ILO-en-strap
NORMLEX
Information System on International Labour Standards

Interim Report - Report No 331, June 2003

Case No 1787 (Colombia) - Complaint date: 28-JUN-94 - Follow-up

Display in: French - Spanish

Go to:

Allegations: The complainant organizations allege murders, abductions, assaults, death threats and other acts of violence against trade union officials and members. The complainant organizations also allege that the Government is not adopting the necessary measures to put an end to this serious situation of impunity.
  1. 212. The Committee last examined this case at its March 2003 meeting [see 330th Report, paras. 468-506]. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) sent new allegations in communications dated 27 February and 11 March 2003, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), in communications dated 27 January, 3 and 27 February, 15 March and 10 April 2003. The Colombian Federation of Teachers (FECODE) sent new allegations in a communication dated 27 March 2003. The Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), the General Confederation of Democratic Workers (CGTD) and the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC) sent a joint communication dated 28 March 2003.
  2. 213. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 29 April and 2 May 2003.
  3. 214. Colombia has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

A. Previous examination of the case
  1. 215. At its March 2003 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations on the allegations that were still pending which, for the most part, referred to acts of violence against trade union members and acts of anti-union discrimination [see 330th Report, para. 506]:
  2. (a) observing the comprehensive nature of the Government’s response, as well as the fact that the climate of violence affects all sectors of society, the Committee nevertheless notes with the utmost concern the extreme gravity of the complaints and regrets that it is bound to observe that, since the last examination of the case, there have been complaints of 11 murders, two abductions, one attempted murder and 15 threats. Once again, the Committee reiterates that freedom of association can only be exercised in conditions in which fundamental human rights and, in particular those relating to human life and personal safety, are fully respected and guaranteed;
  3. (b) the Committee once again urges the Government to do everything in its power to achieve verifiable results in dismantling the paramilitary groups and other violent revolutionary groups;
  4. (c) the Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the investigations cover all the alleged acts of violence and to ensure that the investigations make significant progress with a view to punishing the guilty parties, and urges the Government to continue to send its observations on progress made in investigations already begun (Annex II) and to take measures to ensure that investigations are begun without delay into the other murders, abductions, disappearances, attempted murders and threats referred to in Annex I, as well as those mentioned in the section on “New allegations” in the present report;
  5. (d) the Committee requests the complainants to send the information necessary to clarify the trade union status of those victims who the Government claims do not possess such status;
  6. (e) the Committee requests the Government to continue to increase the protection of all trade unionists who are at risk and to keep it informed of the development of the protection programme;
  7. (f) the Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of the evolution of the “Working Plan of the Inter-Institutional Committee for the Prevention of Violations and the Protection of Workers’ Human Rights”;
  8. (g) with respect to the allegations by the ICFTU on threats against and detention of many trade union officials for taking part in the strike on 16 September 2002, the Committee urges the Government to take measures to investigate these complaints without delay and, if it is found that the detentions were for legitimate trade union activities, that those concerned should immediately be released if they are still in detention. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect;
  9. (h) the Committee deplores that the Government did not implement its previous recommendations with respect to impunity. In order to combat impunity more effectively and address the causes of acts of violence against trade unions adequately, the Committee requests the Government to inform it of the intensity of acts of violence against trade unionists in each industrial sector and each region;
  10. (i) as concerns the recent communication of the ICFTU dated 3 February 2003, the Committee requests the Government to send its observations on the matters raised therein without delay;
  11. (j) with regard to the question of the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission, the Committee recalls the recommendation made at its November 2002 session.
  12. B. New allegations
  13. 216. The complainants presented the following allegations.
  14. Murders
  15. (1) Darwin Salcedo, member of ADUCESAR, on 28 January 2000, in the Department of César;
  16. (2) Carlos Julio Vega Ríos, member of ADUCESAR, on 5 March 2000;
  17. (3) Florentino Suárez Betancourt, member of ADIH, on 7 May 2000, in the Department of Antioquia;
  18. (4) Jesús Antonio Posada Marín, member of ADIDA, on 11 May 2000;
  19. (5) Nelson Romero Romero, member of ADEM, on 7 June 2000;
  20. (6) Reynaldo Mora Gómez, member of SIMATOL, on 14 June 2000, in San Antonio, Department of Tolima;
  21. (7) Hernando Portillo Moreno, member of ASINORT, on 17 June 2000, in Ocaña, Department of North Santander;
  22. (8) María Meza Pabón, member of EDUMAG, in 11 August 2000, in Pivijay, Department of Magdalena;
  23. (9) Luis Angel Ramos Mesa, member of ADIDA, on 27 October 2000, in Granada, Antioquia;
  24. (10) José Orlando López Gil, member of ADIDA, on 3 November 2000 in Guatape, Antioquia;
  25. (11) Edilberto Arce Mosquera, member of ADIDA, on 11 November 2000, in Yarumal, Department of Antioquia;
  26. (12) Javier Aníbal Amaya Quiceno, member of ADIDA, on 11 November 2000, in San Rafael, Antioquia;
  27. (13) Jairo Germán Delgado Ordóñez, member of SIMANA, on 13 November 2000, in Linares, Department of Nariño;
  28. (14) Dionila Vitonas Chilueso, member of SUTEV, on 8 December 2000, in Florida, Department of Valle;
  29. (15) Alirio Vargas Sepúlveda, member of FECODE, on 23 March 2001, in the Department of Antioquia;
  30. (16) Faustino Antonio Barrios Barrios, member of ADEA, on 18 January 2002, in Malambo, Department of Atlántico;
  31. (17) Gabriel Enrique Quintana Ortiz, member of SUDEB, on 25 January 2002, in San Estanislao, Department of Bolívar;
  32. (18) Carlos Miguel Padilla Ruiz, member of EDUMAG, on 29 January 2002, in Plato, Department of Magdalena;
  33. (19) Avila Castaño Nelly, member of AICA, on 1 February 2002, in Milán, Department of Caquetá;
  34. (20) Marco Antonio Salazar, member of SIMANA, on 7 February 2002, in the Department of Nariño;
  35. (21) Mauricio Angarita, member of ASINORT, on 11 February 2002, in Cúcuta, North Santander;
  36. (22) Cristina Echeverri Pérez, member of EDUCAL, on 15 February 2002, in Manizales, Department of Caldas;
  37. (23) Francisco Sarmiento Yepes, member of ADES, on 16 February 2002, in Sincelejo, Department of Sucre;
  38. (24) Rubén Darío Campuzano, member of ADIDA, on 16 February 2002, in the Department of Antioquia;
  39. (25) Barquel Ríos Mena, member of ADIDA, on 18 February 2002, in San Carlos, Department of Antioquia;
  40. (26) Castaño Edison de Jesús, member of ADIDA, on 25 February 2002, in Medellín;
  41. (27) Wilfredo Quintero Amariles, member of ADIDA, on 25 February 2002, in Medellín;
  42. (28) Manuel Alberto Montanez Buitrago, member of ASINORT, on 25 February 2002, in El Tarra, Department of North Santander;
  43. (29) Vélez Correa Carlos Emilio, member of ADIDA, on 9 March 2002, in San Antonio de Prado, Antioquia;
  44. (30) José Orlando Céspedes García, member of ASEDAR, on 24 March 2002, in TAME, Department of Arauca;
  45. (31) Carlle Oscar, member of ADEM, on 29 March 2002, in Villavicencio, Department of Meta;
  46. (32) Salatiel Piñeros, member of ADEM, on 29 March 2002, in Villavicencio, Department of Meta;
  47. (33) Eddie Socorro Leal Barrera, member of ASINORT, on 31 March 2002, in Salazar, Department of North Santander;
  48. (34) Santiago Flor María, member of ASINORT, on 31 March 2002, in Tibu, Department of North Santander;
  49. (35) Freddy Armando Girón Burbano, member of ASOINCA, on 7 April 2002, in Patia, Department of Cauca;
  50. (36) Miguel Acosta García, member of EDUMAG, on 13 April 2002, in Aracataca, Department of Magdalena;
  51. (37) Heliodoro Sánchez Pena, member of ASINORT, on 19 April 2002, in Villa del Rosario, Department of North Santander;
  52. (38) Henry Rosero Gaviria, member of ASEP, on 22 April 2002, in Puerto Guzmán, Department of Putumayo;
  53. (39) Francisco Isaías Cifuentes Becoche, member of ASOINCA, on 26 April 2002, in Popayán, Department of Cauca;
  54. (40) Miguel Segura Cortés, member of ASEP, on 29 April 2002, in Puerto Guzmán, Department of Putumayo;
  55. (41) Jaen Blandón Vargas, member of ASEP, on 29 April 2002, in Puerto Guzmán, Department of Putumayo;
  56. (42) Bertulfo Borja Clavijo, member of ASEP, on 30 April 2002, in Puerto Guzmán, Department of Putumayo;
  57. (43) Jairo Betancur Rojas, member of AICA, on 30 April 2002, in Florencia, Department of Caquetá;
  58. (44) Enio Villanueva Rojas, member of AICA, on 1 May 2002, in El Paujil, Department of Caquetá;
  59. (45) Ledys Pertuz Moreno, member of EDUMAG, on 6 May 2002, in Pivijay, Department of Magdalena;
  60. (46) Antonio Acosta, member of ASEP, on 12 May 2002, in Puerto Asís, Department of Putumayo;
  61. (47) Fernando Olaya, member of ASEP, on 12 May 2002, in Puerto Asís, Department of Putumayo;
  62. (48) Díaz Adriana Patricia, member of SIMANA, on 11 June 2002, in Los Salzales, Department of Nariño;
  63. (49) Fabio Antonio Obando Aguirre, member of AICA, on 14 July 2002, in Florencia, Department of Caquetá;
  64. (50) Carlos Alberto Barragán Medina, member of ASEDAR, on 20 July 2002, in TAME, Department of Arauca;
  65. (51) Gómez Sepúlveda José Olegario, member of ASEDAR, on 21 July 2002, in Saravena, Department of Arauca;
  66. (52) Wilson Rodríguez Castillo, member of EDUMAG, on 25 July 2002, in Pivijay, Department of Magdalena;
  67. (53) Luis Eduardo Cataño, member of ASODEGUA, on 30 July 2002, in the Department of Guajira;
  68. (54) Ladislao Mendoza, member of ADUCESAR, on 30 July 2002, in San Juan del César, Department of César;
  69. (55) Jaime Lobato, member of EDUMAG, on 3 August 2002, in Pivijay, Department of Magdalena;
  70. (56) Ingrid Cantillo Fuentes, member of EDUMAG, on 7 August 2002, in Pedraza, Department of Magdalena;
  71. (57) Américo Benítez Rivas, member of ADEM, on 7 August 2002, in Vista Hermosa, Department of Meta;
  72. (58) Edison de Jesús Toro Gaviria, member of ADIDA, on 8 August 2002, in Ituango, Department of Antioquia;
  73. (59) Alvaro Poveda, member of ADEM, on 15 August 2002, in Vista Hermosa, Department of Meta;
  74. (60) Nicanor Sánchez, member of ADE, on 20 August 2002, in Vista Hermosa, Department of Meta;
  75. (61) Abigail Girón Campos, member of AICA, on 22 August 2002, in Puerto Asís, Department of Caquetá;
  76. (62) Guillermo Sanin Rinco, member of AICA, on 4 September, in Puerto Rico, Department of Caquetá;
  77. (63) Oscar de Jesús Payares, member of ADEA, on 6 September 2002, in Barranquilla, Department of Atlántico;
  78. (64) Vélez Arboleda Luis Eduardo, member of ADIDA, on 7 September 2002, in Caldas, Department of Antioquia;
  79. (65) Gema Lucía Jaramillo, member of ADIDA, on 9 September 2002, in San Andrés del Cuerca, Department of Antioquia;
  80. (66) Elmer de Avila Arias, member of ADEA, on 30 September 2002, in Barranquilla, Department of Atlántico;
  81. (67) Jorge Ariel Díaz Aristizábal, member of ADEM, on 13 October 2002, in Villavicencio, Department of Meta;
  82. (68) José del Carmen Cobos, member of ADEC, on 15 October 2002, in Bogotá;
  83. (69) Edgar Rodríguez Guaracas, member of ADEC, on 15 October 2002, in Bogotá;
  84. (70) Oscar David Polo Charris, member of EDUMAG, on 28 October 2002, in Pivijay, Department of Magdalena;
  85. (71) Yaneth Ibarguren, member of ADIDA, on 19 November 2002, in Cocoma, Antioquia;
  86. (72) José Lino Beltrán Sepúlveda, member of ASOINCA, on 20 November 2002, in Popayán, Department of Cauca;
  87. (73) Cecilia Gómez Córdoba, member of SIMANA on 20 November 2002, in El Talón de Gómez, Department of Nariño;
  88. (74) José Marcelino González, Rector of the Froilán Farías College of the Municipality of TAME, President of the College of Rectors and Directors (COLDIT), member of the Teachers’ Association of Arauca (ASEDAR-FECODE), on 13 January 2003;
  89. (75) Abelardo Barbosa Páez, member of FENSUAGRO, on 21 January 2003, in Santander;
  90. (76) Luis Eduardo Guzmán Alvarez, member of ADIDA, on 3 February 2003, in Antioquia;
  91. (77) Luz Mery Valencia, member of ASEP, on 13 February 2003, in Putumayo;
  92. (78) Maritza Ortega Serrano, member of ADUCESAR, on 19 February 2003, by hired assassins in the Department of César;
  93. (79) José Antonio Bohórquez Medina, member of FECODE-CUT, kidnapped on 20 February 2003 and found dead three days later in the Municipality of Alban;
  94. (80) Fredy Perilla Montoya, activist of SINTRAEMCALI, on 21 February 2003;
  95. (81) Rufino Maestre Gutiérrez, member of ADUCESAR, on 25 February 2003, by paramilitaries in the Department of César;
  96. (82) Jairo Echavez Quintero, member of ADUCESAR, on 27 February 2003, by paramilitaries in the Department of César;
  97. (83) Luis Alfonso Grisales Peláez, member of ASEDAR, on 7 March 2003, by paramilitaries in the Department of Arauca;
  98. (84) Soraya Patricia Díaz, member of SER on 12 March 2003, in Risaralda.
  99. Abductions and disappearances
  100. (1) Augusto de Jesús Palacio Restrepo, official of the Trade Union of Glass Industry Workers of Colombia (SINTRAVIDRICOL-CUT), on the road from Medellín to Bogotá, on 17 December 2002.
  101. Detentions
  102. (1) Nicodemo Luna, official of the Petroleum Industry Workers’ Trade Union (USO), detained on 18 December 2002, tortured and later transferred to Military Brigade No. 3 of Cali;
  103. (2) Hernando Hernández, Secretary of International Affairs at USO and former Vice?President of the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT). The Human Rights Unit of the Attorney-General’s Office opened File No. 1127B for which it has had to attend depositions on a number of occasions, accused of links with guerrilla groups. It has not been possible to prove these allegations;
  104. (3) Nubia Esther González, official of the Small and Medium-Sized Sugar Growers’ Trade Union (SINDAGRICULTORES), detained by Anti-Guerrilla Group No. 1, Corozalquienes Brigade, in the Don Gabriel Zone, Municipality of Morroa, Sucre, on 18 January 2003;
  105. (4) Policarpo Camacho and Gloria Holguín, officials of the Agricultural Trade Union of the Municipality of Calarcá, represented by the media as owners of a FARC clinic;
  106. (5) Rafael Palencia Hernández, active member of SINTRAMINTRABAJO, detained in the SIJIN in Cartagena, accused of belonging to the urban insurgency militias and of planning possible terrorist acts, on 16 February 2003;
  107. (6) Robinsón Beltrán Herrera, President of the Trade Union of Workers of the Autonomous Regional Corporation of Costa Atlántica (SINTRAELECOL-CORELCA), on 22 February 2003, in the City of Manizales;
  108. (7) Germán Robinson López, teacher at the integrated college “Ciudad de Ipiales”, in the Municipality of Ipiales, Department of Nariño, member of SIMANA, charged with rebellion and terrorism, on 27 February 2003;
  109. (8) Teresa Báez Rodríguez, President of SINTRACLINICAS, Bucaramanga, her house was razed and she was detained and charged with formenting rebellion, on 5 March 2003.
  110. Threats
  111. (1) Guillermo Rivera Plata, Vice-President of the Trade Union of Stockworking Industry Workers (SINTRAINAGRO), under the protection of a security plan provided by the Government but this protection has now been withdrawn;
  112. (2) Gladis Barajas, President of the Press Photographers’ Trade Union, on 17 February 2003;
  113. (3) Wilson Castro Padilla, member of SINALTRAINAL, on 22 February 2003;
  114. (4) Alvaro Enrique Villamízar Mogollón, President of the SINTRAUNICOL executive subcommittee of Bucaramanga, Department of Santander, on 27 February 2003;
  115. (5) Roberto Borja Rubiano, official of FENASINTRAP, transferred to another department, on 5 March 2003;
  116. (6) Alexander López Maya, Martha Cecilia Gómez Reyesex, officials of SINTRAEMCALI;
  117. (7) FECODE attaches a list of its members who have been threatened: Jairo Toro Figueroa, Luis Eduardo Patiño Loaiza, Marlene Rangel García, Carlos Alberto Angulo de la Cruz, Nazli Palomo, Rafael Alberto Ilias, Magda Ibony Moreno Ortiz, Olga Cecilia Merchán Moreno, Ana Deima Chate Rivera, Dalia Esther Florez Lozano, Gilma del Carmen Alarcón, Jorge Aliorio Pinzon Ulloa, Rico Bohórquez Flor Teresa, Isaura Isabel Paniagua Chávez, Giovanni Botello Rodríguez, Luz Parina Pérez Quintero, Omar Andrade, Carlos Alberto Vallejo Mejía, Teresa Hernández Zambrano, María Elena Saavedra Rodríguez, Jairo Alberto Carvajal, Gladis Blanco Urrea, Oscar Eduardo Ramón Flórez, Oscar Henao Gutiérrez.
  118. Other acts of violence
  119. (1) Nicolás Hernández Cabrera, Secretary-General of FENSUAGRO and his escort Jaime Rodríguez were attacked in the Department of Tolima on 20 December 2003.
  120. (2) During the protest marches against the privatization of EMCALI, workers gathered to show their solidarity with the protest and the police were hostile towards them, threatening them with death.
  121. (3) On 16 December 2002, in the Municipality of Saravena, Department of Arauca, various officials of the Saravena Trade Union of Workers of the Communal Aqueducts and Drainage Enterprise were detained and, after several hours of physical and verbal abuse, were released.
  122. (4) Murder attempt against Elber Alberto Granja, President of the Communal Action Board of the Municipality of Vijes, Valle del Cauca, an unknown person shot at him on various occasions, on 20 February 2003.
  123. (5) Implementation of military discipline at the Barrancabermeja refinery, preventing access of all trade union officials of the USO; these trade union officials were subsequently attacked with teargas, rubber bullets and shot at, nine people were wounded and 15 detained.
