by René Lavanchy
COLOMBIA’S record on human and labour rights is set to come under scrutiny as Brussels prepares to consider extending a preferential trade agreement with the country.
This October, the European Commission will review the status of countries benefiting from its favourable tariff scheme. Colombia’s EU representatives told Tribune they “don’t foresee any problem” with remaining in the system.
But a campaign launched this summer says the Colombian government is failing to uphold international conventions on human rights and the right to organise – which EU trade law requires them to do – by allowing abuses such as child labour and the murder of trade unionists to go unpunished.
A letter to EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, which supporters are being asked to sign, says: “You have clearly stated in the past that you pay close attention to the issue of compliance by countries in return for European trade preferences. I can only assume that includes Colombia which carries the inglorious epithet of being the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists.”
Alison Clark, who is leading the campaign to strip Colombia of its trading status, said: “It’s a gross violation. We’re looking at thousands of people being killed and the numbers of people being convicted you can count on the fingers of one hand.”
The European regulation on generalised tariff preferences, under which Colombia was awarded favourable trading status in 2005, demands that member countries must sign up to and implement over 20 different agreements, including the International Labour Organisation’s conventions on child labour, the right to organise and the right to collective bargaining.
But Ms Clark, who visited Colombia on a fact-finding mission last month, says such rights do not exist in practice: “If you’re a teacher, a member of a public service, you’re not allowed to go on strike. ‘Essential services’ covers a vast range. People who work for oil companies are not allowed to go on strike.”
The US State Department reported in its 2007 country human rights report that two million children are estimated to be working illegally in Colombia. It also said that “traditional anti-union attitudes and violence against trade union leaders made organizing difficult”.
A senior official at Colombia’s embassy to the EU, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Of course, we’re aware that some NGOs are very critical of the situation in Colombia but we’re making a lot of efforts… The statistics on violence are coming down.”
He added that Colombia had not yet ratified an environmental law, which the trade agreement also requires, but that “frankly, we don’t foresee any problem on the rest of the conventions”.
