From: Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tue, 1 May 2001 10:46:32 -0500 (CDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: AI: Press Release - Colombian Labor
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Tuesday, 1 May 2001
Mayday for trade unionists
--------------------------
With at least 112 trade unionists killed in 2000 and 35 in the first three
months of 2001, international labour day will not be a day of celebration
in Colombia, Amnesty International said today.
Trade union members and activists are among the main targets of human
rights violations - including killings, "disappearances", threats and
intimidation - in the context of the spiralling armed conflict in
Colombia. Army-backed paramilitary groups are responsible for most attacks
against trade unionists, although guerrilla groups have also targeted
activists they believe to be collaborating with the security or
paramilitary forces.
"Inaction by the authorities in the face of this crisis has led to a
dramatic escalation in violations against trade unionists," Amnesty
International said, noting that four times as many trade unionists were
killed in the first three months of 2001 as in the same period last year.
"Measures adopted so far to guarantee the security of trade unionists
through government protection programs are clearly insufficient and
half-hearted," the organization added.
"What the authorities have shown is a clear lack of political will to
tackle the problem at the roots, dismantling paramilitary groups and
bringing to justice all those responsible for attacks on trade unionists."
This failure to act is made even more disturbing by evidence, uncovered by
judicial investigations, linking state agents to cases of human rights
violations against trade unionists. One example of this was the attempted
murder of trade union leader Wilson Borja Diaz in December 2000, in which
several active and retired military and police officers were found to be
implicated. Immediately after the attack, national paramilitary leader
Carlos Castano admitted responsibility for it.
"As the world celebrates the struggle and achievements of workers and
trade unions, we renew our call on the Colombian authorities to show they
take the protection of trade unionists' human rights seriously," Amnesty
International said.
Measures that authorities should take immediately include providing
adequate resources for protection programs; disbanding paramilitary groups
and severing their ties with state agents; investigating fully and
impartially all cases of human rights violations against trade unionists
and bringing those responsible to justice.
The need to combat impunity and take "action against those who are the
source of risks, especially the paramilitary groups" as a fundamental step
to protect and guarantee the rights of all, and in particular those of
human rights defenders and trade unionists, was also reiterated by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in her report on
Colombia recently presented at the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Background
In the first three months of 2001, 300 trade union members have reportedly
asked the Colombian Government for help in leaving the country. The
president of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia, (CUT),
Colombian Trade Union Congress, Luis Eduardo Garzon was quoted in AFP on
20 April 2001 condemning the low rate of arrests in cases of killings and
attempted killings of trade unionists. He reportedly told AFP that since
1987, 3100 trade union leaders had been killed and only the case of the
failed attempt on the life of Wilson Borja was being investigated.
Measures to guarantee the security of trade unionists would be in line
with ILO standards and repeated recommendations made by the United
Nations. The March 2001 report of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights' Office on Colombia concludes that the state has not decisively
assumed its responsibility to guarantee the safety of trade unions and
other sectors particularly at risk.
The Colombian government has taken some steps to guarantee the security of
trade unionists particularly through its Programa de Proteccion a Testigos
y Personas Amenazadas, Protection Program for Witnesses and Threatened
Persons, which is administered by the Ministry of the Interior. Through
this programme security service bodyguards have been provided to some
threatened trade unionists and others have been assisted to leave the
country. The program, however, does not have sufficient resources.
The proposal, during the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June
2000, to create an ILO investigation mission for Colombia to investigate
and monitor the human rights situation facing trade unionists, was blocked
by the Colombian government.
The ILC decided instead to appoint a Special Representative for
cooperation with Colombia to assist in and verify the actions taken by the
government and by employers and workers unions to implement ILO
Recommendations. Amnesty International believes that a Commission of
Inquiry to investigate the widespread and systematic attacks against trade
unionists in Colombia should be agreed by the ILC.
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