  124. 217. On 13 March 2003, students and workers of the University of Nariño carried out a peaceful demonstration in front of the central building of the University. This demonstration as brutally suppressed by more than 150 policemen who thereafter burst into the University Campus and destroyed the laboratory, lecture rooms and offices, beating and unjustifiably detaining the students. The University Rector and a civil defence committee were present to guarantee respect for human rights. They also were brutally aggressed.
  125. Request for protection
  126. 218. The ICFTU sent a communication stating that it was known that ten trade union officials of SINTRAUNICOL had been declared military targets by armed organizations operating outside the law. Four of these officials work at the Valle University: Carlos Arbey González Quintero, José Adonai Munera Ortega, Luis Carlos Moreira Roldán and Jesús Antonio Luna. Protection has been requested for these officials.
  127. Comments from the complainants on the need
  128. to establish a commission of inquiry
  129. 219. In a communication dated 28 March 2003, the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), the General Confederation of Democratic Workers (CGTD) and the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC) listed the reasons why the trade union organizations proposed the need to declare a complaint against the Government of Colombia and to set up a commission of inquiry.
  130. 220. The trade union confederations refer to the legislative issues that are still outstanding before the Committee of Experts, to the different restrictive measures affecting the rights of workers and they point out that the situation of violence and impunity is extraordinarily serious. These issues are as follows:
  131. (a) for many years the supervisory bodies of the Organization have requested that the Government take specific action and Government representatives at the Conference have promised, but have not honoured this promise, to work to find a solution to the violations of freedom of association;
  132. (b) the trade union confederations acknowledge the complexity of the Colombian situation in so far as, in addition to violations of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 in law and in practice, there is also a general atmosphere of impunity that encompasses not only crimes but also anti-union persecution and discrimination of all types, as in the situations involving USO, SINTRAEMCALI and the health sector among others. In 1991, the new Political Constitution tried to correct the inconsistencies between national law and international labour Conventions. It laid down, in article 53, that duly ratified international labour Conventions are part of national law. Going even further, article 93 laid down that international human rights treaties had precedence over national law in conflict situations and provided that the suspension or restriction of these was not allowed in exceptional circumstances. The International Labour Organization Conventions do not have clauses that allow reservations. However, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security continues to use the standards of the Labour Code as a reference, the courts apply as valid provisions that differ from the Conventions and the employers avoid complying with decisions;
  133. (c) one issue that makes the situation of violations of freedom of association even more complex is the practice that has become generalized among high-level state employees at national, regional and local levels to make public statements accusing the trade unions of being to blame for the economic crisis affecting enterprises and even the State. They often represent conventional achievements as privileges that are not acceptable in a poor country with high unemployment rates. By means of the statements, which are usually repeated widely by the media, they try, and in many cases manage, to set public opinion against trade unions and to discredit rightful claims by trade union organizations with regard to economic and social policies and collective bargaining. It is also common that some private enterprise employers publicly point to the trade union organizations as those responsible for their economic and administrative difficulties, which creates unfavourable reactions by public opinion to trade union activity. One of the most frequent resorts is encouraging parallel collective negotiation to that of the trade union’s, through “collective pacts” and the counter-documents that are a common practice today and a concept authorized by national legislation to allow workers who do not belong to unions to regulate aspects belonging to the collective agreement. The tendency over the past ten years is to increase the signing of “pacts” with workers not belonging to unions and to cut the signing of collective agreements with unions. Another way of effecting the right to collective bargaining is the compulsory summons by the Ministry of Labour (now of Social Protection) to submit collective conflicts to the compulsory arbitration tribunal;
  134. (d) this Government has issued various statements on the illegality of strikes, as in the cases of the North Santander Benefit Society (COMFAORIENTE), SINDESENA, SINDES, Fire Brigade of the A. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has, on a number of occasions, drawn the attention of the Colombian Government to the fact that it should assign competency to judge the legality of strikes to an independent body, which should be the labour law justice. This initial recommendation is now a reiterated request in the observations published by the Committee in its report to each session of the Conference;
  135. (e) the Constitutional Court in Ruling T.568 of 1999 urged the Government to change the regulation giving competence to the Ministry of Labour (now of Social Security) to qualify the legality of the strikes in compliance with the recommendation made in a specific case by the Committee on Freedom of Association. More than three years have passed since then and neither the Government nor the Congress have complied with the request of the Court, just as they have never complied with the observations of the Committee of Experts made for years now on the same issue;
  136. (f) although the Political Constitution, in article 39, grants trade union representatives all the necessary guarantees to ensure that they carry out their administration, there are serious problems with regard to recognition of trade union leave. In the public sector, particularly with regard to trade unions for teaching (FECODE) and judicial authority (ASONAL), the administration has restricted the granting of trade union leave, claiming to reserve for itself the conditions for its reasons and length. Various cases in which the administration has unilaterally cancelled trade union leave being taken by trade union representatives have been submitted. In the private sector this tendency has begun to grow. It is now a frequent occurrence that heads of staff are entirely responsible for assessing the need for trade union leave and its length;
  137. (g) another worrying issue to highlight with concern, is the proposal in the draft referendum to exclude retirement plans from collective bargaining. The Colombian trade union movement notes with concern that, according to the new pension law, those pensions where the levels are already recognized or where there are prerequisites that differ from the strictly legal ones will be revised in order to reduce or suspend them. This means that conventional pensions can be revised, in clear violation of Conventions Nos. 98 and 151 of the ILO;
  138. (h) during the months that the new Government has been in power (since 7 August 2002), protests marches by the USO, community mothers, SINTRAEMCALI and others have been violently suppressed. This suppression has left in its wake a number of wounded and detained persons;
  139. (i) the intolerance of those involved in a prolonged armed conflict has involved society in general; prompting the fact that workers’ organizations or those who are active in labour affairs are considered subversive by some public employees and by the paramilitaries who see trade unionism as an alliance with insurgency, inasmuch as some guerrilla forces send “accounts” to former sympathizers who have taken different political options (an “account” is a colloquial way of explaining that the guerrilla fighter “judges” his former colleagues and orders their “execution”) and who refuse to serve with rebel forces. These circumstances make the situation complex, which calls for great commitment on the part of the Colombian state institutions, with clear political will on the part of employers and of workers to overcome the already long-standing difficulties occurring in practice and in law with regard to the Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining. According to the database of the National Trade Union School of Antioquia, 184 trade union members were murdered in 2002. According to the same source, in 2002, 189 trade union members were threatened, 17 were the subject of murder attempts, nine disappeared, 27 were abducted and one was tortured. This year there have been 139 cases of arbitrary detention and one illegal raid. At the regional level, the Department with the most murders of trade union members was, in 2002, Antioquia (47), followed by Magdalena (13), Nariño and Santander (11 each) and Arauca and Meta (ten each). Of the murders that took place in 2002, 51.08 per cent involved trade union members in the education sector (94), followed by the health sector (16 murders, 8.69 per cent of the total) and the judicial sector (ten cases, 5.43 per cent of the total). There are also data relating to suppression of social protest, which will be dealt with in another paragraph;
  140. (j) another factor that it is necessary to take into account in order to identify the absence of a Colombian state policy on freedom of association is the degree of impunity: figures provided by the Administrative Department of National Planning some years ago show that general impunity is around 97 per cent. This situation has not changed significantly. Trade union organizations can testify that, with regard to crimes against trade union members and officials, impunity is 100 per cent: since 1987 up until today, the total number of murders, disappearances, torture, threats and forced relocation of trade union members remains concealed by the murky mantle of impunity, as the Committee on Freedom of Association has witnessed on many occasions. The Attorney-General’s Office diligently pursues trade union members, not only at the request of so-called military intelligence but also at other times at the request of employers. The efficiency of the investigation apparatus, when it comes to pursuing leaders of the people, trade union members and officials, can be contrasted with its inefficiency when it comes to identifying the material and intellectual authors of crimes against trade union members and officials. The current Colombian Government has returned to the use of exceptional circumstances, proclaiming the use of legal regulations that harm the basic rights of the citizens. It is relevant to note that, in exercising the competencies granted by exceptional circumstances, the Executive created what is known as the special Rehabilitation and Consolidation Zones, where powers are granted to the military forces to restrict rights of movement, transit, protest and meetings. In some of these zones, the military have been imposing restrictions on the movement of people; and
  141. (k) the cooperation programme approved by the Governing Body was reduced by 50 per cent and, partly as a result of lack of resources, it has not succeeded in becoming fully developed.
  142. 221. Finally, the trade union organizations indicate that they are particularly worried about the constitutional reform plans being sponsored by the Government. These are basically aimed at annulling the democratic advances made with the 1991 Constitution, freeing the military forces from the control of the civil authorities and limiting, if not ending, the procedures for protection of constitutional rights, a legal mechanism which has allowed the population to have guarantee of and respect for their fundamental rights in many cases. All of the aforementioned must be taken into account when the Committee and the Governing Body examine this complaint this time around. The Colombian trade union movement hopes that this time the necessary step of constituting a commission of inquiry will be taken and that it is understood that the goodwill expressed by successive state employees is not enough as, in the long run this does not shape the political will of the State that is necessary to solve the issues in this complaint. The considerations of the report and the conclusions recorded in the preceding paragraphs serve as a basis for the trade union confederations to once again express the need to start the process of the complaint against the Government of Colombia and to form a commission of inquiry so that, as an ad hoc independent body, it can formulate specific recommendations aimed at resolving the serious problems of the right of freedom of association in Colombia. The trade union confederations believe that a commission of inquiry cannot be seen as a threat to a country but rather as the ideal mechanism for the international community to contribute in a responsible way to finding a solution to the serious problems highlighted in the complaint.
  143. C. The Government’s reply
  144. 222. In its communication dated 2 May 2003 the Government sent its observations in accordance with the commitment made at the 286th Session of the Governing Body in March 2003. The Government notes that certain controversial denunciations did not give rise to a criminal investigation because they were vague and in certain cases did not provide indications as to the exact place or date of the facts, thus rendering impossible a search for the file in the corresponding Public Prosecutor’s Office. Moreover, it is possible that no preliminary investigation is carried out either because the violation was never denounced, or because the alleged fact did not occur, thus not giving rise to a pending case. The Internal Group on Human Rights of the Ministry of Social Security (DDHH) requested information from all relevant trade union organizations on cases which raised questions as to the occurrence of the facts or the status of the victim as a trade union leader or official. Until the date of the report, the Internal Group on Human Rights had not received any reply from the trade union organizations.
  145. 223. Second, the Government requested that the following global account of the situation, which contains its reply to the allegations, be reproduced in the 331st Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association:
  146. 32 new allegations
  147. Eleven murders: seven at the stage of preliminary investigation; two at the prosecution stage; one pending trial (enforceable sentence); no progress in one case for lack of information on the denunciation; one act of violence; two abductions: both at the stage of preliminary investigation; one attempted murder: at the stage of preliminary investigation; 16 threats: nine at the stage of preliminary investigation; one at the prosecution stage; one suspended; no progress in five other cases for lack of information on the denunciation; one detention: no progress for lack of information on the denunciation.
  148. 124 allegations (Annex I)
  149. Sixty-eight murders: 34 at the stage of preliminary investigation (six provisionally closed; three provisionally suspended; nine dismissed for lack of evidence; 16 at the stage of collection of evidence); four at the prosecution stage; four pending trial; no progress in 24 cases for lack of information on the denunciation; two deaths from natural causes (should not be included in Case No. 1787).
  150. Twenty-four abductions and disappearances: 17 at the stage of preliminary investigation (two provisionally suspended; 13 active and two dismissed for lack of evidence); two at the prosecution stage; no progress in four others for lack of information on the denunciation; two cases of liberation (one of which is at the preliminary investigation stage).
  151. Seven attempts: three at the stage of preliminary investigation; one at the prosecution stage; no progress in three cases for lack of information on the denunciation.
  152. Two acts of violence: one dismissed for lack of evidence; no progress in the other for lack of information on the denunciation.
  153. Nineteen threats: nine at the stage of preliminary investigation; no progress in ten cases for lack of information on the denunciation.
  154. Four cases of harassment: one at the stage of preliminary investigation; no progress in three cases for lack of information on the denunciation.
  155. Total: 156 denunciations (32 new allegations plus 124 in Annex I), of which 30 do not pertain to Case No. 1787 either because they do not concern trade unionists, or because the decease did not occur in the framework of trade union activities, as indicated in the responses. Consequently, the Government requests that the following names be withdrawn from Case No. 1787: Jorge Alberto Alvarez, Oswaldo Moreno Ibague, Alfonso Morelly Zárate, Jairo Vera, Leyder María Fernández Cuellar, Yolanda Paternina Negrete, Armando Buitrago Moreno, Julián Ricardo Muñoz, Eduardo Edilio Alvarez Escudelo, Cesar Arango Mejía, Maercelina Saldarriaga, Jacobo Rodríguez, Juan David Corzo, Edith Manrique, Jorge Julio Céspedes, Generoso Estrada Saldarriaga, Alberto Torres, Iván Velasco Vélez, Rubí Moreno, Oswaldo Enrique Borja Martínez, Nohora Elsy López, Cecilia Gallego, Roberto Carballo, Walter Arturo Velásquez, Germán Medina Gaviria, Paula Andrea Gómez Mora, Jorge Feite Romero, Omar García Angulo, Esperanza Valdés Amortegui, Diógenes Correa.
  156. 224. More specifically, the Government provides the following information:
  157. Murders
  158. (1) Jorge Alberto Alvarez, member of SUTIMAC, on 6 August 2001 in the outskirts of Santa Barbara. On the basis of information provided by the Attorney-General’s Office, in March 2003, it appears that the murder took place in the municipality of Betulia Antioquia, on 6 August 2001; the corresponding investigation is underway by Prosecutor’s Office 25 specializing in terrorism, in the Department of Medellín, File No. 377-913. The case is currently pending at the preliminary stage. The victim was member of the union of workers in the construction materials industry (SUTIMAC). His trade union position is to be established.
  159. (2) Adolfo de Jesús Múnera López, Vice-President of the Altántico branch of CUT and member of SINALTRAINAL, on 31 August 2002 in Barranquilla, Department of Atlántico; by official letter No. 356 of 27 September 2002, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security requested information in this respect from the National Unit for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the Attorney?General’s Office. Moreover, a request for the relevant information was sent to Genel Fernandez, Director of the National Unit of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the Attorney-General’s Office (official letter No. 0075 of 28 January 2003), and to David Martinez Atencia at the Public Prosecutor’s section of Barranquilla (official letter DH 0080 of 29 January). The available information on this murder is the following: according to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the murder committed in the City of Barranquilla on 31 August 2002 is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office 41, Vida Section, Barranquilla District Directorate, File No. 135.110. The case is currently active and in the stage of preliminary investigation.
  160. (3) Oswaldo Moreno Ibagüe, leader of the Meta Civic Human Rights Committee and President of the Communal Action Committee, in Villavicencio, on 3 September 2002:
  161. Offence: Murder
  162. Place and time: 3 September 2002, Villavicencio
  163. District directorate: Villavicencio
  164. Responsible authority: District Prosecutor’s Office 18
  165. File No.: 76160
  166. Stage: Preliminary
  167. Current status: Active
  168. Organization: Member of the Civic Human Rights Committee of Alto Ariari, politically active in the Communist Party and President of theBoard of the Community Action in the Ay Mi Llanura neighbourhood of Villavicenio.
  169. The Government clarified that community action boards are not trade union organizations.
  170. (4) César Gómez, President of the Pamplona Subcommittee of the National Union of University Workers of Colombia (SINTRAUNICOL), on 5 September 2002 in the Municipality of Pamplona, Department of North Santander; According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the murder is being investigated by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office 4, Cúcuta District Directorate, File No. 49563. The case is currently active at the stage of preliminary investigation. Mr. César Gómez was member of the executive board of SINTRAUNICOL.
  171. (5) Oscar de Jesús Papayes, member of the Atlántico Teachers’ Association (ADEA-FECODE-CUT), on 6 September 2002 in Barranquilla, Department of Atlántico. According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney?General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the murder is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office 42, Vida Section, Barranquilla District Directorate, File No. 136.248. The case is currently active at the prosecution stage.
  172. (6) Alfonso Morelly Zárate, member of the Magdalena Branch of the Association of University Teachers (ASPU-CUT), on 7 September 2002 in Marta, Department of Magdalena.
  173. Offence: Murder
  174. Victim: Roque Alfonso Morelly Zarate
  175. Place and time: 5 October 2002, Santa Marta
  176. District directorate: National
  177. Responsible authority: National Unit on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
  178. File No.: 1459
  179. Stage: Preliminary
  180. Current status: Active
  181. Organization: The file does not indicate whether he was a trade union member
  182. Position: Dean of the Political Science Faculty of the University of Magdalena
  183. (7) Gema Lucía Jaramillo, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA?FECODE-CUT), on 9 September 2002 in the Municipality of San Andrés of Cuerquia, Department of Antioquia; according to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the murder is being investigated by the Ituango District Unit, Antioquia District Prosecutor’s Directorate, File No. 2548. The case is currently active at the stage of preliminary investigation. The Prosecutor’s Office tries to determine whether the death of Ms. Jaramillo was due to her trade union position.
  184. (8) Miguel Lora Gómez, member of the executive board of the Workers’ Confederation of Colombia (CTC), on 9 September 2002; it was not possible to establish the place where the facts of this case occurred, and this information is necessary to determine which Prosecutor’s Office will undertake the investigation. The information has not been submitted by the trade union organizations.
  185. (9) José Fernado Mena Alvarez, member of the Magdalena Teachers’ Union (EDUMAG-FECODE-CUT) on 10 October 2002 in the Municipality of Palermo, Department of Magdalena. The Office of Human Rights of the Ministry of Social Security received the complaint in an official letter (No. 350 of 13 January 2003) from the International Relations Office of the Ministry of Social Security (registration No. 051 of 15 January). The Santa Marta Delegada Second Prosecutor’s Office for the Specialized Circuit Criminal Courts, responded that during the hearing for the pronouncement of charges on 30 December 2002, the accused Jaime Alberto Pabuena, admitted the charges. Consequently, only the forced transfer of the teachers of the Colegio de Bachillerato de Palermo (Magdalena) was investigated with regard to File No. 34792. The accused admitted the charges and the file was forwarded to the criminal tribunal. The circumstances under which Mr. Mena Alvarez lost his life were investigated in the Barranquilla District, under File No. 138777 by the Unit of Crimes against Life, Physical Integrity etc., of Prosecutor’s Office 35. The case is currently before the judge and Mr. Pabuena, who admitted the charges, received a sentence.
  186. (10) Oscar David Polo Charry, member of the Magdalena Workers’ Union (EDUMAC?FECODE-CUT) on 28 October 2002 in the morning, on the way to his work, the RURAL school in San José de Media Luna in the Municipality of Pivijay, Department of Magdalena. The Office of Human Rights of the Ministry of Social Security sent a written communication DH 0079 of 29 January to Jairo Neira Trespalacios of the Magdalena District Prosecutor’s Office requesting clarifications on the facts. It requested the same from Genel Fernandez, Director of the National Unit of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the Attorney-General’s Office (communication No. 0075 of 28 January). According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the murder of Mr. Oscar David Polo Charry is being investigated by the Third Specialized Prosecutor’s Office of Santa Marta, File No. 34369. The case is at the preliminary stage and is currently active. Evidence is being collected in order to clarify the facts and identify those responsible.
