Opposition to free trade deals with Colombia grew around the world last week, as legislators called the Colombian government to account over the continuing violence against trade unionists.
European Union trade commissioner Catherine Ashton came under fire from MEPs in left and right groups as she insisted the EU would continue negotiating with Colombia over their own deal, despite a 25 per cent increase in trade unionist deaths last year.
The move came as the chair of the United States’ congressional committee on labour warned that “certain aspects of the labour situation in Colombia have only gotten worse”, in response to a consultation on the US’ still-pending free trade agreement.
Meanwhile, Canada’s ruling Conservatives have delayed a parliamentary bill that would have seen MPs vote on a free trade agreement, reportedly after failing to gather enough cross-party support.
At least 29 trade unionists have been killed so far this year, according to the latest figures. 49 were recorded killed in 2008 and 39 in 2007. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s government was accused of being “complicit in the violence” by a TUC congress motion passed last week.
In a debate in Strasbourg last Tuesday, Irish MEP Jim Higgins called on the commission to suspend negotiations: “I am at a loss to understand why the European Union, which prides itself on being the champion of human rights in the world, should even contemplate a trade agreement with a regime like that of Colombia.”
“It has been proven in the past that the way to get the message across is to hurt these countries economically,” he added. Labour MEP David Martin said that the commission needed guarantees from Colombia that “trade unionists, human rights activists and others can go about their business safely”.
Ms Ashton replied: “I am not convinced that suspending negotiations will achieve what both honourable members would wish to achieve”, but said she was monitoring the human rights situation “very closely”.
In the US, the Obama administration is moving closer to a final decision on the free trade agreement with Colombia drawn up under President Bush but not yet in force.
At the end of a public consultation last week, George Miller, chair of the congressional education and labour committee, wrote to US trade representative Ronald Kirk. “The government of Colombia must still do more to create an effective, sustainable and transparent system of justice… I have held a February 2009 hearing of the committee and heard compelling testimony that certain aspects of the labour situation have only got worse”, he said.
