SOLIDAR Awards Colombian Trade Unionists with Silver Rose Award

4 February 2010, Brussels - SOLIDAR awards Silver Rose Award amidst political controversy of the EU's intention to complete a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia in May. The Award recognises the work done by the three Trade Unions in their continuing struggle for workers' rights in the country at this crucial time.
"Awarding the Colombian government with an FTA will not improve the serious and systematic violations of human and trade union rights in the country, but will instead legitimise it. The ratification of similar treaties with Canada, the United States and the EFTA group of countries have all been suspended due to human rights concerns. For the EU to unilaterally press ahead with such an agreement is therefore out of step with international consensus on the issue," said Mr. Percy Oyola Paloma, Deputy Secretary General of the CGT.

Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world to be active in trade unions. In 2008, 49 trade unionists were murdered, a 25% increase from the year before¹. This directly contradicts the claims of improvements made by the regime. Additionally, thousands of human rights lawyers, journalists, students, indigenous activists and members of the political opposition, have been forcibly disappeared, with torture, death and imprisonment a daily occurrence. Today, 3.6 million Colombians are considered internally displaced people, making it the country with the second highest displaced population in the world.

"The Colombian government has been consistently trying to discredit those who express opposition to the regime. Their latest ploy has been to send unrepresentative trade unions to the European Union to speak about the so called advances made by the Government in the field of human rights and in their fight against impunity and how the FTA is going to benefit Colombian workers. We're appalled by this strategy which does not legitimately represent the real aspirations of Colombian workers. If the international community does not take proper action now, trade unionists in Colombia will continue to die and those responsible for so much violence will continue to enjoy absolute impunity", said Mr. Jorge Enrique Gamboa Caballero, Director of Natural Resources and Environment from CUT.

"Some people argue that a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Colombia will give the EU a lever to put pressure on Colombia to clean up their act. What they do not know is that the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+) regime already applies to Colombia. This requires adherence to key UN and ILO human rights conventions and the EC can in theory suspend the preferences if these conventions are not adhered to. And despite reports from trade unions, the UN and the ILO, the EU has refused to do so", said Mr. Luis Miguel Morantes Alfonso, President of the CTC.

"Reports show that the situation in Colombia is just getting worse. The EU claims to put human rights and development at the core of its external policies. Now, with a single external policy voice, the European External Action Service, this is the first true test of their commitment to human rights in external policies. By awarding the Colombian trade unions with this SOLIDAR Silver Rose Award, we hope to raise awareness of this issue, amid mounting opposition from civil society and trade unions worldwide to this trade agreement", concluded Conny Reuter, Secretary General of SOLIDAR.