  187. (11) Jairo Vera, member of the Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform (SINTRADIN?CUT) on 23 November 2002 in Bucaramanga, Department of Santander del Sur. According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the murder is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office 7, Bucaramanga District, File No. 159622. The case is currently active at the prosecution stage without custody. The Prosecutor’s Office notes that there is no note in the file on his trade union activities or affiliation with a trade union organization.
  188. Acts of violence
  189. Various workers of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI) were assaulted by the police during the Permanent Assembly meeting on 1 October 2002. This case is under investigation by the Attorney-General’s Office.
  190. Abductions and disappearances
  191. (1) Víctor Manuel Jiménez Frutos, Vice-President of the Agricultural Workers’ Union of the Department of Atlántico (SINTRAGRICOLAS-FENSUAGRO-CUT), disappeared on 22 October 2002 in the Municipality of Ponedera, Department of Atlántico. The Baranquilla Prosecutor’s Office for the Specialized Circuit Criminal Courts reports that the preliminary investigation is under way (File No. 139121). The preliminary investigation was ordered by a resolution of 5 November 2002, along with certain tasks, inter alia, to request that city’s CTI to conduct investigations in order to fully establish the disappearance of Mr. Víctor Manuel Jiménez Fruto. According to the preliminary CTI report, (No. 642 of 22 November 2002) it has not been possible to establish that Mr. Jimenez Fruto had been murdered on the basis of the evidence collected during the preliminary investigation. Moreover, by a resolution of 18 February it was decided to dismiss further evidence, including a sworn statement by a member of the Political Prisoners’ Solidarity Committee given before a local council member and inhabitants of the Municipality of Ponedera.
  192. (2) Ramón Alzate, Javier Agueldo, Jhon Jairo Sánchez and Rafael Montoya, members of SUTIMAC were abducted on 6 April 2001 and then liberated on 11 April. According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, Ramón Alzate, Javier Aguedelo, Jhon Jairo Sánchez and Rafael Montoya, members of the Cementos El Cairo Workers’ Union were victims of “terrorism” on 6 April 2001 in the Municipality of Santa Barbara, Department of Antioquia. The investigation on this case began on 10 April 2001 and is being carried out by the Medellín Specialized Prosecutor’s Office 18, Medellín District Directorate, File No. 435114, currently active at the preliminary stage. Evidence is being collected.
  193. Assaults
  194. On 3 September 2002 a high-power bomb exploded at the offices of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI) causing material damage to the place where workers usually hold their meetings:
  195. File: No. 525234
  196. Prosecutor’s office: Third specialized, Carlos Martín Latorre
  197. Offence: Terrorism
  198. Date: 3 September 02
  199. Victim: SINTRAEMCALI members
  200. Stage: Preliminary investigation
  201. Accused: Under investigation
  202. Threats
  203. (1) The trade union officials of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI) Alexander López Maya and Luis Hernández and the other members of the executive board received a communication from the paramilitary groups. According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the threats against these trade union officials have been brought before justice. In fact, the Prosecutor’s Office 89, Cali District, Department of Cali, conducts an investigation on the threats against Alexander López Maya (File No. 356496). The case is currently active. The conclusion of the investigation is pending in order to qualify the content of the indictment. Two persons have been assigned to the investigation. Mr. López Maya was running as candidate for the Chamber of Representatives, and was ex?President of SINTRAEMCALI and member of the executive board.
  204. (2) On the threats against Mr. Luis Antonio Hernández Monroy, the Attorney-General’s Office reports that two investigations are currently under way for the same act. One is carried out by the Cali Specialized Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office 9, Department of Cali (File No. 403505) The case is at the preliminary stage and evidence is being collected. The second investigation is carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, section 29, File No. 391326, at the preliminary stage. The documents relative to the threats against Mr. Hernández Monroy were transmitted to the Ombudsman’s Office on 6 October 2000.
  205. (3) Gerardo González Muñoz, member of FENSUAGRO-CUT. It has not been possible to establish the place where the act occurred; this information is necessary in order to determine the Prosecutor’s Office which initially undertook the investigation. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security requested the union to verify the exact place where the facts occurred in order to determine whether an investigation is under way on this case.
  206. (4) Domingo Rafael Tovar Arrieta, CUT Director; Investigations are under way in the Specialized Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bogotá:
  207. Investigation No. 1:
  208. File No.: 54125
  209. Prosecutor’s office: 16 specialized
  210. Stage: Preliminary
  211. Status: Active
  212. File No.: 54262
  213. Prosecutor’s office: 42 specialized
  214. Stage: Preliminary
  215. Status: Active
  216. Investigation No. 2:
  217. File No.: 54273
  218. Prosecutor’s office: 40 specialized
  219. Stage: Preliminary
  220. Status: Active
  221. Investigation No. 3:
  222. File No.: 249068
  223. Prosecutor’s office: Anti-abductions unit, Bogotá Department
  224. Stage: Evidence, Trial.
  225. Authority: Circuit Criminal Judges
  226. Status: Active
  227. (5) Workers and trade unionists of the Energía de Arauca enterprise, threatened by paramilitaries. It has not been possible to establish the place where the facts occurred; this information is necessary in order to determine the Public Prosecutor’s unit which initially undertook the relevant investigation. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security, requested the trade union to verify the exact place where the facts occurred in order to determine whether an investigation is under way on this case. The trade union organization has so far not responded to the communications of the Ministry and thus no information can be provided.
  228. (6) In Arauca, activists of the teachers’ association (ASEDAR) and the National Association of Workers and Employees in Hospitals and Clinics (ANTHOC); it has not been possible to establish the place where the facts occurred, information which is necessary to determine which Public Prosecutor’s unit initially undertook the relevant investigation. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security, requested the union to verify the exact place where the facts occurred in order to determine whether an investigation is under way on this case. The trade union organization has not yet responded to the Ministry’s communication and thus no information can be provided.
  229. (7) Henry Ocampo, President of the Caldas Workers’ Federation (FEDECALDAS), threatened by paramilitaries; according to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the procedure for the investigation of alleged threats against Henry Ocampo began in 22 August 2000. The investigation is conducted by the Department of Manizales, File No. 41664, and is active at the preliminary stage.
  230. (8) Saúl Suárez Donado, activist of the Workers’ Trade Union, threatened by paramilitaries. When he denounced this fact to the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney-General’s Office on 19 September 2002, he was detained on a charge of rebellion. It has not been possible to determine the place where the facts (the threat) took place; this information is necessary in order to determine the Public Prosecutor’s unit which initially undertook the relevant investigation. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security, requested the trade union to verify the exact place where the facts occurred in order to determine whether an investigation is under way on this case. The trade union has not yet responded to the Ministry’s communications and thus, no information can be provided.
  231. (9) The Cartagena branch of the National Union of Workers in the Food Industry (SINALTRAINAL), threatened by Self-Defense Groups of Colombia (AUC) on 19 September 2002. The Attorney-General’s Office reported that among the threats against trade union officials of SINALTRAINAL, only those directed against Wilson Castro Padilla were registered:
  232. Offence: Threats
  233. Victim: Wilson Castro Padilla
  234. Place and time: 13 March 2003, Cartagena
  235. District directorate: Cartagena
  236. Responsible authority: District Public Prosecutor 39
  237. File No.: 115265
  238. Stage: Preliminary
  239. Status: Active
  240. Organization: SINALTRAINAL
  241. Position: Member
  242. (10) Eduardo Camacho Rugeles, health secretary and member of the Commission on Human Rights, Ever Tique Giron, education secretary and member of the executive committee of the Union of University Workers (SINTRAUNICOL-CUT) and Pedro Edgar Galeano Olaya, secretary for cooperative affairs, threatened by paramilitaries of the Tolima Block in the Department of Tolima on 16 October 2002. The Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security sent official communications to the Tolima District Prosecutor’s Office (Ibagué) (No. DH 0085 of 29 January 2003) and to Genel Fernandez, Director of the National Unit of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the Attorney-General’s Office (No. 0075 of 28 January 2003), in order to obtain information on these facts. José Dario Ramírez Moreno, Director of the Ibagué District Prosecutor’s Office, replied by communication No. DSF-0992 of 21 February 2003, that the Specialized Public Prosecutor’s Office 4 conducts the preliminary investigation launched on 2 January 2003 regarding the threats against Eduardo Camacho Rugeles, Ever Tique Giron and Pedro Edgar Galeano Olaya (File No. 102586) in order to verify the responsible parties for acts which occurred on 16 October 2002, when the executive board of the Union of University Workers (SINTRAUNICOL) received a letter attributed to the AUC Tolima bloc, containing death threats against the abovementioned persons. In addition to this, Camacho Rugeles received threatening phone calls and unknown persons went to the house of his mother-in-law, trying to verify his whereabouts. According to information received from the CTI, the document containing threats was not written by the AUC but by common-law criminals or neighbours of the complainant. The investigation currently continues at the preliminary stage of collection of evidence.
  243. (11) Carlos Dimate, Antonio Guerrero, Demetrio Guerrero, Marcos Moreno, Diógenes Correa, officials of the Union of Small Farmers of the Department of Cundinamarca (SINTRAGRICUN) and Gerardo González, official of the National United Federation of Agricultural Workers (FENSUAGRO-CUT), in Bogotá in October 2002:
  244. Carlos Dimate:
  245. File No.: 59361
  246. Prosecutor’s office: 16 specialized of Bogotá, Terrorism Unit
  247. Stage: Preliminary
  248. State: Active
  249. Diógenes Correa:
  250. File No.: 13266
  251. Offence: Threats
  252. Victim: Diógenes Correa who claims to be a community leader,
  253. appearing as president of the board of the urbanization
  254. action of the founders of Venecia.
  255. Facts: Venecia locality on 11 September 2002
  256. Prosecutor’s office: 5 Fusagasuga District of the Cudinamarca District
  257. Directorate
  258. Stage: Preliminary
  259. Status: Active
  260. Position: Not a trade union leader since community action boards
  261. are not trade union organizations.
  262. (12) Gustavo Guamanga, President of the Union of Small Farmers of the Department of Cauca (SINPEAGRIP), received threats in October 2002, in the city of Popayán. On 2 May 2003, the Prosecutor’s Office informed the Ministry of Social Security that the death threats against Gustavo Guamanga were under investigation, which was active, under the following terms:
  263. File No.: 2399
  264. Offence: Cristóbal Guamanga
  265. Facts: 17 October 2002 in Miranda, Cauca
  266. Prosecutor’s office: Corinto Disctrict, Cauca
  267. Stage: Preliminary
  268. (13) Efraín Holguín, Fernando Trujillo Lozada and José Eduardo Villa Garzón, officials of the Workers’ Union of the Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado of Bogotá (SINTRACUEDUCTO-CUT), received threats in October 2002; this case is under examination by the Attorney-General’s Office.
  269. (14) Nicolás Acevedo Cuartas, President of the Apartadó branch of the National Union of Bank Employees (UNEB-CUT), on 29 October 2002 in the City of Bogotá:
  270. File No.: 668574
  271. Prosecutor’s office: 37 specialized of Bogotá
  272. Stage: Preliminary
  273. Status: Active
  274. (15) William Mendoza, President of SINALTRAINAL, on 9 October 2002 and 17 January 2003 in Barrancabermeja, Santander. The Attorney-General’s Office provided the following information:
  275. Place and time: 17 January 2003 in Barrancabermeja, Santander
  276. District directorate: Bucaramanga
  277. Responsible authority: Specialized Bucaramanga Prosecutor’s Office 3
  278. File No.: 166206
  279. Stage: Preliminary
  280. Status: Active
  281. Organization: SINALTRAINAL
  282. Position: Official
  283. An investigation for similar acts which took place against Mr. Mendoza on 2 January 2002 is conducted in Cartagena, Bolívar. The case is active and is being investigated by the Support Unit to the National Human Rights Unit in Barrranguilla, National Directorate, File No. 1438, at the preliminary stage. Evidence is being collected.
  284. (16) The executive committee of SUTIMAC, Santa Bárbara branch, received threats on various occasions between April and May 2001. The investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Unit of the Santa Bárbara District (File No. 1790) was suspended on 28 August 2002. Among those who received threats were Germán Darío Serna González, Nelson Ospina and Gustavo A. Villa Guzmán, who were members of the abovementioned committee.
  285. Detentions and harassment
  286. Mario de Jesús Castañeda, President of the CUT-HUILA subcommittee, on 28 October 2002 for distributing leaflets concerning the national strike convened by the CUT. It has not been possible to determine the place where the facts occurred; this information is necessary to determine which Prosecutor’s Office initially conducted the relevant investigation. The Neiva District Prosecutor’s Directorate reported that it asked all the Prosecutor’s Offices assigned to it, and none had undertaken any investigation relative to the detention and harassment of Mario de Jesus Castañeda. More information is necessary on the place where the facts occurred in order to determine whether criminal proceedings are possible. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security requested the union to verify the exact location where the facts took place in order to determine whether an investigation has been undertaken on this case. A copy of this communication by the Ministry of Social Security was forwarded to the ILO Regional Office in Lima. The trade union organization has yet not responded to the communications of the Ministry and thus, no information can be provided.
  287. 225. In its recent communication dated 3 February 2003, the ICFTU alleges:
  288. (1) An assault against Nicolás Hernández Cabrera, general secretary of FENSUAGRO on 20 December 2003; the Attorney-General’s Office reported that regarding the offence of assault which took place in Chaparral, Tolima on 20 December 2002, the Prosecutor’s Office 28, Chaparral District, Ibagué District Directorate, conducts the preliminary investigation, which is currently active.
  289. (2) The assassination of José Marcelino Díaz González, President of the College of Rectors and Directors (COLDIG), affiliated to the Arauca Teachers’ Association (ASEDAR-FECODE), on 13 January 2003 in the Municipality of TAME, Arauca. The Attorney-General’s Office reported that the murder of Marcelino Díaz on 13 January 2003 in the Municipality of TAME, is being investigated by the sole Prosecutor’s Office of TAME, Cúcuta District Directorate, File No. 2360, at the preliminary stage, currently active.
  290. (3) The assassination of Abelardo Barbosa Páez, member of FENSUAGRO on 21 January 2003 in Santander. The murder of Abelardo Barbosa Páez, Director of SINTRAPALMAS which occurred on 21 January 2003, in Caño Murciélagos, Municipality of Puerto Wilches, Santander, is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office 1, Bucaramanga District, Bucaramanga District Directorate (File No. 28969). The case is currently active at the stage of prosecution.
  291. (4) The detention of Hernando Hernández, secretary of International Affairs of the USU and former Vice-President of the CUT; Hernando Hernández was detained on 15 January 2003. The investigation is being conducted by the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office 4, Human Rights National Directorate(File No. 1127B). The case is at the prosecution stage on charges of rebellion. By a resolution dated 14 January 2002, it was decided to resolve the legal status of Hernando Hernandez Pardo by replacing the measure of preventive detention for rebellion with the measure of house arrest and a guarantee of five minimum wages. The investigation is ongoing and active.
  292. (5) The detention of Nubia Esther Gonzalez, officer of the Union of Small and Medium Agricultural Enterprises of Sucre (SINDAGRICULTORES). Nubia Esther Gonzalez Payares, who is an activist according to the President of FENSUAGRO-CUT, belongs to the Departmental Trade Union of Agricultural Enterprises of Sucre (SINDAGRICULTORES), and is a member of the National Women’s Department of FENSUAGRO-CUT. The Attorney-General’s Office reports the following:
  293. Offence: Article 467 of Act No. 599 of 2000 on the crime of rebellion
  294. File No.: 30132
  295. Trade union members: Nubia Esther González and others (Jorge Gómez who was not related to the proceedings and was released)
  296. Place and time: General area of the Don Gabriel community, jurisdiction of the Municipality of Ovejas, Sucre, 18 January 2003, at 9:00 a.m.
  297. Prosecutor: Prosecutor’s Office 16 for the Circuit Penal Courts, assigned to the unit of economic resources, headquartered in Sincelejo. On 27 January 2003, the responsible Prosecutor’s office refrained from imposing security measures to Nubia Esther González and ordered her immediate release.
  298. (6) The detention of Policarpo Camacho and Gloria Holguín, directors of the Agricultural Union of the Municipality of Calarcá; the Government is in charge of this denunciation and provides the following information: on 8 January 2003, there was a raid in the house of Camacho and Holguín on the grounds of the presumed offence of rebellion, which is under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office 20, URI Manizalez District, Department of Manizalez (File No. 74.368-1591). According to the indictment, Policarpo Camacho and Gloria Holguín are accused with the crime of rebellion. Security measures have been imposed on them and have been confirmed on appeal. The investigation is currently active.
  299. (7) The withdrawal of the protection of Guillermo Rivera Plata, Vice-President of the National Union of Workers of the Agricultural and Fisheries Union (SINTRAINAGRO); the Ministry of the Interior and Justice communicated the following to the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security: an individual security scheme was approved according to minutes No. 3 of 10 February 2000. Mr. Rivera requested the allocation of a provisional plan each time that the vehicle was under reparation due to an accident and the guards were unable to provide their services, according to minutes No. 19 of 2001. The CRER recommended sending an official communication to the DAS of Antioquia to verify the situation and request the speeding up of the reparation of the van. At the CRER meeting of 14 February 2003, this case appeared once more because the van had been damaged. The CRER recommended reevaluating the risk situation of Mr. Rivera, requesting security measures from the National Police and sending an official communication to the DAS concerning the reparation of the vehicle. At the moment, there is one vehicle (in working order), two guards, and two army weapons. Consequently, Mr. Guillermo Rivera Plata actually benefits from a protection scheme effectively granted by the Ministry of the Interior and Justice.
  300. (8) The non-application of the Agreement of 29 January 2002 made between the Government, the workers of municipal enterprises of Cali and the community of Cali under the terms of which the non-privatization of the enterprises had been decided. This case is being examined by the Ministry of Social Security.
