by René Lavanchy
Colombian left-wing campaigners have accused the European Commission of seeking to “absolve” Colombian President Alvaro Uribe of his country’s human rights record as they met trade commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and members of the European Parliament this week.
The campaigners, led by pressure group Justice for Colombia, are hoping to persuade MEPs to vote against plans to grant Colombia a new free trade agreement.
Opponents of the “GSP plus” agreement say that it does not contain meaningful guarantees of human rights, and complain that the number of trade unionists killed in Colombia rose by a quarter last year.
JFC secretary Liam Craig-Best, who travelled with the delegation, said: “They’re talking about clauses that the Colombians will have to respect human rights. They seem absolutely unable to give any definition of what the Colombian government have to do in order to trigger some sort of sanction.” 49 trade unionists were killed in Colombia in 2008, and JFC says killers enjoy an impunity rate of 95 per cent.
The centre-right European People’s Party, the largest group in the parliament, is expected to vote for the free trade deal. The Socialists and Democrats, the liberal group and the Greens all oppose it.
Colombian Senator Jorge Robledo noted that the US and Colombian parliaments have blocked such agreements, adding: “It would be very grave if the EU absolved Uribe in human rights when neither the US nor Canada absolve him. Does Europe put commerce before human rights?”
