they were simply withdraw. to dispute does not concern germany's right as such to face up nuclear energy rather this dispute concerns the manner in which germany has chosen to implemented stay so decision and its failure to prop to protect claims investments in particular concerns germany's failure to pay any compensation at all. the heart and so most investor protection treaties is to provide protection against expropriation

. the difficulty however when we talk about indirect expropriation is to draw the line between expropriation on the one and legitimate governmental measures on the other. and there is no easy way to draw this line to make this distinction. so of course one could say that the protection that investors enjoy under the treaty is could influence how and what the state regolith its. is. that yes yet.

calling all women what do you think why do we often are less than men and why are we less likely to be promoted and why are we more at risk of poverty in old age is it the same worldwide or are there places where women are the higher earners

closing the gender pay gap more money for women. made in germany 30 minutes on t w. to the conflict zone with tim sebastian coe says in the european parliament elections have shaken off the continent's politics my guest this week here in stucco goes through to tom and me feet on a maria corrupts a bill to subsume so recently on the family told me european peoples posse what did she on the party do wrong conflict so few minutes on the for. climate bergland the global tourist guides on germany's main capital i love berlin the full scope of the multicultural metropolis in our duramax series the band got

out of bed in the sun like stars to me i love feet and want to show what today certainly looked like. so it's like me to say 15 nations 50 story and 50 very personal tips on berlin's very best. every week on t.w. . several people have been confirmed dead and at least 16 are missing after a boat sank on the river danube in downtown budapest hungary the sightseeing boat which was carrying $32.00 passengers and 2 crew members collided with another vessel rescuers are now searching for those missing. israel's parliament voted

early on thursday morning to hold new elections only a few months after the last elections in april prime minister binyamin netanyahu has consistently failed to for.