  301. Information relating to Annex I (alleged acts of violence against trade union officials or members
  302. up to the Committee’s meeting of November 2002 for which the Government has not sent its observations or has not reported the initiation of investigations or judicial procedures)
  303. Murders
  304. (1) Edison Ariel, on 17 October 2000, member of SINTRAINAGRO. According to the general report of investigations carried out by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the Prosecutor’s Office, National Directorate, Santa Marta reports that there is no record in the SIJUF. The Prosecutor’s Office is also seeking further information on the incident to clarify the facts. After consulting the database of the Prosecutor’s judicial information system, it appeared that no investigation is conducted on these facts by the District Prosecutor’s Directorate. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRAINAGRO, to ask it to provide further information, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the complainant’s denunciation is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the file or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  305. (2) Francisco Espadín Medina, member of SINTRAINAGRO, on 7 September 2000, in the Municipality of Turbo, Department of Antioquia. According to “the general report of investigations carried out by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the special trade union investigations sub-unit did not find any record, and the Prosecutor’s Office, Turbo Section will deal with the matter. If an investigation is in progress, a request will be made to transfer it to the special sub-unit … ” Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRAINAGRO, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the file or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  306. (3) Carlos Cordero, member of ANTHOC, on 6 December 2000, by paramilitaries, in Peñas Blancas, Bochalema, Department of North of Santader. The Attorney?General’s Office declared the following: File No. 218; Prosecutor’s Office: Cúcuta District Unit; Stage: Preliminary; Current status: dismissed for lack of evidence on 9 January 2002. For its part, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, ANTHOC, to ask it to provide further information since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  307. (4) Gabriela Galeano, official of ANTHOC, on 9 December 2000, in Cúcuta, by paramilitaries. File No. 01-009; Prosecutor’s Office: Cúcuta District Unit; Stage: preliminary; Current status: dismissed for lack of evidence on 5 December 2001. For its part, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, ANTHOC, to ask it to provide further information since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  308. (5) Ricardo Flórez, member of SINTRAPALMA, on 8 January 2001. This information is not sufficient to make a search in the databases of the Prosecutors’ District Directorates of the country and for this reason, further information is requested, in particular in respect of the name of the victims and the place and date of the facts. It has not been possible to establish the place where these facts occurred. This information is essential in order to establish which Prosecutor’s Office initially conducted the relevant investigation. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRAPALMA, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the rile or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  309. (6) Elsa Clarena Guerrero, member of ASINORT, on 28 January 2001, in the Municipality of Ocaña in a military base. The investigation for homicide is conducted by Prosecutor 03, Ocaña District, Cúcuta District Directorate (File No. 2001-0033). The investigation is at the preliminary stage but was dismissed for lack of evidence by a resolution of 9 October 2001 (current status).
  310. (7) Alfonso Alejandro Naar Nernandéz, member of ASEDAR, which is affiliated to FECODE, on 8 February 2001, in the Municipality of Arancas. File No.: 2899; Facts: 8 February 2001 in Saravena; Stage: preliminary; Current status: dismissed for lack of evidence on 12 October 2001 (case provisionally closed); Position: member of ASEDAR-FECODE.
  311. (8) Raúl Gil, member of SINTRAPALMA, on 11 February 2001, in the Municipality of Puerto Wiches, Department of Santander. The Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRAPALMA, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the file or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  312. (9) Alberto Pedroza Lozada, on 22 March 2001. This information is not sufficient to make a search in the databases of the Prosecutors’ District Directorates of the country and for this reason further information is requested, in particular in respect of the name of the victims and the place and date of the facts. It has not been possible to establish the place where the facts occurred. This information is essential in order to establish which Prosecutor’s Office initially conducted the investigation. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the most important trade unions of the country to ask them to provide further information, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the file or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  313. (10) Jesús Antonio Ruano, member of ASEINPEC, in the Municipality of Palmira, on 27 March 2001. Offence: murder; Place and time: 27 March 2001, in Palmira, Valle; District Directorate: Cali; Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor’s Office 11; File No.: 478116; Stage: preliminary; Current status: active; Organization: ASEINPEC; Position: member.
  314. (11) Leyder María Fernandéz Cuellar, spouse of the preceding, on 26 April 2001. Offence: murder; Place and time: 26 April 2001; District Directorate: Cali; Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor’s Office 9; File No.: 464286; Stage: Preliminary; Current status: Active; Organization: None; Position: none.
  315. (12) Edgar Thomas Angarita Mora, member of ASEDAR and FECODE, in the Department of Arancas, on 12 June 2001, after having participated in a blockade of the Vía Fortul Sarabena in protest against draft Bill No. 012, File No. 3048; Facts: 12 June 2001, in Saravena; Prosecutor’s Office: Saravena District, DSF Cúcuta; Stage: preliminary; Current status: dismissed for lack of evidence on 6 February 2002, case provisionally closed.
  316. (13) Manuel Pájaro Peinado, Teasurer of the Barraquilla District Union of Civil Servants (SINDIBA), on 16 Agust 2001, in the Department of Atlántico. He had asked for his inclusion in the protection programme of the Ministry of Interior from which he did not receive an answer. His murder took place while the union was staging a series of protests against the application of Bill No. 617 on mass dismissals in part of the district administration. The investigation is continuing in order to clarify the facts. Offence: murder; Victim: Manuel Pájaro Peinado; Facts: 16 August 2001; Prosecutor’s Office of Barraquilla: investigation unit constituted of Special Prosecutor’s Offices 2 and 3; File No. 10701; Stage: Preliminary; current status: active.
  317. (14) Fernando Euclides Serna Velásquez, member of the national CUT of Bogotá collective security plan, disappeared on 18 August 2001 and found assassinated the next day in the Department of Cundinamarca. He was a member of the collective security scheme of the CUT. File No. 54969; Prosecutor’s Office: Specialized 42 of Bogotá; stage: preliminary; current status: active.
  318. (15) Yolanda Paternina Negrete, member of ASONAL-CUT, on 29 August 2001, in the Department of Sucre, she was a judge specialized in public order and was in charge of various high-risk cases. Offence: aggravated murder; Place and time: Sincelejo, Sucre, on 29 August 2001; Directorate: National Unit; Authority in charge: National Unit of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law; File No.: 1079; Stage: prosecution; Current status: prosecution; Organization: there is no evidence to establish trade union membership.
  319. (16) Miguel Chávez, member of ANTHOC-CUT, on 30 August 2001 in the Department of Cauca. The investigation is currently at the preliminary stage, the file being active, and is conducted by the Special Prosecutor’s Office 3 of Popayán, File No. 37411. Currently at the stage of collection of evidence.
  320. (17) Manuel Ruiz, Official of CUT, on 26 September 2001, in the Department of Córdoba. The investigation is conducted by the Special Prosecutor’s Office of Medellín. However, information on the number of the file and its current stage has not been found yet.
  321. (18) Ana Ruby Orrego, member of the El Valle Single Education Worker’s Trade Union (SUTEV-CUT), on 3 October 2001, in the Department of Valle del Cauca. The investigation is currently at the preliminary stage and active and is conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office 11 of Buga, File No. 43233. The Attorney-General’s Office stated that “according to the resolution of 26 April 2002, the case was dismissed for lack of evidence”.
  322. (19) Ramón Antonio Jaramillo, counsellor of SINTRAEMSDES-CUT, on 10 October 2001, in the Department of Valle del Cauca, while paramilitaries were carrying out a massacre in the region. The Attorney-General’s Office reported in respect of the investigation that appropriate inquiries are in hand to locate the cases in the Attorney-General’s Office and, according to the relevant verifications, no investigation has been found on these facts in the jurisdiction of Buga. In addition, 24 persons were massacred in this jurisdiction, in the Corregimiento of Alaska on 10 October 2001, but none of the victims had this name. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRAEMSDES, to ask it to provide further information, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the file or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  323. (20) Arturo Escalante Moros, member of USO, disappeared on 27 September 2001 and was found dead on 19 October 2001. Initially disappeared on 2 September 2001 in Chía, Cundinamarca, and found assassinated on 19 October 2001 in Barrancabermeja, Santander. The Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, USO, to ask it to provide further information, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the file or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  324. (21) Armando Buitrago Moreno, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees, ASONAL, on 6 June 2001. It has not been possible to establish the place where the facts occurred. This information is essential in order to determine which Prosecutor’s unit initially conducted the investigation in question. Therefore, the investigation on the murder of Armando Buitrago Moreno could not be conducted, and, in this respect, the Attorney-General’s Office stated that all relevant verifications were made in order to trace the case. For the above reason, the authority conducting this investigation, the file number and the stage of the investigation could not be established. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, ASONAL, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned since the denunciation presented by the complainant is rather vague and makes it difficult to find the file or investigate this case. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided. The Prosecutor’s Office notes that Buitrago Moreno was investigator at the CIT 06 judicial branch, but his connection to the trade union ASONAL remains to be established.
  325. (22) Julián Ricardo Muñoz, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Employees of the Judicial Branch (ASONAL), 6 June 2001, in Bogotá. File No. 53878; Prosecutor’s Office: special prosecutor’s office 15, terrorism unit of Bogotá; Stage: preliminary; Current status: active; nevertheless, the Attorney-General’s Office notes that Mr. Muñoz was investigator at the CTI 06 judicial branch, but his connection to the trade union remains to be established.
  326. (23) Edgar Thomas Angarita Mora, activist of the Arauca Teachers’ Association, (ASEDAR), on 11 June 2001, in Barrancones:
  327. File No.: 3048
  328. Facts: 12 June 2001 in Saravena
  329. Prosecutor’s office: Saravena District
  330. Stage: Preliminary
  331. Current status: Case provisionally closed for lack of evidence on 6 February
  332. (24) Cristóbal Uribe Beltrán, member of the National Association of Workers and Employees in Hospitals, Clinics, Dispensaries and Community Health Units (ANTHOC), 28 June 2001 in Tibu, by paramilitaries:
  333. File No.: 33. 928
  334. Prosecutor’s office: Fourth Unit of Life, Prosecutor’s Office, Cúcuta District Directorate.
  335. Stage: Preliminary
  336. Current status: Active
  337. The Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security requested the trade Union, ANTHOC, to provide further information. The latter has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  338. (25) Eduardo Edilio Alvarez Escudelo, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees (ASONAL) on 2 July 2001 in Antioquia, by guerrilla forces; Alvarez Escudelo’s murder is listed in the general report of investigations carried out by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, but there is no specific information on the place, the date and the authors of the act. In this last respect, the Attorney-General’s Office notes that it has not been possible to establish the place where the facts occurred; this information is necessary to identify prosecutor’s unit initially conducted the investigation. The vice-chairperson of ASONAL JUDICAL, Mr. Luis Fernando Otalvaro Calle, indicated in a written communication of 7 February 2003 that Mr. Eduardo Edilio Alvarez was not a member of this trade union.
  339. (26) Prasmacio Arroyo, member of the Magdalena teachers’ union (SINTRASMAG), on 26 July 2001 in Magdalena; upon examination of the database of the Prosecutor’s Office, Santa Maria District Directorate, and of the entire Public Prosecutor’s judicial system, no investigation was found on these facts. Further, this information is not insufficient to carry out a search into the existing databases of the prosecutor’s district directorates of the country and for this reasons, it is necessary to request further information, especially in respect to the name of the victim, the place and the date of the facts. Nevertheless the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRASMAG, to ask it to provide further information so that it would be easier to trace the case in the Prosecutor’s Office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no additional information can be provided.
  340. (27) Efraín Toledo Guevara, member of the Caquetá’s Teacher Association (AICA), on 5 August 2001 in Caquetá.
  341. Offence: Murder
  342. Place and date: Caquetá, 5 August 2001
  343. District directorate: Florencia
  344. Responsible authority: Prosecutor’s Office 40, Florencia
  345. File No.: 17175
  346. Stage: Preliminary
  347. Current status: Suspended
  348. (28) César Bedoya Ortiz, activist of the University Teachers’ Association (ASPU), on 16 August 2001 in Bolívar; upon the examination of the existing data base in the Prosecutor’s Office, Cartagena District Directorate, no investigation whatsoever on these facts could be located. Further, the current information on this case is insufficient for carrying out a research into the existing data bases of the district directorates of the prosecutor’s offices of the country; it is thus necessary to request more information, especially in relation to the victim’s name, the place and the date of the facts. The Human Rights Office of the Social Protection Ministry sent an official communication to the trade union ASPU, with a view to obtain further information in order to locate the investigation in the corresponding section of the prosecutor’s office. The union has not replied yet to the communications of the Ministry who, therefore, cannot provide any information.
  349. (29) César Arango Mejía, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Employees of the Judicial Branch (ASONAL), on 24 August 2001 in Risaralda; a written communication of 7 February 2003 signed by the vice-chairperson of the National Association of Civil Servants and Employees of the Judicial Branch ASONAL JUDICAL, Mr. Luis Fernando Otalvaro Calle, indicated that Mr. Arango Mejia was not a member of ASONAL JUDICAL.
  350. (30) Luis Ernesto Camelo, activist of the Santander Teachers’ Union (SES), on 2 September 2001, in Santander, by paramilitaries:
  351. File No.: 24380
  352. Victim: Luis Ernesto Camelo López, Jorge Eliécer Joya Méndez, Alberto Cardozo Marchena
  353. Prosecutor’s office: 6th Prosecutor’s Office, delegate to the criminal judges of the Barrancabermeja district
  354. Offence: Murder
  355. Date: 2 September 2001
  356. Place: Barrancabermeja, Santander
  357. Current status: Preliminary, the decision of suspension became enforceable on 30 October 2002
  358. (31) Marcelina Saldarriaga, activist of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA), on 5 September 2001, in Antioquia:
  359. Offence: Murder
  360. Place and time: 5 September 2001 in Itaguí, Antioquia
  361. District directorate: Antioquia
  362. Responsible authority: Prosecutor’s Office 47, Itaguí section, Antioquia
  363. File No.: P-1639
  364. Stage: Preliminary
  365. Current Status: Dismissed for lack of evidence on 27 February 2002
  366. Organization: Headmistress of the Itaguí high school La Marceliana Saldarriaga, Antioquia
  367. Position: No trade union membership
  368. (32) Gilberto Arbeláez Sánchez, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association Subcommittee (ADIDA), on 9 September 2001 in Antioquia:
  369. Offence: Murder
  370. Place and time: 9 September 2001, in Rionegro, Antioquia.
  371. District directorate: Antioquia
  372. Responsible authority: 105th Prosecutor’s Office, El Santuario District, Antioquia
  373. File No.: P-5.204
  374. Stage: Preliminary
  375. Current status: Dismissed for lack of evidence on 31 October 2002
  376. Organization: ADIDA
  377. Position: Member
  378. (33) Jacobo Rodríguez, member of the Caquetá Teachers’s Association (AICA), on 18 September 2001 in Caquetá, by paramilitaries; the investigation is carried out by the Special Prosecutor’s Office 4 of the district directorate of Florencia, under the number No. 18115, and has reached the prosecution stage. The investigation is currently active. With regard to the trade unionist position, the Attorney-General’s Office indicates that the organization of which Mr. Rodriguez was a member remains to be established.
  379. (34) Juan David Corzo, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Employees of the Judicial Branch (ASONAL), on 20 September 2001 in Cúcuta, by paramilitaries:
  380. Offence: Murder
  381. Victim: Juan David Corzo Mendoza
  382. Place and date: 22 September 2001, in Cúcuta, North of Santander
  383. District directorate: National
  384. Responsible authority: National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit (DIH)
  385. File No.: 1107
  386. Stage: Preliminary
  387. Current status: Active
  388. Organization: To be established
  389. Position: To be established
  390. Nevertheless, the Public Prosecutor’s Office notes that Corzo Mendoza was Chief of the Police CTI 20, but his connection to the trade union organization ASONAL remains to be established because there is no exact registration of his trade union affiliation.
  391. (35) Bibiana María Gómez Bedoya, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA); the investigation is conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office 89, Vida Section, Medellín District Directorate, File No. 474956, at the preliminary stage. The investigation is currently active.
  392. (36) Antonio Mesa, member of the University Workers’ Union (SINTRAUNICOL), on 25 September 2001, in Barranquilla, by paramilitaries:
  393. Offence: Murder
  394. Place and time: Barranquilla, Atlántico on 25 September 2001.
  395. District directorate: National Unit
  396. Responsible authority: National Unit of Human Rights
  397. File No.: 1095
  398. Stage: Indictment
  399. Current status: Active
  400. Organization: SINTRAUNICOL
  401. Position: Member
  402. (37) Germán Elías Madrigal, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association, on 28 September 2001, in Antioquia:
  403. Offence: Murder
  404. Place and time: Municipality of Caucasia, Antioquia on 28 September 2001
  405. District: Antioquia
  406. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor’s Office
  407. File No.: 1879
  408. Stage: Prosecution
  409. Current status: Active
  410. Organization: ADIDA
  411. Position: Teacher
  412. (38) Plutarco Herrera Gómez, member of the Claims Committee of the National Union of Cargo Handlers in Colombian Maritime Ports, on 30 September 2001, in Valle del Cauca, by paramilitaries. Upon examination of the database of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Cali District Directorate, no investigation was found on these facts. Moreover, the information is not sufficient to undertake a search in the databases of the District Prosecutor’s directorates of the country and for this reason, further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, and the place and date of the facts. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security sent an official request to the National Union of Cargo Handlers in Colombian Maritime Ports in order to provide better information on the facts, in a form that facilitates the search for the file in the corresponding section prosecutor’s office.
  413. (39) Gustavo Castellón Fuentes, activist of the Union of Family Benefit Fund Workers of Barrancabermeja (SINALTRACOFAN), on 20 October 2001, in Barrancabermeja, by paramilitaries:
  414. Offence: Murder
  415. Place and time: 20 October 2001, in Barrancabermeja, Santander
  416. District directorate: Bucaramanga
  417. Responsible authority: Section unit of Barrancabermeja
  418. File No.: 24747
  419. Stage: Preliminary
  420. Current status: Suspended by resolution of 20 November 2002
  421. Organization: SINALTRACOFAN
  422. Position: Member
  423. (40) Milena Pereira Plata, ASINORTH, on 30 October 2001, in Santander, by the FARC. Upon examination of the database of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Bucaramanga District Directorate, there was no reference to any investigation on these facts. In addition, this data is not sufficient to undertake a search on the existing databases of the District Prosecutor’s directorates of the country, and for this reason, further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, and the place and date of the facts. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security, sent an official request to the ASINORTH union in order to provide better information on the facts, in a form that facilitates the search for the file in the corresponding section prosecutor’s office. The trade union organization has not responded to the communications of the Ministry yet and thus, information cannot be provided.
  424. (41) Edith Manrique, activist of Caldas Teachers’ United (EDUCAL), on 6 November 2001, in Caldas, by paramilitaries:
  425. Offence: Murder
  426. Place and time: 3 November 2001 in Florencia, Manizales
  427. District directorate: Manizales
  428. Responsible authority: Pensilvania Section Prosecutor’s Office, Caldas
  429. File No.: 1553
  430. Stage: Preliminary
  431. Current Status: Active
  432. Organization: The procedure has not provided the least element of evidence as to the affiliation of the defunct to the EDUCAL trade union
  433. Position: No affiliation
  434. (42) Eriberto Sandoval, member of the National United Federation of Agricultural Workers (FENSUAGRO), on 11 November 2001, in Ciénaga, by paramilitaries; after having been consulted, the databases of the Judicial Information System of the Public Prosecutors’ Offices and the books based in the Ciénaga Public Prosecutor’s Unit (Magdalena), provided that there has been no investigation in this district on these facts.
  435. (43) Eliécer Orozco, FENSUAGRO, on 11 November 2001, in Ciénaga, by paramilitaries; on this particular case, the National Unit on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the Attorney-General’s Office, reported that after having been consulted, the databases of the Judicial Information System of the Public Prosecutors’ Offices and the books based in the Ciénaga Public Prosecutor’s Unit (Magdalena), provided that there has been no investigation in this district on these facts.
