Congress urges Pressure on Colombian Vice President over trade union killings in Colombia
23 Mar 2004
On the occasion of the visit of the Vice President of Colombia, Francisco Santos, who is to address the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs today in the Dail, Congress once again urges the Colombian Government urges to resolve the shocking degree of impunity of murderers of trade unionists. Since 1991, over 3000 trade unionists have been killed in Colombia and these disturbing statistics are compounded by the fact that perpetrators have been sentenced in only 2 of these cases. The remaining 2998 murder cases are still unsolved; the criminals remain shrouded in impunity.
Undoubtedly, Vice President Santos will try to convince those he meets that his government is improving his country's appalling human rights record and will argue that human rights violations have declined. The situation on the ground, though, does not sustain his case. The paramilitary groups no longer massacre wholesale, but this appears to be little more than a change of tactic: now they kill one by one. If kidnappings by guerrillas have declined, forced disappearances at the hands of paramilitaries have increased. Under President Uribe's "democratic security" there have been waves of mass detentions of trade union activists and leaders of civil organisations, men and women pointed out by hooded paid informers as "guerrilla sympathisers". Others - peasant leaders, teachers and health workers - have simply been killed or driven into internal exile. While Uribe claims that his fight is with the Farc, the majority of the victims have been civilians.
Congress calls on the Colombian government to begin respecting human rights and to fully implement the recommendations made by the United Nations and International Labor Organisation and assures the Vice President that the entire international trade union movement will continue to pressure the Colombian government to respect internationally guaranteed trade union rights, first and foremost, a trade unionists' right to carry out their activities without fear of intimidation or murder.
David Begg, Congress General Secretary said: "Congress and Global Unions will continue to use all available means to bring those responsible for these murders to justice and in doing so would make full use of international legal procedures available under the constitution of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). An ILO Commission of Inquiry would help to bring out the truth, and make a major contribution to bringing an end to the anti-union reign of terror in Colombia. We sincerely regret that EC governments, and the employer delegates at last year's International Labour Conference in June 2003, did not support this position as taken by the workers' group. This decision does not let the Colombian Government off the hook. The trade union movement will hold the Government to the pledge it made to the ILO to end the reign of impunity for those responsible for murder of and violence against trade unionists".
Congress calls on the Vice President of Colombia to strive to ensure that his government takes every possible step to ensure the safety and physical integrity of all trade union and social leaders who have received death threats.
ENDS