Colombia Convicts Few Killers of Murdered Union Members

Colombia Convicts Few Killers of Murdered Union Members

by James Parks, Oct 5, 2007, http://blog.aflcio.org

A Colombian worker in Bogata protests the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

UPDATE: The United Steelworkers (USW) shared with us today a letter USW President Leo Gerard sent to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe urging "all actions necessary" to protect the lives of the members of one of the country's major trade unions, its leaders and their families. Gerard expressed grave concern for the lives of several members of the SINAL TRAINAL union in Colombia after they received threats written by a paramilitary group, who said they would "bury the union members and their families in a mass grave on Christmas Day if they do not cease their union activities and leave the area."

We reported that working families and members of Congress have made it clear there will be no free trade agreement with Colombia until that country makes significant progress toward ending violence against trade unionists. Colombia also must honor internationally recognized human and workers' rights and prosecute high-ranking officials who are connected with murderous paramilitary groups, they say.

Now comes a report that demonstrates just how little the government of President Alvaro Uribe is doing to bring to justice those committing the murders. An analysis by the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project (USLEAP) shows convictions in only three trade union murder cases in the first half of 2007. Of the 236 murders of union members that occurred between 2004 and 2006, the government has secured convictions in only five cases. Nearly 400 trade unionists have been murdered since Uribe's inauguration in August 2002. To read the entire report, click here.

The analysis is based on information provided by the Colombian government. USLEAP Executive Director Stephen Coats says:

The Uribe administration's failure to rectify the situation of impunity is symptomatic of a profound disrespect for trade union rights in Colombia. It would be an embarrassment to even consider a vote on a free trade agreement with a country with such unparalleled levels of violence against workers and impunity for the killers.

Last week, the International Trade Union Confederation  (ITUC), in its annual report on violence against union members, reported that Colombia remains the most dangerous place in the world to be a union member, with 78 killings. Of the 1,165 documented murders of Colombian trade union members between 1994 and 2006, only 56 perpetrators have been brought to trial, and just 14 have been sentenced. Click here to read the full ITUC report.

After meeting with Uribe in May, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said he delivered the message that the federation is strongly opposed to a trade agreement at this time.

Colombia's atrocious human rights record sets it apart from the rest of the world. There is no labor language that could be inserted into the U.S.-Colombia FTA that could adequately address the extraordinary—and unpunished—violence confronting trade unionists in that country.

No labor chapter, no matter how well crafted, will be sufficient to reduce, much less end, the incidence of the most extreme and deadly violations of the right to free association and collective bargaining. And no trade agreement with Colombia should be considered until the country meets an established set of human rights benchmarks.

According to the AFL-CIO statement, those benchmarks for Colombia should include:

• Severing all ties with paramilitary organizations and international criminal networks.
• Making significant advances in investigating and prosecuting crimes against trade unionists.
• Providing protection for unions and trade unionists.
• Bringing Colombia's labor laws into conformity with International Labor Organization (ILO) standards.
• Supporting the ILO office in Colombia to monitor labor rights compliance and investigate key cases of assassinations of trade unionists.