  436. (44) Jorge Julio Céspedes, activist of Caldas Teachers’ United (EDUCAL), on 24 November 2001, in Caldas, by paramilitaries:
  437. Offence: Aggravated murder
  438. Place and time: Manizales – Caldas, on 24 November 2001
  439. District directorate: Manizales
  440. Responsible authority: Public Prosecutor 2, Manizales district
  441. File No.: 57304
  442. Stage: Prosecution
  443. Current status: Active
  444. Organization: EDUCAL. The position of Mr. Cespedes has not been established yet
  445. (45) María Leida Montoya, activist of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association, on 30 November 2001, in Antioquia; the National Unit on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of the Attorney-General’s Office, reported that on this case it has not been possible to determine the exact site where the facts occurred; this information is necessary in order to determine which Prosecutor’s Office initially undertook the relevant investigation. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security officially requested the ADIDA trade union to provide further information on the facts, to facilitate the search for the file in the corresponding district prosecutor’s office. The trade union organization has not yet responded to the Ministry’s communications and thus, no information can be provided.
  446. (46) Luis Alfonso Gaviria Meneses, activist of the Trade Union of Workers and Employees in the Public Services Agencies and Decentralized Institutions of Colombia (SINTRAEMSDES), on 30 November 2001, in Antioquia, by paramilitaries:
  447. Offence: Murder
  448. Place and time: 30 November 2001, in the Belén neighborhood of Medellín
  449. District directorate: Medellín
  450. Responsible authority: District 1241 Public Prosecutor’s Office
  451. File No.: 138
  452. Stage: Preliminary
  453. Current status: Active
  454. Organization: SINTRAEMSDES
  455. Position: Member
  456. (47) Herlinda Blando, member of the Union of Teachers and Lecturers of Boyacá, on 1 December 2001 in Boyacá, by paramilitaries; the National Unit of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Attorney-General’s Office, reported that the District Directorate of the Public Prosecutors’ Offices of Tunja stated that investigations on these facts – violations of workers’ human rights – are not undertaken in any of the Prosecutors’ Offices assigned to this Directorate.
  457. (48) Generoso Estrada Saldarriaga, member of the Union of Electricity Workers of Colombia (SINTRAELECOL), on 4 December 2001, in Antioquia:
  458. Offence: Murder
  459. Place and date: In the Municipality of Guarne, Antioquia on 4 December 2001
  460. District directorate: Medellín
  461. Responsible authority: Guarne District Public Prosecutor’s Office
  462. File No. 5018
  463. Stage: Preliminary
  464. Current status: Dismissed for lack of evidence on 31 July 2002
  465. Organization: SINTRELECOL. The position has not been established yet
  466. (49) Germán Darío Ortiz Restrepo, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA), on 7 December 2001, in Antioquia:
  467. Offence: Murder
  468. Date and time: Medellín, Antioquia, on 7 December 2001
  469. District directorate: Medellín
  470. Responsible authority: District 86 de Vida Prosecutor’s Office
  471. File No.: 506-041
  472. Stage: Preliminary
  473. Organization: ADIDA
  474. Position: Professor
  475. (50) Alberto Torres, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA), on 12 December 2001, in Antioquia. This information is not sufficient to undertake a search in the existing databases of the District Directorates of the Prosecutors’ Offices of the country, especially with regard to the name of the victim, place and date of the acts. According to information collected by the Antioquia District Directorate of Prosecutors’ Offices, although Mr. Torres was a teacher at the El Peñol Municipality, Department of Antioquia, he was not assassinated in the exercise of, nor because of his trade union activities.
  476. (51) James Estrada, activist of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA), on 13 December 2001, in Antioquia:
  477. Offence: Murder
  478. Place and time: In the Municipality of Bello, Antioquia, on 13 December 2001
  479. District directorate: Medellín
  480. Responsible authority: Public prosecutor 16, specialized in terrorism
  481. File No.: 623-989
  482. Stage: Preliminary
  483. Current status: Active
  484. Organization: ADIDA
  485. Position: Professor
  486. (52) Iván Velasco Vélez Union of University Workers, on 27 December 2001, in Valle del Cauca, by paramilitaries:
  487. Offence: Murder
  488. Place and time: Cali – Valle, on 26 December 2001
  489. District directorate: Cali
  490. Responsible authority: Public Prosecutor 27, Cali District
  491. File No.: 461911
  492. Stage: Preliminary
  493. Current state: Provisional filing
  494. The Prosecutor’s Office also reported that the affiliation of Mr. Velasco to the trade union organization and his position within it remain to be established.
  495. (53) Rubí Moreno, member of ANTHOC, on 20 January 2002, in César, by paramilitaries:
  496. Offence: Murder
  497. Place and time: Pueblo Bello, Cesar, on 20 January 2002
  498. District directorate: Valledupar
  499. Responsible authority: District Prosecutor 17
  500. File No.: 141341
  501. Stage: Preliminary
  502. Current status: Dismissed for lack of evidence on 25 November 2002
  503. Organization: ANTHOC
  504. Position: To be established
  505. (54) Víctor Alberto Triana, Association of Employees of ECOPETROL (ADECO), on 21 January 2002, by paramilitaries; Carlos Padilla, President of the Union of Workers in the Fray Luis de León Hospital, member of the General Confederation of Democratic Workers and UTRADEC, on 28 January 2002, in the Municipality of Plato Magdalena, after receiving threats. The following has been reported on the investigation:
  506. District directorate: Santa Marta
  507. Responsible authority: Specialized Public Prosecutor 1, Santa Marta
  508. File No.: 29156
  509. Stage: Preliminary
  510. Current status: Active
  511. Organization: UTRADEC
  512. Position: President
  513. (55) Walter Oñate, shot dead when leaving work at the Eduardo Arredondo Daza Hospital in Valledupar, on 29 January 2002. The Attorney-General’s office reports that:
  514. District directorate: Valledupar
  515. Responsible authority: Specialized Public Prosecutor 8
  516. File No.: 141139
  517. Stage: Preliminary
  518. Current state: Dismissed for lack of evidence on 16 October 2002
  519. Organization: SIDESC
  520. Position: Secretary
  521. (56) Oscar Jaime Delgado Valencia, teacher at the Camilo Torres de Armenia College, Department of Quindío, shot dead on 4 February 2002. The Attorney-General’s Office reported that the preliminary investigation for murder has been undertaken by the Third Unit on Life of District Public Prosecutor, Armenia District Directorate, and that the case is currently pending trial before the third Judge of the Penal Circuit, File No. 42315. Edison Ospina Rudiano was sentenced to 28 years of imprisonment for the murder of Valencia Delgado. It has also been reported that Valencia Delgado was a member of SUTEQ.
  522. (57) Oswaldo Enrique Borja Martínez, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees (ASONAL), on 6 February 2002, in Sucre, by paramilitaries. According to the information provided by the Attorney-General’s office on the investigation, the following has been reported:
  523. Directorate: National Unit
  524. Responsible authority: National Unit on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
  525. There has been no reference to any investigation on these facts in the database of the District Directorate of Public Prosecutors’ Offices of Antioquia and Medellín. In this respect, the Attorney-General’s Office reported that this information is not sufficient to undertake a search in the databases of the District Prosecutors’ Directorates of the country, and for this reason more ample information is requested, especially with regard to the name of the victim, the place and time of the facts. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security, officially requested the trade union SINDICONS to provide further information on the facts, in a form which will facilitate the search for the file in the corresponding District Prosecutor’s Office. The trade union organization has not yet responded to the communications of the Ministry and thus, no information can be provided.
  526. (60) Alfredo González Páez, member of the Association of Employees of INPEC (ASEINPEC), on 15 February 2002, in Tolima, by paramilitaries. According to the information provided by the Attorney-General’s Office, it has not been possible to trace the investigation in the DSF Assignments Office of Cundinamarca and the Girardot District Prosecutor’s Unit. Further information on the facts is necessary. Nevertheless, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security officially requested the INPEC trade union ASEINPEC, to provide further information on the facts, in a form which will facilitate the search for the file in the corresponding District Prosecutor’s Office. The trade union organization has not yet responded to the communications of the Ministry and thus, no information can be provided
  527. (61) Oswaldo Meneses Jiménez, ASEINPEC, on 15 February 2002 in Tolima, by paramilitaries. According to the information provided by the Attorney-General’s Office, it was not possible to trace the investigation in the office of assignations of the DSF Cundinamarca and the Prosecutor’s Office, Girardot District. More information is required as to the facts. However, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the INPEC trade union, ASEINPEC, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  528. (62) José Wilson Díaz, member of the Union of Electricity Workers of Colombia (SINTRAELECOL), on 21 February 2002 in Huila, by the FARC:
  529. District directorate: Neiva
  530. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor No. 1, Neiva
  531. File No.: 50606
  532. Stage: Preliminary
  533. Current status: Inhibitory order dated 5 March 2003, effective 17 March and provisional archiving ordered.
  534. Organization: SIMEC trade union
  535. Position: Station engineer
  536. (63) Cecilia Gallego, Secretary for Women’s Affairs of the Executive Committee of Colombian Farmers’ Action (ACC), in the municipality of Macarena, on 25 February 2002. According to memorandum No. 001 sent by Dr. Jaime Martínez Pico, Labour and Social Security Inspector in Granada, Meta, on 9 January 2003 to the DDHH of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, after a thorough review of this office’s files, no record was found of a trade union registration for the Colombian Farmers’ Action union in the Municipality of Macarena. This is in response to the telephone request by the territorial director of the Ministry of Labour in Meta. The Attorney-General’s Office reports as follows:
  537. Offence: Murder of protected person
  538. Place and time: Macarena – Meta, 25 February 2002
  539. Directorate: Villavicencio Support Unit
  540. Responsible authority: Support Unit in the National Human Rights Unit
  541. File No.: 1388
  542. Stage: Preliminary
  543. Current status: Active
  544. Organization: Colombian Farmers’ Action (not a trade union)
  545. Position: Secretary for Farmers’ Affairs of the Executive Committee
  546. (64) Marcos Antonio Beltrán, SUTEV activist, on 1 March 2002 in Valle del Cauca. According to the information provided by the Attorney-General’s Office on the murder of Mr. Beltrán, this occurred on 1 March 2002 in the Municipality of Palmira, Department of Valle del Cauca, stating further that the Coordinator of the Palmira District Unit reports that no investigation is being conducted into this incident, suggesting that further information on the facts should be provided. Finally, it reported that Mr. Beltrán was a grass-roots worker in SUTEV-CUT. However, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the SUTEV trade union, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  547. (65) Roberto Carballo, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees (ASONAL), on 6 March 2002 in Bolívar:
  548. Offence: Murder
  549. Victim: Roberto David Carballo Ortiz, Municipal Judge, Morales
  550. Place and time: In the municipality of Morales, Bolívar, on 6 March 2002
  551. District directorate: Cartagena
  552. Responsible authority: Prosecutor 28, Simití District
  553. File No.: 2037
  554. Stage: Preliminary
  555. Current status: Active
  556. Organization: Municipal Judge, Morales
  557. Position: To be determined
  558. In addition a letter was received on 7 February 2003 signed by Luis Fernando Otalvaro Calle, National Vice-President of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees, in which he stated that Mr. Roberto Carballo was not a member of ASONAL JUDICIAL.
  559. (66) Eduardo Chinchilla Padilla, activist of the Union of Workers in the Oil Palm and Related Industries (SINTRAPALMA-CUT), on 11 March 2002:
  560. File No.: 26345
  561. Prosecutor’s office: Eighth Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Barrancabermeja Criminal Circuit Judges
  562. Offence: Murder
  563. Date: 11 March 2002
  564. Place: Puerto Wilches, Santander
  565. Status: Preliminary, active
  566. (67) Luis Miguel Rubio Espinel, member of the North Santander Teachers’ Association, ASINORT, 15 July 2001:
  567. Offence: Murder
  568. Place and date: 15 July 2001, in Cúcuta
  569. District directorate: Cúcuta
  570. Responsible authority: Criminal Court 3, Cúcuta Circuit
  571. File No.: 33,793
  572. Stage: Trial
  573. Organization: ASINORTH
  574. Position: Member
  575. (68) José González Barros, activist of the Trade Union of Official Workers and Public Employees of the Municipality of Sabanagrande (SINTRAOPUSA-CUT), on 2 July 2002, in the Municipality of Sabanagrande. According to the Attorney-General’s Office, the Prosecutor’s Office, Barranquilla District Directorate, Barranquilla, reports that the Prosecutor’s Office Judicial Information System (SIJUF) shows no record of an investigation into this murder. The Sabanagrande police station was requested to report which authority exhumed the body and to which prosecutor’s office it was sent. On 30 April 2003, the Prosecutor’s Office reported that following appropriate investigations, it was found that an active investigation into the murder of Mr. Barros was in progress, adding the following information:
  576. Offence: Murder
  577. Victim: José de las Mercedes Gonzáles Barros
  578. Date: 2 July 2002
  579. Prosecutor’s office: First district, Soledad, Atlántico
  580. File No.: IP 1531
  581. Stage: Preliminary
  582. Current status: Active
  583. In addition, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRAOPUSA-CUT, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  584. Abductions and disappearances
  585. (1) Ismael Ortega, Treasurer of SINTRAPROACEITES, San Alberto (César):
  586. Offence: Disappearance
  587. Place and date: 17 October 1998, in San Alberto, César.
  588. District directorate: Valledupar
  589. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor’s Office 1, Valledupar
  590. File No.: 451-0245
  591. Stage: Preliminary
  592. Current status: Suspended
  593. Organization: INDUPALMA
  594. Position: Employee
  595. (2) Walter Arturo Velásquez Posada, of the Nueva Floresta School, in the Municipality of El Castillo, in the El Ariari Educational District, Department of Meta:
  596. Offence: Abduction
  597. Place and date: Municipality of El Castillo, Meta, 9 May 1999
  598. District directorate: National Unit
  599. Responsible authority: National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit
  600. File No.: 63303
  601. Stage: Preliminary
  602. Current status: Suspended
  603. Organization: The investigation shows no evidence of membership of any trade union
  604. Position: Teacher
  605. (3) Neftalí Romero Lombana, of Aguazúl (Casanare) and Luis Hernán Ramírez, teacher from Chámeza (Casanare), members of SIMAC-FECODE:
  606. Offence: Abduction
  607. Place and date: Aguazul Casanare 11 May 2000
  608. District directorate: Santa Rosa de Viterbo
  609. Responsible authority: Yopal Gaula District Prosecutor
  610. File No.: 10060
  611. Stage: Preliminary
  612. Current status: Active
  613. Organization: SIMAC-FECODE
  614. Position: Member
  615. (4) Germán Medina Gaviria, member of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI), on 14 January 2001, in the neighbourhood of El Porvenir, town of Cali. The investigation was initially conducted by the Cali Trade Union Sub-Unit, but the Cali Special Prosecutor’s Office reports that there is at present no investigation into these events. Thus the trade union and the position held by Mr. Medina Gaviria remains to be ascertained. However, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the trade union, SINTRAEMCALI, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  616. (5) Julio César Jaraba, member of SINTRAISS, disappeared on 23 February 2001:
  617. Offence: Unlawful imprisonment
  618. District directorate: Bucaramanga
  619. Responsible authority: First Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucaramanga Circuit Special Criminal Courts
  620. File No.: 151353
  621. Stage: Prosecution
  622. Current status: Active
  623. Organization: SINTRAISS
  624. Position: Member
  625. (6) Paula Andrea Gómez Mora (daughter of Edinson Gómez, member of SINTRAEMCALI, who was threatened on several occasions), abducted on 18 April 2001 and released on 20 April 2001:
  626. Offence: Abduction
  627. Place and date: 18 April 2001
  628. District directorate: Cali
  629. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor’s Office 11
  630. File No.: 420271
  631. Stage: Preliminary
  632. Current status: Inhibitory, order of 30 August 2001
  633. Organization: None
  634. Position: None
  635. (7) Eumelia Aristizabal, member of ADIDA, disappeared on 19 April 2001:
  636. Offence: Abduction
  637. Date and place: 19 April 2001
  638. District directorate: Medellín
  639. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor’s Office 53, Gaula of Oriente
  640. File No.: P-460-956
  641. Stage: Preliminary
  642. Current status: Active
  643. Organization: ADIDA
  644. Position: Member
  645. (8) Rosa Cecilia Lemus Abril, official of FECODE, attempted abduction foiled on 14 May 2001. The Attorney-General’s Office reports the following:
  646. Offence: Disappearance
  647. Place and date: El Santuario, Antioquia, 19 April 2001
  648. District directorate: Medellín
  649. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor’s Office 53 attached to the Gaula of Oriente
  650. File No.: 460-956
  651. Stage: Preliminary
  652. Current status: Active
  653. Organization: ADIDA
  654. Position: Teacher
  655. (9) Six workers in public enterprises in Medellín belonging to SINTRAEMSDES were abducted in the Department of Antioquia on 12 June 2001. The abduction occurred in the municipality of El Peñol and the names of the victims, who are now free, are Héctor de Jesús Tamayo Ortiz, Ismael Zuluaga Aristizabal, Leonardo Zuluaga Villegas, Bernardo Arango Ruiz, José Vargas Vargas and Luis Humberto Mora. The investigation was initially conducted by the now defunct Rionegro Anti-extortion and Abduction Unit. For reasons of jurisdiction, it was transferred on 22 August 2001 to the Special Prosecution Units of the District Directorate, Prosecutor’s Office, Medellín, File No. 795. The investigation is at the preliminary stage and active.
