News

Human rights violations in Colombia continue to cause alarm internationally. Yesterday the regional secretaries of the global union federations sent a letter to Colombian president, Iván Duque, expressing their concern for the killings and death threats that continue escalating and with an alarming level of impunity.

They also stated that Colombia's entry into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development "will demand even more compliance with national and international regulations to protect the human rights of its population", something that is not currently being fulfilled.

On the other hand, the Colombian Government with some sectors of society signed in Apartadó, Colombia, the "Pact for life and protection of social leaders and human rights defenders". The purpose of the agreement is to confront the situation of stigmatization, persecution and murder of social leaders and human rights defenders, press for public policies of prevention and protection, and that the State comply with the commitments assumed in terms of security, fight against impunity, reparation and justice.

Marcio Monzane, Regional Secretary of UNI Americas, expressed the importance of real participation by all social groups involved: "For us it is essential that all players have a voice in this process, hear firsthand the voice of the victims".

"We will continue to insist together with other international organizations and our affiliates in Colombia to put an end to impunity and to truly respect human rights throughout the Colombian territory," he concluded.

On August 29, the opposition in Colombia will hold a debate to publicly discuss threats to social and union leaders, and UNI Americas affiliates in the country will be attending.