Where trade unionists start their day on the net.
Preliminary figures sent to Justice for Colombia by the National Trade Union School, a European Union funded research institution based in the city of Medellin in Colombia, record a total of 94 trade unionists who were assassinated in Colombia during last year.
This disgraceful figure is all the more concerning as it represents an increase on the 90 trade unionists that both the National Trade Union School and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) registered as killed in 2003.
The National Trade Union School has also reported an increase in forced ‘disappearances’ and arbitrary detentions of trade unionists.
This deterioration of the situation is in direct contrast to the claims made by the Colombian government and their supporters that human rights abuses against trade union members are declining.
We urge people to send urgent messages of protest to the Colombian authorities at the following addresses:
President Alvaro Uribe Velez ppdh@presidencia.gov.co
Vice President Francisco Santos fsantos@presidencia.gov.co
If you are based in the UK please also protest to the Colombian Ambassador Alfonso Lopez Caballero at mail@colombianembassy.co.uk Alternatively please protest to the Colombian Embassy in your own country.
Texts appearing here are often press releases sent to us by unions and other organizations which do not appear elsewhere on the web. LabourStart takes no responsibility for their content.