  656. (10) Julio Enrique Carrascal Puentes, member of the national executive committee of CUT, abducted on 10 August 2001:
  657. Offence: Abduction
  658. Place and date: 10 August 2001 in the corregimiento (settlement) of El Playón on the road from Cartagena to San Onofre
  659. District directorate: Cartagena
  660. Responsible authority: First Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Gaula
  661. File No.: 74524
  662. Stage: Preliminary
  663. Current status: Active
  664. Organization: Union of Workers in the Institute of Social Security and Member of the National Executive Committee of the CUT
  665. Position: Member
  666. (11) Winsgton Jorge Tovar, member of ASONAL-CUT, abducted near the Municipality of Dagua:
  667. Offence: Abduction for ransom
  668. Place and date: Cali (corregimiento of Felidia), Valle, 20 August 2001
  669. District directorate: Cali
  670. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor 15, Cali
  671. File No.: 449814
  672. Stage: Preliminary
  673. Current status: Active
  674. Organization: ASONAL
  675. Position: Section prosecutor at that time
  676. (12) Alvaro Alberto Agudel Usuga, member of ASONAL-CUT, disappeared on 20 August 2001:
  677. Offence: Disappearance
  678. Place and date: Medellín, Antioquia, 20 August 2001
  679. District directorate: Medellín
  680. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor 53
  681. File No.: 534-966
  682. Stage: Preliminary
  683. Current status: Active
  684. Organization: ASONAL-CUT
  685. Position: Public official
  686. Mr. Agudelo Usuga was Municipal Judge in Medellín and a member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees, ASONAL
  687. (13) Jorge Feite Romero, member of the Association of Pensioners of the University of Atlántico (ASOJUA), on 28 August 2001. Jorge Feite Romero, murdered in the Municipality of Ciénaga, Magdalena, on 29 August 2001, was noted for his trade union work and defence of human rights. The Attorney-General’s Office provided the following information on his abduction:
  688. Offence: Abduction and murder
  689. Place and date: 28 August 2001, in Ciénaga, Magdalena
  690. District directorate: National
  691. Responsible authority: National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit
  692. File No.: 1096
  693. Stage: Preliminary
  694. Current status: Active
  695. Organization: There is no evidence that he belonged to any trade union
  696. Position: University teacher in Atlántico
  697. (14) Ricaurte Jaunten Pungo, official of ANTHOC-CUT, on 2 September 2001:
  698. Offence: Murder
  699. Place and date: Popayán, Cauca, 2 September 2001
  700. District directorate: Popayán
  701. Responsible authority: Popayán Special Prosecutor 7
  702. File No.: 37428
  703. Stage: Preliminary
  704. Current status: Referred to Cali Section
  705. Organization: ANTHOC-CUT
  706. Position: Official
  707. (15) Alvaro Laiton Cortés, President of the Boyacá Teachers’ Union, on 2 September 2001, released shortly after being abducted. The Attorney-General’s Office provided the following information on his abduction:
  708. Offence: Abduction and threats
  709. Place and date: 2 September 2001 in Chiquinquirá
  710. District directorate: Tunja
  711. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor’s Office 23, Chiquinquirá
  712. File No.: 989
  713. Stage: Preliminary
  714. Current status: Inhibitory
  715. Organization: Boyacá Teachers’ Union
  716. Position: President
  717. Mr. Laiton Cortés was a teacher and President of the Boyacá Teachers’ Union.
  718. (16) Marco Tulio Agudero Rivera, ASONAL-CUT, in the municipality of Cocorna, on 5 October 2001. The Attorney-General’s Office reported in respect of the abduction that all appropriate steps were in hand to trace the cases in the Attorney-General’s Office. However, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to ASONAL-CUT, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  719. (17) Iván Luis Beltrán, member of the executive committee of FECODE-CUT, on 10 October 2001. The DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to FECODE-CUT, to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  720. (18) Carlina Ballesteros, member of the Bolívar Single Teachers. Union (SUDEB-CUT), on 5 November 2001:
  721. Offence: Abduction for ransom
  722. Place and date: Puerto Rico, Bolívar, 5 November 2001
  723. District directorate: Cartagena
  724. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor 1 attached to the Gaula
  725. File No.: 81506
  726. Stage: Preliminary
  727. Current status: Active
  728. Organization: SUDEB-CUT
  729. Position: Member
  730. (19) Hugo Alberto Peña Camargo, President of the Arauca Rural Workers’ Association (ACA), detained in the corregimiento of Caño Verde, Department of Arauca, without a judicial warrant, on 13 March 2002:
  731. Offence: Disappearance
  732. Place and date: 13 March 2002, in Arauca
  733. District directorate: Cúcuta
  734. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor’s Office, Saravena
  735. File No.: 3669
  736. Stage: Preliminary
  737. Current status: Active
  738. Organization: Arauca Rural Workers’ Association (ACA)
  739. Position: President
  740. (20) Hernando Silva, member of the USO, abducted in Quebrada La Nata, Department of Casanare, on 25 March 2002 by paramilitaries, members of the José David Suárez Front of the ELN while travelling by a back road from the Yopal forest to the ECOPETROL pumping station in the municipality of Araguaney, in the village of La Niata, jurisdiction of Yopal, Department of Casanare. He was released on 3 May 2002 in the main park of the municipality of Labranzagrande (Boyacá) through the mediation of the International Red Cross, the media and the Casanare Regional Ombudsman. According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the investigation into the abduction is being conducted by Prosecutor’s Office 5 attached to the Gaula of Yopal, File No. 30169 and is at the preliminary stage, currently examination of evidence, preliminary inquiries having commenced on 26 March 2002.
  741. (21) Arturo Escalante Moros, member of the USO, on 27 September 2001, disappeared on 2 September 2001 and was subsequently murdered in the Municipality of Barrancabermeja, Department of Santander on 19 September 2001. The DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to USO to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  742. (22) Miguel Angel Rendón Graciano, Vice-President of the Chocó Subcommittee of the Sena Public Employees’ Trade Union, on 6 April 2002, in the Department of Chocó. He was abducted on 6 April 2002 while travelling from the Municipality of Itsmina to the City of Quibdó, on the road between the Municipality of Atrato near the Doña Josefa corrigimiento and was released on 9 June to a committee of the diocese of Quibdó in the corrigimiento of Boca de Capaz. This is according to information provided by the Ministry of Defence in its communication MDD-HH-725 of 31 October 2002, which information was taken from the CUT communication dated 19 April 2002. It is thus clear that Mr. Rendon is not currently abducted.
  743. (23) Gonzalo Ramírez Triana, USO activist, on 30 July 2002, in the Department of Cundinamarca. As to his position as trade union leader or official, it should be noted that Dr. Ricardo Sarmineto Fonseca, Chief of the Personnel Department of ECOPETROL transport division, replied to the letters ref. DH384 and DH386 of the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security to inform it that the workers Gonzalo Ramirez Triana and Alonso Pamplona were workers in the Transport Division, the latter having been with the company for about one month after being transferred by the Human Rights Office in Centro Oriente. Registration No. 620 of 18 November 2002 shows that they are also members of the Oil Pipeline Subdivision which conducts trade union activity in the Transport Division, but they are not members of its executive board. In addition, a letter ref. 03-40101 of 30 December 2002 from the Colombian Petroleum Corporation, states that Mr. Gonzalo Ramirez Triana, internal payroll registration No. 3-0239, who had retired, was employed on an indefinite contract by that division since 19 October 1971, with previous contracts during three months. He was a member of the Workers’ Trade Union but there was no record of his membership of the executive board. With respect to the investigation, the Cundinamarca District Directorate of the Prosecutor’s Office reported in 13 January 2003 that it had contacted the Chief Prosecutor of the unit attached to the Villeta criminal circuit judges, Cundinamarca, which stated that investigation No. 3525 into the abduction of Gonzalo Ramirez Triana was in progress. The preliminary investigation had opened, with orders for examination of evidence and assigning the police intelligence service, SIJIN, to undertake intelligence work to establish the truth and those responsible for the reported incidents.
  744. (24) On 20 August 2002 the following 27 individuals were abducted in the Department of Chocó, including a number of retirees and workers of the Cali Municipal Trade Union: Flower Enrique Rojas, President of the Cali Trade Union of Workers (SINTRAMUNICIPIO); María del Carmen Rendón, Jair Rendón, Antonio Bejarano, Henry Salcedo, Diego Valencia, Carlos Salinas, Beatriz Orozco, Soledad Fals, Elécer Ortiz, Jaime Sánchez Ballén, Pedro Potosí, Oscar Ivan Hernández, Gerardo Machado, Néstor Naráez, Libaniel Arciniegas, all members of the union:
  745. Offence: Abduction
  746. Place and date: 20 August 2002, in the Department of Chocó.
  747. District directorate: National
  748. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor’s Office 119, Anti-Abduction and Extortion
  749. File No.: 119
  750. Stage: Prosecution
  751. Current status: Active
  752. Organization: SINTRAMUNICIPIO
  753. Position: Members
  754. Attempted murders
  755. (1) César Andrés Ortiz, member of the CGTD, on 26 December 2000. According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, Mr. César Andrés Ortiz suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder while he was walking through his neighbourhood on 26 December 2000. A young man died and six other persons were wounded in the attack. On the investigation into the incident, the Attorney-General’s Office reported that all appropriate inquiries were in hand to locate the cases in the Attorney-General’s Office. However, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the CGTD to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  756. (2) Héctor Fabio Monroy, member of AICA-FECODE, on 23 February 2001 in Albania Caquetá. The prosecutor’s office provided the following information:
  757. Offence: Murder of Yaneth Gómez Sánchez and attempted murder of Héctor Fabio Monroy Díaz.
  758. File No.: 14,696
  759. Prosecutor’s office: Section Prosecutor’s Office 4, Florencia
  760. Stage: Preliminary
  761. Current status: On 24 October 2001 an order was made not to commence prosecution proceedings
  762. (3) Attack on the executive committee of SINTRAEMCALI in the outskirts of the town of Cali, when they were attending a working group to make proposals concerning the Cali Enterprise Recovery Plan, on 10 June 2001. The Attorney-General’s Office reports that the authority conducting the investigation, the file no. and the status of the investigation remains to be ascertained. However, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the SINTRAEMCALI to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided. In addition, the DDHH, concerned at the serious situation in the EMCALI Trade Union, specially requested the Attorney-General’s Office to provide information on all cases of human rights violations against SINTRAEMCALI officials in which there were active criminal investigations, which resulted in the following information being provided:
  763. Investigation No. 1
  764. File No.: 391326
  765. Prosecutor: Section 29, Dr. Jairo Daniel Fonseca
  766. Offence: Threats
  767. Date of incident: 29 September 2000
  768. Victim: Luis Antonio Hernández Monroy
  769. Stage: Preliminary
  770. Accused: To be ascertained
  771. Investigation No. 2
  772. File No.: 402254
  773. Prosecutor: Section 91, Dr. Carlos Alberto Mejía
  774. Offence: Threats
  775. Date of incident: 11 December 2000
  776. Victim: Javier Alfonso López Rojas
  777. Stage: Preliminary
  778. Accused: To be ascertained
  779. Investigation No. 3
  780. File No.: 403505
  781. Prosecutor: Section 91, Dr. María del S. Ordoñez
  782. Offence: Threats
  783. Date of incident: 30 November 2000
  784. Victim: Luis Antonio Hernández Monroy
  785. Stage: Preliminary
  786. Accused: To be ascertained
  787. Investigation No. 4
  788. File No.: 403612
  789. Prosecutor: Section 11, Dr. Alba Luz Lozada
  790. Offence: Abduction
  791. Date of incident: 6 December 2000
  792. Victims: Diego and Noe Quiguanaz González
  793. Stage: Preliminary
  794. Accused: To be ascertained
  795. Investigation No. 5
  796. File No.: 431241
  797. Prosecutor: 30, Dr. Nelly Gallego Tumiñan
  798. Offence: Threats
  799. Date of incident: 11 July 2001
  800. Victim: Ricardo Herrera
  801. Stage: Preliminary
  802. Accused: To be ascertained
  803. Investigation No. 6
  804. File No.: 435415
  805. Prosecutor: Section 29, Dr. Jairo Daniel Fonseca
  806. Offence: Threats
  807. Date of incident: 10 August 2001
  808. Victim: Rigoberto Díaz
  809. Stage: Preliminary
  810. Accused: To be ascertained
  811. Investigation No. 7
  812. File No.: 443316
  813. Prosecutor: 93, Dr. María del S. Ordoñez
  814. Offence: Threats
  815. Date of incident: 20 September 2001
  816. Victims: Carlos Arturo Marín and Carlos Fdo Flórez
  817. Stage: Preliminary
  818. Accused: To be ascertained
  819. Investigation No. 8
  820. File No.: 494949
  821. Prosecutor: Section 30, Nelly Gallego Tumiñan
  822. Offence: Threats
  823. Date of incident: 1 May 2002
  824. Victims: Jesús González Luna and Luia Antonio Monroy
  825. Stage: Preliminary
  826. Accused: To be ascertained
  827. Investigation No. 9
  828. File No.: 525234
  829. Prosecutor: 3rd Special, Dr. Carlos Martín Latorre
  830. Offence: Terrorism
  831. Date of incident: 3 September 2002
  832. Victims: SINTRAEMCALI members
  833. Stage: Preliminary
  834. Accused: To be ascertained
  835. Investigation No. 10
  836. File No.: 550760
  837. Prosecutor: 93, Dr. María del Socorro Ordoñez
  838. Offence: Threats
  839. Date of incident: 4 March 2003
  840. Victim: Luis Enrique Imbachi Rubiano
  841. Stage: Preliminary
  842. Accused: To be ascertained
  843. Investigation No. 11
  844. File No.: 346202
  845. Prosecutor: Life Unit 19
  846. Offence: Attempted murder
  847. Date of incident: 15 December 1999
  848. Victim: Antonio Gonzalez Luna
  849. Stage: Preliminary
  850. Accused: To be ascertained
  851. Investigation No. 12
  852. File No.: 358080
  853. Prosecutor: 3rd Special, Dr. Carlos Martín Latorre
  854. Offence: Attempted murder
  855. Date of incident: Unknown
  856. Victims: Antonion González Luna and Giovanny Rodríguez
  857. Stage: Preliminary
  858. Accused: To be ascertained
  859. As this shows, there are at present 12 criminal investigations in progress for human rights violations against trade unionists involving SINTRAEMCALI members, including one for threats and assaults against “members” of the Trade Union of the Empresa Municipal de Cali.
  860. (4) Clemencia del Carmen Burgos, member of ASONAL-CUT, who was investigating the financing networks of the AUC self-defence groups, on 11 July 2001:
  861. Offence: Aggravated murder and bodily injuries
  862. Place and date: Montería, Córdoba, 11 July 2001
  863. Victims: Miguel Ignacio Lora Méndez and Clemencia Burgos Durango
  864. District directorate: Montería
  865. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor 13
  866. File No.: 21082
  867. Stage: Preliminary
  868. Current status: Active
  869. Organization: To be ascertained
  870. Position: Chief SIA-CTI Montería
  871. (5) Omar García Angulo, member of SINTRAEMECOL, on 16 August 2001:
  872. File No.: 11055
  873. Victims: Murder of Doris Nuñez Lozanio and bodily injuries to Mayor Cesar Fernando Caraballo and Omar García
  874. Date: Fusagasuga, 16 August 2001
  875. Prosecutor’s office: Bogotá special unit
  876. In addition, the nature of the relationship between Mr. García Angulo and SINTRAEMECOL, Fusagasuga section, remains to be established.
  877. (6) Hebert Cuadros, member of the Valle del Cauca Single Union of Education Workers (SUTEV), on 16 November 2001. A search of the database in the Cali District Directorate Prosecutor’s Office did not find any investigation into this matter. The data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. The DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security therefore wrote to SUTEV to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  878. (7) The national headquarters of the Union of Electricity Workers of Colombia (SINTRAELECOL), on 8 July 2002 in Bogotá. According to the general report of investigations conducted by the Attorney-General’s Office into violations of trade union members’ human rights, the attack on the SINTRAELECOL headquarters occurred in Bogotá on 8 July. The investigating authority, the file number and the status of the proceedings have still to be ascertained in the Attorney-General’s Office. However, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to SINTRAELECOL asking it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  879. Acts of violence
  880. (1) Henry Alberto Mosquera, of the Yumbo Municipal Workers Trade Union assaulted by security forces on 1 May 2002. According to investigations by the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Labour, it was concluded that Mr. Mosquera, national identity number Cali 16.759.386, is a member of the Yumbo Municipal Workers’ Trade Union, legal registration No. 00387 of 10 April 1961, File No. 144, registration No. 856-0856, date of admission to membership 24 November 1989. In addition, the Yumbo Municipal Workers Trade Union was asked to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  881. (2) Ricardo Valbuena, of the Trade Union of Workers of Yumbo Municipality, under circumstances similar to those described above:
  882. Offence: Threats
  883. File No.: 323190
  884. Stage: Provisionally archived, inhibitory order of 24 October 1999
  885. Prosecutor’s office: Section 91, Cali
  886. District directorate: Cali
  887. Death threats
  888. (1) Juan de la Rosa Grimaldos, President of ASEINPEC:
  889. File No.: 54349
  890. Prosecutor’s office: Special 37 Bogotá
  891. Stage: Preliminary
  892. Status: Active
  893. According to the Ministry of the Interior’s list of “Measures actually taken for trade union leaders and activists during 2001 and 2002”, no request for protection was made by Mr. Juan de la Rosa Grimaldos, and therefore no protection was provided during the period.
  894. (2) Giovanni Uyazán Sánchez: the data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. However, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the three most representative trade union federations in the country (CUT?CTC-CGDT) asking of which Mr. Uyazán Sánchez is or was a member. Thus, the trade union federation which has a record of Mr. Uyazán Sánchez will provide more information on the facts, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union confederations have not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  895. (3) Reinaldo Villegas Vargas, member of the “José Alvear Restrepo” Society of Lawyers. The data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. However, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to “José Alvear Restrepo” Society of Lawyers (which is not a trade union) asking whether Mr. Villegas Vargas is or was a member, to obtain more information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The organization has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  896. (4) The following officials and members of USO: Carlos Oviedo, César Losa, Ismael Ríos, José Meneses, Julio Saldaña, Ladislao Rodríguez, Luis Linares, Rafael Ortiz, Ramiro Luna:
  897. Unlawful imprisonment of José Meneses
  898. Offence: Unlawful imprisonment
  899. Place and date:
  900. District directorate: Medellín
  901. Responsible authority: Special Prosecutor’s Office 23
  902. File No.: P-378.262
  903. Stage: Preliminary
  904. Current status: Active
  905. Organization: USO
  906. Position: Member
  907. The remaining data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident.
  908. (5) Rosario Vela, member of SINTRADEPARTAMENTO. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. However, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to SINTRADEPARTAMENTO to obtain more information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  909. (6) Numerous officials and members of FECODE. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. However, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to FECODE to obtain more information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  910. (7) Jorge Nisperuza, President of the CUT subcommittee, Córdoba:
  911. Offence: Personal threats
  912. Place and date: Montería
  913. District directorate: Montería
  914. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor’s Office 13
  915. File No.: 23678
  916. Stage: Preliminary
  917. Current status: Inhibitory order, as the incident did not take place
  918. Organization: CUT Córdoba branch
  919. (8) Gerardo Rodrigo Genoy Guerrero, President of the National Union of Workers, SINTRABANCOL:
  920. File No.: 54090
  921. Prosecutor’s office: Bogotá special 37
  922. Stage: Preliminary
  923. Status: Active
  924. (9) José Rodrigo Orozco, President of the CUT-CAUCA executive committee. The Attorney-General’s Office reports that there is a record of the complaint of death threats against José Rodrigo Orozco in Popayán, Cauca:
  925. File No.: 54,365
  926. Victim: José Rodrigo Orozco
  927. Prosecutor’s office: Section Prosecutor’s Office 005, Popayán
  928. Date: 25 May 2002
  929. Stage: Preliminary
  930. Current status: Active
  931. According to the Ministry of the Interior’s programme of protection of witnesses and threatened persons, and the list of “Measures actually taken for trade union leaders and activists during 2001” Mr. José Rodrigo Orozco was provided with the following protection measures: national humanitarian assistance and a cell phone worth a total of 2,645,932 pesos. During 2002, he had a cell phone as a protection measure worth a total of 1,014,465 pesos. This information was corroborated by Dr. Luis Fernando Cobo López, Head of Protection in the Administrative Security Department (DAS), Cauca Section, in letter ref. 0259 of 15 January 2003, in that Mr. Rodrigo Orozco currently has an escort and personal security service provided by DAS under the Ministry of the Interior’s programme.
