Violence Against Colombian Trade Unionists

March 22 Update.   Take Action Now.  Workers reported this week that plain clothes security guards, employed by the company, have boarded buses that carry workers to the plantation, and with guns in hand, have threatened to kill workers if they support the union and join a peaceful protest that started on March 6.  Fired union workers are engaging in the protest; the threat of violence forced t

Recent attacks on a top union leader in Colombia as well as Afro-Colombians and other human rights defenders prompted the U.S. embassy in Bogota to issue a press statement today condemning the violence.  

USLEAP has released a new report on the Colombian government’s 2012 compliance with a Labor Action Plan signed by both governments in April 2011.  The report is a comparative assessment that integrates analyses from the U.S. and Colombian governments, unions, and NGOs. 

On December 11, a day after International Human Rights Day, the Colombian Congress approved a controversial measure that is expected to move jurisdiction over most human rights crimes (including murders of trade unionists) committed by military forces from civilian courts to military tribunals.

January 31, 2013 Update:  Hunger strike lifted.   See the Asotrecol website for an update. 

An International Day of Action is being organized by Witness for Peace and others for Monday, September 17, in support of the Colombian workers on a hunger strike demanding justice from General Motors.  Join an action or organize your own; the health of the workers is deteriorating.   September 22 Update:  Following the International Day of Action, the General Motors workers in Colombia suspended their hunger strike to show their "commitment to a definitive solution to our demands, and to d