Letter on the violation of human rights in Latin American banana producing countries

EU-LAT Network we echo the open letter to the Latin American governments and the European Union, co-signed by various trade union, environmental, health rights, human rights, and academic organizations, on the use of agro-toxins in the industrial cultivation of bananas for European export.

We would like to highlight our concern about the fact that industrial banana cultivation exported from Latin American countries has high levels of pesticides, which not only affect consumers in Europe but is also violating human rights in producer countries; especially the rights of banana workers and rural populations living near plantations.

Consequently, the EU-LAT Network urges the EU to maintain the highest existing standards of environmental assessment and public health and not to give in to private sector pressure to reduce maximum residue levels (MRLs) of pesticides in imported agricultural products (applicable from 31 January 2020) We also recall that the promotion and prevention of human and environmental rights and trade union freedom in the partner countries is a commitment of the European Union and must be a fundamental pillar of trade relations between the two regions.