  932. (10) Against SINTRAHOINCOL workers on 9 July 2001. In this case it has not been possible to establish where the incidents occurred, this information being necessary to ascertain which prosecutor’s office began the investigation, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. The Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security therefore wrote to SINTRAHOINCOL to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  933. (11) Leonel Pastas, official of the National Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform (INCORA), on 14 August 2001. The Attorney-General’s Office reported that the investigation is active, at the preliminary stage, and is being conducted by the District Directorate Prosecutor’s Office, Bogotá, File No. 605624.
  934. (12) Rusbel, INCORA official, on 14 August 2001. The Attorney-General’s Office reported that the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to INCORA to ask it to provide further information on the facts, so that it would be easier to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  935. (13) Edgar Púa and José Meriño, Treasurer and Prosecutor of ANTHOC, on 16 August 2001:
  936. Offence: Threats
  937. Victims: Edgar Púa Samper and José Rafael Meriño Camelo
  938. Date: 2000
  939. File No.: 102948
  940. Prosecutor’s office: Investigative unit consisting of special prosecutors 2 and 3, Barranquilla
  941. Stage: Preliminary
  942. Current status: Active
  943. Organization: ANTHOC
  944. Position: Treasurer and Prosecutor respectively
  945. The Prosecutor’s Office also reported that this was the second threat against those trade unionists, since on 6 June 2001 they received a message giving them 24 hours to leave the city and give up their trade union work. Mr. Edgar Púa and José Meriño were treasurer and prosecutor respectively of ANTHOC, Barranquilla.
  946. (14) Jesús Tovar and Ildis Jarava, ANTHOC officials, were followed by heavily armed men from 16 August 2001. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. However, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to ANTHOC to obtain further information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  947. (15) Edgar Mojica and Daniel Rico, President and Press Secretary respectively of the USO, threatened by members of the Self-Defence Groups of Colombia.
  948. The Attorney-General’s Office reports that there is a record of the complaint of death threats against Edgar Mojica Vanegas and Daniel Rico in Bogotá, Cundinamarca on 27 and 31 August 2001. The Office reports the following:
  949. File No.: 58514
  950. Prosecutor’s office: Bogotá Special 42
  951. Stage: Preliminary
  952. Status: Active
  953. In addition, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security was informed that they had received several threatening calls. In May they received threats in the USO office in Bogotá. According to the Ministry of the Interior’s programme of protection of witnesses and threatened persons, and the list of “Measures actually taken for trade union leaders and activists during 2001” Mr. Edgar Mojica Vanegas and Mr. Daniel Rico were provided with the following protection measures: in 2001 a cell phone worth a total of 929,932 pesos and during 2002 they were also given a cell phone worth a total of 1,014,465 pesos.
  954. (16) On 26 October 2001, the entire executive board of SINTRAVIDRICOL-CUT was threatened with death:
  955. Offence: Unlawful imprisonment
  956. Place and date: 26 October 2001
  957. District directorate: Medellín
  958. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor’s Office 102
  959. File No.: P-494.357
  960. Stage: Preliminary
  961. Current status: Active
  962. Organization: SINTRAVIDRICOL
  963. Position: Officials
  964. (17) Jorge Eliécer Londoño, member of SINTRAEMSDES-CUT, received death threats on 2 November 2001. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. The Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security therefore wrote to SINTRAEMSDES-CUT to obtain further information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  965. (18) Against trade union officials in Yumbo. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. The Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security therefore wrote to the Yumbo Municipal Workers’ Union to obtain further information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  966. (19) The headquarters of SINTRAHOINCOL. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. The Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security therefore wrote to SINTRAHOINCOL to obtain further information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  967. Harassment
  968. (1) Esperanza Valdés Amortegui, Treasurer of ASODEFENSA, victim of illegal espionage through the installation of microphones in her workplace. According to communication No. 04146 of 24 December 2002 signed by Dr. Alvaro Paris Barón, legal adviser to ASODEFENSA, Ms. Esperanza Valdés is a public employee, dental assistant and has worked in the Ministry of National Defence for 19 years. This letter makes no mention of Ms. Esperanza Valdés being a trade union leader or official. Consequently, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to ASODEFENSA to obtain further information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  969. (2) Henry Armando Cuéllar Valbuena, harassed and physically assaulted. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. Consequently, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the three most representative trade union federations in the country (CUT-CTC-CGDT) to ascertain of which Mr. Henry Armando Cuéllar is or was a member and obtain further information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union confederations have not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  970. (3) Carlos González, President of the Union of University Workers of El Valle, assaulted by police, on 1 May 2001. These data are not sufficient to carry out a search of the databases in the country’s other prosecutor’s office district directorates, so further information is requested, especially concerning the name of the victim, place and date of the incident. However, the Human Rights Office in the Ministry of Social Security wrote to the Union of University Workers of El Valle to obtain further information, since the complaint is somewhat general, which makes it more difficult to trace the case in the section prosecutor’s office concerned. The trade union has not yet replied to the Ministry’s communications and thus no information can be provided.
  971. (4) Jesús Antonio González, director of the CUT Department of Human and Trade Union Rights, assaulted by police, on 1 May 2001:
  972. File No.: 494949
  973. Prosecutor: 30, Nelly Gallego Tumiñan
  974. Offence: Threats
  975. Date of incident: 1 May 2002
  976. Victims: Jesús González Luna and Luis Antonio Monroy
  977. Stage: Preliminary
  978. Accused: Police squad
  979. Raids and detentions
  980. (1) Rafael Palencia Fernandez. On 19 February, there was a raid on the home of Mr. Palencia, a member of SINANMINTRABAJO, who was pursuing claims by haulage companies against the transnational CocaCola. At present, Mr. Palencia is being held in the SIJIN prison in Cartagena, accused of allegedly belonging to the rebel urban militia and to be planning possible terrorist acts in the city on the occasion of the business leaders’ summit with President Uribe on 20 and 21 February 2003. A letter was sent to the Attorney-General’s Office concerning this matter seeking information on the investigation and the results thereof. On 28 April 2003, the Attorney-General’s Office provided the following information: For the offence of rebellion: accused: Robinson Beltrán Herrera, Member of CORELCA (now ELECTROCOSTA), Rafael Palencia Fernández, member of the Ministry of Labour Workers’ Union; File No: 115275; Prosecutor’s Office: Section Prosecutor’s Office 35, Economic Assets Unit, Cartagena; Offence: Rebellion; Arrest: Rafael Palencia Fernández, in a raid on 18 February 2003 and Robinson Beltrán Herrera was arrested on 22 February 2003 in Manizales.
  981. (2) Samuel Reyes. Also on 19 February in the night, his home was raided, and he was accused of the same offence as Palencia. A letter was sent to the Attorney-General’s Office concerning this matter seeking information on the investigation and the results thereof. On 28 April 2003, the Attorney-General’s Office provided the following information: For the offence of rebellion: accused: Samuel Reyes Olivera; File No: 115275; Prosecutor’s Office: Section Prosecutor’s Office 35, Cartagena; Offence: Rebellion; preliminary, active.
  982. (3) Robinson Beltrán Herrera: the Manizales police arrested Mr. Beltrán Herrera as, according to them, they had been notified of an arrest warrant by a prosecutor in Cartagena, which they immediately executed. At the present time, he is still in detention. A letter was sent to the Attorney-General’s Office concerning this matter seeking information on the present situation of the arrest and the reasons for it. On 28 April 2003, the Attorney-General’s Office provided the following information: For the offence of rebellion: accused: Robinson Beltrán Herrera, Member of CORELCA (now ELECTROCOSTA), Rafael Palencia Fernández, member of the Ministry of Labour Workers’ Union; File No: 115275; Prosecutor’s Office: Section Prosecutor’s Office 35, Economic Assets Unit, Cartagena; Offence: Rebellion; Arrest: Rafael Palencia Fernández, in a raid on 18 February 2003 and Robinson Beltrán Herrera was arrested on 22 February 2003 in Manizales.
  983. (4) Germán Robinson López: accused of the offences of rebellion and terrorism. A full complaint about this situation was made by the Nariño Teachers’ Union, SIMANA. A letter was sent to the Attorney-General’s Office concerning this matter seeking information on the investigation and the results thereof. On 28 April 2003, the Attorney-General’s Office provided the following information: Drug trafficking: accused: Germán Robinson López Morillo (free), member of SIMANA; File No: 741; Prosecutor’s Office: Section Prosecutor’s Office 25, Ipiales; Offence: Drug Trafficking. The prosecutor’s office decided not to order his detention. The case is awaiting completion of the investigation.
  984. (5) Teresa Báez Rodríguez: according to a letter from Mrs. Gloria Mansilla de Días, the arrest of the trade union official was at the orders of the Prosecutor’s Office, on a charge of being involved in the crime of rebellion and after a raid on her house. In addition, about a year ago, when she was leaving a meeting at the Ministry of Labour in this town, several individuals tried to abduct her. On 20 February this year, she was the victim of a personal assault. The Bucaramanga Section Prosecutor’s Office 8 is conducting the investigation, No. 170479, which is at the prosecution stage, against Teresa Báez, President of the SINTRACLINICAS trade union organization and an activist in the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), Santander branch, arrested in a raid on 5 March 2003 in the town of Bucaramanga, Santander, for the offence of rebellion.
  985. Threats
  986. (1) Alvaro Enrique Villamizar Mogollon: the District Directorate, Prosecutor’s Office, Bucaramanga reports that the investigation is being conducted under case No. 104943 in the Special Prosecutor’s Office 5, Bucaramanga, and is at the preliminary stage, the complainant being Mr. Alvaro Enrique Villamizar and victims, members of the Union of Workers and Employees of the UIS.
  987. (2) Roberto Borja Rubiano. The DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote on 11 April 2003 to the Attorney-General’s Office seeking information on the investigation into this case and the results thereof. For its part, the Ministry of the Interior and Justice reported that Mr. Borja Rubiano had been provided with an Avantel and cell phone by the Risk Control and Assessment Committee (CRER) and with letter No. 38 of 1 March he had been given national tickets to remove urgently from the danger area. In a letter of 5 March, the CRER recommended that he should be given humanitarian assistance for three months. In addition, in a communication of 31 March 2003, the Ministry of the Interior reported that Mr. Borja Rubiano was a beneficiary of the protection programme and as a temporary security measure, he had had to be moved from the town of Barranquilla on 2 March 2003, because that town presented a level of risk considered by the DAS as medium-medium, and the CRER approved the grant of a personal protection scheme which is now being put into effect.
  988. (3) Leonor Herreño Aguilar: with respect to the alleged threats received by Ms. Leonor Herreño in March this year, the Attorney-General’s Office reported that the District Directorate, Prosecutor’s Office, Bogotá, noted that on checking the Prosecutor’s Office Judicial Information System (SIJUF), it was found that there was no investigation into alleged threats against Mr. Jesús Antonio González Luna, Alexander López Amaya and Leonor Herreño Aguilar.
  989. (4) Martha Cecilia Gomez Reyes: Ms. Reyes received a telephone call in her office on 22 February and another on 3 March 2003. Following that, the DDHH in the Ministry of Social Security wrote in March to Attorney-General’s Office to obtain information as to the facts and to ascertain whether a criminal investigation was in progress, and what results it had yielded so far.
  990. (5) On 22 February, Wilson Castro Padilla, a member of SINALTRAINAL, was threatened in an anonymous letter made up of letters cut from newspapers which was found by his wife when she was about to open the door of her house. After appropriate inquires, the Attorney-General’s Office reported that the only record of threats against SINTRAINAL officials were those against Mr. Wilson Castro Padilla, containing the following information:
  991. Offence: Threats
  992. Victim: Wilson Castro Padilla
  993. Place and date: 13 March 2003, in Cartagena
  994. District directorate: Cartagena
  995. Responsible authority: Section Prosecutor’s Office 39
  996. File No.: 115265
  997. Stage: Preliminary
  998. Current status: Active
  999. Organization: SINALTRAINAL
  1000. Position: Member
  1001. (6) With respect to the dismissal of 12 trade union officials from the Cartagena refinery, the Government, through the Ministry of Social Security, will evaluate the facts in order to institute an administrative labour investigation against ECOPETROL.
  1002. Assaults
  1003. On 20 February, at 1.30 p.m., when the trade union official and civic leader Elber Alberto Granja, ex-president of SINTRAMUNICIPIO YUMBO, and currently President of the Community Action Committee of the Municipality of Vijes, Valle del Cauca, was on the pavement outside his house; a person began to shoot at him. Following an inquiry by the Ministry of Social Security, the Attorney-General’s Office reported that “at approximately 11.30 a.m. on 17 February 2003, an envelope arrived through the post containing a letter and a note threatening the president of the union, Gladis Barajas and her family. In this connection, the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Social Security states that on 3 March Ms. Barajas informed the National Press that she was seeking exile, without mentioning any country in particular. Her children are in exile. The Attorney-General’s Office was asked to provide information on this fact in particular. On 28 April 2003, the Attorney-General’s Office stated: Victim: Gladys Barajas Osorio; Offence: Threats; Place and date of incident: 17 February 2003, in Bogotá DC; File No. 676090; authority conducting the investigation: Section Prosecutor’s Office 241, Bogotá, Personal Freedom Unit. It is at the preliminary stage and currently active.
  1004. 226. With respect to the handwritten letter of 28 March 2003 addressed by three trade union confederations to the ILO, headed “Colombia: freedom of association, between rhetoric and reality”, the Government states that it contains no new allegations. The letter does not mention any alleged violations of freedom of association. The Government is not unaware of the difficulties that we face in strengthening freedom of association in the country. Hence the regular presence of the Vice-President of the Republic in the Governing Body, in an effort to demonstrate the priority that the Government attaches to the problem. That is how it was seen by the Governing Body and was translated into support for the special cooperation programme.
  1005. 227. The Government considers that the tripartite efforts under the auspices of the ILO to strengthen freedom of association in Colombia should not be underestimated.
  1006. 228. The Government invites the trade union confederations to continue to join their efforts to those of the State and civil society in favour of freedom of association, expressed in their constant and committed participation in the forums for dialogue available to address these initiatives, such as the Inter-institutional Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human and Workers’ Rights and the ILO’s Dispute Settlement Committee. The National Government is sustained by the unshakeable conviction that the benefits of the programme of cooperation are leading to improved social dialogue in the country and strengthening of the social partners in overcoming their differences. That is why we take the opportunity to invite the members of the Governing Body to continue to support this endeavour and the workers to continue to lend their valuable support.
  1007. 229. In a communication of 29 April 2003, the Vice-President of the Republic sent observations and requested that they be recorded extensively. This communication is reproduced below:
  1008. Since it assumed power on 7 August 2002, the Government of President Alvaro Uribe has made every effort to build democratic security in Colombia, a commitment which allowed him to obtain the majority support of the Colombians.
  1009. In the process of carrying out this task, we undertook unprecedented efforts in order to give special protection to journalists, teachers and trade union leaders who have been particularly victimized by violence during the last years. Our democratic security policy progresses in strict observance of the law and a strong commitment by the Government and the State to the respect and protection of human rights.
  1010. As Head of the Government’s policy on human rights and international humanitarian law, I came to the ILO on two occasions to present on behalf of the Government the information requested by the Organization and the Committee on Freedom of Association, regarding several important issues on labour and trade union activity in Colombia. We have also provided ample and detailed answers to the requests that the Committee on Freedom of Association makes in its reports.
  1011. In this respect, I would like to express our surprise and inconvenience at the fact that certain of these responses have not been reported, nor fully taken into account by the Freedom of Association Branch and by the Committee on Freedom of Association, with the consequences that result or may result from such acts for our country. In particular, we are especially concerned by the fact that the Governing Body members did not have adequate elements to enable them to draw conclusions on very important replies contained in Report No. 329 of the Committee on Freedom of Association, that is to say:
  1012. The consolidated list of victims: In its 329th Report the Committee on Freedom of Association “once again” requests the Government to send the consolidated list of victims for the period 1991-2000 [See 329th Report, para. 384, and 330th Report, para. 470]. This request is surprising since on 31 January 2001, in a special session, the sub commission set up especially for this purpose, delivered the results of its work including the verification of 842 cases for that period. The fact that in the 329th Report this information is requested again from the Government leads us to indicate that the names of certain persons assassinated during that time, who were not trade union members or officials, have not been withdrawn from the list, which continues to be presented in the Committee’s reports, with the consequences that follow from such fact.
  1013. Time limits to provide information: The Government’s reply to the 329th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, Case No. 1787, was sent in January 2003 through electronic mail addressed to Mr. Jean Claude Javillier, with the additional statement that a further reply would be transmitted the following day, with complementary information from the Attorney General’s Office. This reply would be more detailed and with a higher number of contested denunciations. On that day, the electronic mail was sent to ilo@.org addressed to Mr. Javillier. In fact, this additional response to the 329th Report was not taken into account by the Committee in its 330th Report. We are aware of the importance of respecting the necessary time periods so that the International Labour Office can put together, arrange and translate the information provided. But we do not understand why, if the Government provided additional information to the 329th Report on 16 January, that is to say, one day after the time limit set for this purpose, this information was not reflected in the text of the Report and instead additional workers’ allegations presented one month later (3 February) were incorporated in this same Report. If the response of the Government had been incorporated in the Report in its entirety, the Organizations’ constituents would have at their disposal better and more complete information in order to adopt the measures that they consider appropriate for the Colombian case.
  1014. Strike of 16 September: With regard to the recommendation made in the 329th Report, the Government sent in its reply all the information concerning the activities which took place during the strike of 16 September 2002, noting that the strike was staged in relatively normal circumstances and that there was no arrest by the authorities on that day. However, in the 330th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, the Committee once again requested information on the “detentions” which took place on 16 September and urges the Government to take measures to ensure that investigations are begun without delay on the detentions alleged by the complainants. We do not understand why a request of this nature is repeated in the 330th Report when we stated in the reply to the 329th Report that there have been NO such detentions. The inclusion and registration of the Government’s response on this occasion would allow the Organization’s constituents and in particular, the Governing Body members, to appreciate more clearly the important changes taking place in Colombia in the area of freedom of association.
  1015. Reinstatement order: On several occasions the Committee on Freedom of Association has requested the Government to reinstate dismissed workers. We have emphasized that such reinstatement pertains to the exclusive competence of the Republic’s judiciary and can be requested only by the affected party. Nevertheless, the Freedom of Association branch continues to introduce this type of recommendation in the draft reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association. For obvious reasons we cannot acknowledge requests which violate our judicial order. Paying attention to such a request would be equivalent to the usurpation of the functions that belong to the judicial order according to the law. It appears to us that the inclusion of such recommendations in the reports could create a false impression to the recipients of the report, that the State may lack the political will to implement them.
  1016. To sum up, in order to comply with the proceedings established by the ILO, as is the will and decision of the Government, we consider fundamental that our responses be published in the reports in a timely and accurate fashion, since in subjects as sensible as these, any inaccuracy or omission can cause great damages when it comes to analysing and understanding our commitments and achievements on freedom of association in Colombia.
  1017. Finally, we request the Freedom of Association branch and through it, the Committee on Freedom of Association, to include the present communication word for word in an introductory paragraph of Case No. 1787 on the next occasion when this case will be included in the report of the Committee on Freedom of Association which is brought before the Governing Body.

D. The Committee’s conclusions

D. The Committee’s conclusions
  1. 230. Although violence in Colombia affects all sectors of society, the Committee notes with profound regret that the allegations presented, refer to 11 victims of assassinations in 2003 (all trade union members) and that since the last examination of this case (March 2003) the complainant organizations have made 73 additional allegations of murders, eight detentions, seven death threats, abductions and attempted murders of trade union officials or members in 2002 and earlier. The Committee notes that the Government objects to the trade union capacity (or the death being connected to anti-trade union motives) of 30 persons mentioned in the allegations.
  2. 231. The Committee also notes from the extensive observations of the Government in which it referred to almost all the pending allegations, including the denunciations made until the present examination of the case, that in fact, the Government sent a detailed report on all the cases in which investigations have been initiated, and reported in particular on their current stage. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on protection measures extended to trade unionists.
  3. 232. The Committee observes that, with regard to the high number of allegations (51) under ongoing examination, the Government states that the information submitted by the complainants is not sufficient to identify the Public Prosecutor’s offices which undertake the investigations and that when requested to provide additional information, the trade unions did not respond. In this respect, the Committee encourages the parties to cooperate fully and directly so that the Government may rapidly transmit detailed and comprehensive replies to the Committee. In general, the Committee recalls the complainants’ duty to collaborate with the Government in order to provide the maximum amount of precisions possible in all cases where this is requested. Nevertheless, the Committee underlines that the complainants have communicated substantial information on many of the above-mentioned 51 allegations (on which the Government does not have enough precisions) and with renewed efforts from the Government it should be possible in any case to report whether investigations were instituted and in which stage they are.
    • Information submitted by the Government with
    • respect to the allegations found in the section “new allegations” of the 330th Report of the Committee
  4. 233. The Committee observes that of the 31 allegations which include assassinations, abductions, acts of violence, attempted murders and threats:
    • n only one sentence was pronounced (murder of José Fernando Mena Alvarez, member of the Magdalena Teachers’ Union EDUMAG);
  5. n 21 cases are at the preliminary stage;
    • n two cases are at the stage of prosecution;
    • n with respect to seven allegations the Government did not send information on investigations under way (the Government indicates that the information provided by the complainants is not sufficient to trace the Prosecutor’s offices which conduct the investigations and that the trade unions from which additional information was requested did not respond). These allegations are the following:
  6. 1. Miguel Lora Gómez member of the Executive Board of the Workers’ Confederation of Colombia (CTC), on 9 September 2002 (the place is not indicated).
  7. 2. Various workers of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI) (their names are not indicated) were assaulted by the police during the Permanent Assembly meeting on 1 October 2002. This case is under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.
  8. 3. Gerardo González Muñoz, member of FENSUAGRO-CUT, received threats (the place and date are not indicated).
  9. 4. Workers and trade unionists of the Energía de Arauca enterprise, threatened by paramilitaries (the names are not indicated).
  10. 5. In Arauca, threats against activists of the Teachers’ Association (ASEDAR) and the National Association of Workers and Employees in Hospitals and Clinics (ANTHOC) (the names are not indicated).
  11. 6. Saúl Suárez Donado, activist of the Workers’ Trade Union, threatened by paramilitaries. When he denounced this fact to the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General’s Office on 19 September 2002, he was detained on a charge of rebellion.
  12. 7. Mario de Jesús Castañeda President of the CUT-HUILA subcommittee, on 28 October 2002 for distributing leaflets concerning the national strike convened by the CUT.
  13. 234. With regard to these allegations, the Committee requests the complainants’ organizations to provide further information.
    • Information provided by the Government with respect to the allegations found in Annex I of the 330th Report (on which it had not communicated its observations or on which it had not reported that investigations or judicial proceedings had begun)
  14. 235. With respect to 68 alleged murders:
    • n only one sentence was pronounced (case of Jaime Delgado Valencia, professor from Armenia);
  15. n 19 cases are at the preliminary stage;
    • n eight cases were dismissed (lack of evidence sufficient to continue with the investigation);
    • n six cases have been suspended or filed;
    • n on four cases the Government reports that the victims were not trade unionists according to the information provided by the trade unions;
    • n five cases are at the stage of prosecution;
    • n two cases are at the stage of indictment;
    • n on 23 cases the Government did not send information on the investigations under way (the Government states that the information provided by the complainants is not sufficient to trace the Prosecutor’s offices which undertake the investigations and that the trade unions from which additional information was requested did not respond). These allegations of murder are the following:
  16. 1. Edison Ariel, on 17 October 2000, SINTRAINAGRO trade union;
  17. 2. Ricardo Flórez, member of SINTRAPALMA, 8 January 2001;
  18. 3. Alberto Pedroza Lozada, on 22 March 2001;
  19. 4. Armando Buitrago Moreno, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees, ASONAL, on 6 June 2001;
  20. 5. Francisco Espadín Medina, member of SINTRAINAGRO, on 7 September 2000, in the municipality of Turbo;
  21. 6. Raúl Gil member of SINTRAPALMA, on 11 February 2001, in the municipality of Puerto Wiches, department of Santander;
  22. 7. Manuel Ruiz, trade union official of CUT, on 26 September 2001, in the department of Córdoba;
  23. 8. Ramón Antonio Jaramillo, counselor of SINTRAEMSDES-CUT, on 10 October 2001, in the department of Valle del Cauca, while paramilitaries were carrying out a massacre in the region;
  24. 9. Arturo Escalante Moros, member of USO, disappeared on 27 September 2001 and was found dead on 19 October 2001 in Barrancabermeja, Santander;
  25. 10. Eduardo Edilio Alvarez Escudelo, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees (ASONAL) on 2 July 2001 in Antioquia, by guerrilla forces;
  26. 11. Prasmacio Arroyo, member of the Magdalena Teachers’ Union (SINTRASMAG), on 26 July 2001 in Magdalena;
  27. 12. César Bedoya Ortiz, activist of the University Teachers’ Association (ASPU), on 16 August 2001 in Bolivar;
  28. 13. Plutarco Herrera Gómez, member of the Claims Committee of the National Union of Cargo Handlers in Colombian Maritime Ports, on 30 September 2001, in Valle del Cauca, by paramilitaries;
  29. 14. Milena Pereira Plata, ASINORTH, on 30 October 2001, in Santander, by the FARC;
  30. 15. Eriberto Sandoval, member of the National United Federation of Agricultural Workers (FENSUAGRO), on 11 November 2001, in Ciénaga, by paramilitaries;
  31. 16. Eliécer Orozco, FENSUAGRO, on 11 November 2001, in Ciénaga, by paramilitaries;
  32. 17. María Leida Montoya, activist of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association, on 30 November 2001, in Antioquia;
  33. 18. Herlinda Blando, member of the Union of Teachers and Lecturers of Boyacá, on 1 December 2001 in Boyacá, by paramilitaries;
  34. 19. Alberto Torres, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA), on 12 December 2001, in Antioquia;
  35. 20. Adolfo Flórez Rico, activist of the National Union of Workers in the Construction Industry (SINDICONS), on 7 February 2002, in Antioquia, by paramilitaries;
  36. 21. Alfredo González Páez member of the Association of Employees of INPEC (ASEINPEC), on 15 February 2002, in Tolima, by paramilitaries;
  37. 22. Oswaldo Meneses Jiménez ASEINPEC, on 15 February 2002, in Tolima, by paramilitaries;
  38. 23. Marcos Antonio Beltrán activist of SUTEV, on 1 March 2002, in Valle del Cauca.
  39. 236. As to these allegations, the Committee requests the complainant organizations to provide further information.
  40. 237. With respect to the 24 allegations of abductions and disappearances, the Government reports that:
  41. n 13 cases are at the preliminary stage;
    • n two cases were dismissed (for lack of sufficient information so as to continue with the investigation);
    • n two investigations were suspended;
    • n two cases were at the stage of prosecution;
    • n one abducted person was liberated;
    • n on four allegations the Government did not send information on the investigations under way (the Government states that the information provided by the complainants is not sufficient to trace the Prosecutor’s offices which undertake the investigations and that the trade unions from which additional information was requested did not respond). These allegations are the following:
  42. 1. Iván Luis Beltrán member of the executive committee of FECODE-CUT, on 10 October 2001;
  43. 2. Germán Medina Gaviria, member of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI), on 14 January 2001, in the neighbourhood of El Porvenir, town of Cali;
  44. 3. Marco Tulio Agudero Rivera ASONAL-CUT, in the municipality of Cocorna, on 5 October 2001;
  45. 4. Arturo Escalante Moros member of the Workers’ Trade Union (USO), on 27 September 2001.
  46. 238. As to these allegations, the Committee requests the complainant organizations to provide further information.
  47. 239. With respect to the seven allegations of attempted murder:
    • n three are at the preliminary stage;
    • n one was dismissed for lack of sufficient information;
    • n on three allegations, the Government did not send information on the investigations under way (the Government states that the information provided by the complainants is not sufficient to trace the Prosecutor’s offices which undertake the investigations and that the trade unions from which additional information was requested did not respond). These allegations are the following:
  48. 1. Hebert Cuadros, member of the Valle del Cauca Single Union of Education Workers (SUTEV), on 16 November 2001;
  49. 2. the national headquarters of the Union of Electricity Workers of Colombia (SINTRAELECOL), on 8 July 2002 in Bogotá (the names of the victims are not indicated);
  50. 3. César Andrés Ortiz, member of the CGTD, coordinator of the CGTD Working Youth, on 26 December 2000, shot at the back while he was walking in his neighborhood; one young person died during the attack and six other persons were injured.
  51. 240. With respect to these allegations, the Committee requests the complainant organizations to provide further information.
  52. 241. With respect to the 25 allegations of acts of violence, death threats and harassment:
    • n eight cases are at the preliminary stage;
    • n one case was dismissed (there was no sufficient evidence so as to continue with the investigation);
    • n the Government sent information on two cases;
    • n with respect to 14 allegations the Government did not send information on the investigations under way (the Government states that the information provided by the complainants is not sufficient to trace the Prosecutor’s offices which undertake the investigations and that the trade unions from which additional information was requested did not respond). These allegations are the following:
  53. 1. Henry Alberto Mosquera of the Trade Union of Workers of Yumbo municipality, under circumstances similar to those described above;
  54. 2. Giovanni Uyazán Sánchez (death threats);
  55. 3. Reinaldo Villegas Vargas, member of the “José Alvear Restrepo” Society of Lawyers;
  56. 4. Rosario Vela, member of SINTRADEPARTAMENTO (death threats);
  57. 5. numerous officials and members of FECODE;
  58. 6. threats against SINTRAHOINCOL workers on 9 July 2001;
  59. 7. Rusbel (the full name is not indicated), INCORA official, received death threats on 14 August 2001;
  60. 8. Jesús Tovar and Ildis Jarava, ANTHOC officials, have been followed by heavily armed men since 16 August 2001;
  61. 9. Jorge Eliécer Londoño, member of SINTRAEMSDES-CUT, received death threats on 2 November 2001;
  62. 10. death threats against trade union officials in Yumbo;
  63. 11. threats received at the headquarters of SINTRAHOINCOL;
  64. 12. Esperanza Valdés Amortegui, Treasurer of ASODEFENSA, victim of illegal espionage through the installation of microphones in her workplace;
  65. 13. Henry Armando Cuéllar Valbuena, harassed and physically assaulted;
  66. 14. Carlos González, President of the Union of University Workers of El Valle, assaulted by police, on 1 May 2001.
  67. 242. With respect to these allegations, the Committee requests the complainant organizations to provide further information.
    • New allegations of the ICFTU
  68. 243. With respect to the ICFTU communication dated 3 February 2003, which contains allegations of threats, assaults, murders of trade union officials, the detention of four officials, the refusal to provide protection to one official, and the non-compliance with the agreement concluded on 29 January 2002 between the Government, the workers of the Cali Municipal Enterprises (EMCALI) and the community of Cali, through which it had been established that the enterprises would not be privatized, the Committee notes that according to the Government:
    • n With respect to the assault against Nicolás Hernández Cabrera, general secretary of FENSUAGRO on 20 December 2003, the Attorney General’s Office reported that the Prosecutor’s Office 28 Chaparral District, Ibagué District Directorate, conducts the preliminary investigation, which is currently active.
    • n With respect to the murder of José Marcelino Díaz González, President of the College of Rectors and Directors (COLDIG), affiliated to the Arauca Teachers’ Association (ASEDAR-FECODE), on 13 January 2003 in the Municipality of TAME, Arauca, the Attorney General’s Office reported that the murder is being investigated by the sole Prosecutor’s Office of Tame, Cúcuta District Directorate, File No. 2360, in the preliminary stage, currently active.
    • n With respect to the assassination of Abelardo Barbosa Páez, member of FENSUAGRO on 21 January 2003 in Santander, the murder is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office 1 Bucaramanga District, Bucaramanga District Directorate (File No. 28969). The case is currently active at the stage of prosecution.
    • n With respect to the arrest and detention of Hernando Hernández, secretary of International Affairs of the USU and former Vice-President of the CUT, the investigation has been conducted by the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office 4, Human Rights National Directorate (File No. 1127B). The case is at the stage of prosecution on charges of rebellion. By a resolution dated 14 January 2002, it was decided to resolve the legal status of Hernando Hernandez Pardo by replacing the measure of preventive detention for rebellion with the measure of house arrest and a guarantee of five minimum wages. The investigation is ongoing and active.
    • n With respect to the arrest and detention of Nubia Esther Gonzalez, officer of the Union of Small and Medium Agricultural Enterprises of Sucre (SINDAGRICULTORES), the Attorney General’s Office reports the following: Offence: article 467 of Act No. 599 of 2000 on the crime of rebellion; File No.: 30132; Trade union members: Nubia Esther González and others (Jorge Gómez who was not related to the proceedings was released); Place and time: general area of the Don Gabriel community, jurisdiction of the Municipality of Ovejas, Sucre, 18 January 2003, at 9:00 a.m.; Prosecutor: Prosecutor’s office 16 for the Circuit Penal Courts, assigned to the unit of economic resources, headquartered in Sincelejo. On 27 January 2003, the responsible Prosecutor’s office refrained from imposing security measures to Nubia Esther González and ordered her immediate release.
    • n With respect to the arrest and detention of Policarpo Camacho and Gloria Holguín, directors of the Agricultural Union of the Municipality of Calarcá, the Government states that the case is under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office 20 URI Manizalez District, Department of Manizalez (File No. 74.368-1591). According to the indictment, Policarpo Camacho and Gloria Holguín are accused with the crime of rebellion. Security measures have been imposed on them and have been confirmed on appeal. The investigation is currently active.
    • n With respect to the withdrawal of the protection of Guillermo Rivera Plata, Vice-President of the National Union of Workers of the Agricultural and Fisheries Union (SINTRAINAGRO), the Ministry of the Interior and Justice reports that an individual security scheme was approved according to minutes No. 3 of 10 February 2000. At the moment, there is one vehicle (in working order), two guards, and two army weapons.
    • n With respect to the non-compliance with the agreement concluded on 29 January 2002 between the Government, the workers of the Cali Municipal Enterprises and the community of Cali, through which it had been established that the enterprises would not be privatized, the Government reports that this case is being examined by the Ministry of Social Protection.
  69. 244. The Committee requests the Government to continue keeping it informed of developments in these investigations, and to send its observations with respect to the alleged non-compliance with the accord of 29 January 2002 between the Government, the Municipal Enterprises of Cali and the community of Cali by which it had been decided not to privatize the enterprises.
    • Freedom of association and human rights
  70. 245. Even though it emphasizes the comprehensiveness of the Government’s report, the Committee, taking into consideration the extreme gravity of the situation, deplores to observe that acts of violence against trade unionists continue and recalls that freedom of association can only be exercised in conditions in which fundamental human rights and in particular those relating to human life and personal safety, are fully respected and guaranteed [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, para. 46]. In particular, the Committee once again recalls that it would be advisable to deal specifically with situations in which violence against trade union members is very intensive – for example in the sectors including education, the petroleum industry, the health services as well as municipal and departmental administrations. Such information should also refer to regions where acts of violence occur most frequently, such as the departments of Valle del Cauca and Antioquía and the municipality of Barrancabermeja, especially in the Empresa de Petróleo de Colombia and the Empresa de Gas de Barrancabermeja.
    • Investigations
  71. 246. The Committee once again urges the Government to take immediate measures to institute investigations into all the alleged acts of violence and make significant progress on these investigations. In this respect, the Committee reiterates once more its request to the Government to continue sending its observations on the progress made in the investigations already begun on which the Government has sent its observations (Annex II) and to take measures to ensure that the corresponding investigations begin without delay into other murders, abductions, disappearances, attempted murders and threats referred to in Annex I (acts of violence against trade union officials or members up to the Committee’s meetings of November 2002 for which the Government has not sent its observations or has not reported the initiation of investigations or judicial procedures) as well as those referred to in the section on “new allegations” in this report (with respect to the latter, the Government has not sent any information on only a few of the new allegations).
    • Impunity
  72. 247. The Committee deplores to observe that the extreme gravity of the situation is also reflected in the fact that the rate of sentences continues to be extremely low. In fact, after having examined the substance of this case on 26 occasions and having included this case in a special paragraph on six occasions (highlighting the gravity and urgency of the case and calling upon the attention of the Governing Body), the Committee has to conclude that only two sentences constitute a very small number relative to all the assassinations. Moreover, the Committee notes once more that the great majority of investigations is at the preliminary stage or has not gone beyond this stage. The Committee recalls once again that justice delayed is justice denied [see Digest, op. cit., para. 56].
  73. 248. The lack of investigations, the limited progress in the investigations already begun and the small number of sentences show a prevailing situation of impunity, which is not without influence upon the situation of violence affecting all sectors of society. The Committee requests once again the Government to take the necessary measures to put an end to the intolerable situation of impunity and punish effectively all those responsible.
    • Trade union status of certain victims
  74. 249. With respect to the trade union status of certain victims, the Committee notes that according to the information provided by the Government, the data provided by the corresponding trade union organizations indicates that Oswaldo Enrique Borja Martínez, Alberto Torres Saldarriga, César Arango Alvarez Escudelo, Nohora Elsy López and Roberto Carballo do not have trade union status. With respect to the other 25 victims on which the Government notes at the beginning of its reply that there was no proof that they were trade unionists, the Committee requests the complainant organizations to provide the necessary information to clarify this question.
    • Protection measures for certain trade unionists
  75. 250. The Committee takes note of the measures adopted to protect trade unionists under threat and requests the Government to continue and increase the protection of all trade unionists who are at risk and to continue keeping it informed on the evolution of the protection programme and the “Working Plan of the Inter-Institutional Committee for the Prevention of Violations and the Protection of Workers’ Human Rights” to which it had referred at the last examination of this case.
    • Other questions
  76. 251. With respect to the allegations presented by the ICFTU on the threats and detentions of many trade union officials for having participated in the demonstration and strike of 16 September 2002, (it had been alleged that between 12 and 20 September the following trade union officials were detained: Raúl Herrera, regional official of SUMAPAZ, Rubén Robles, Secretary General of the Agricultural Workers’ Union of the Department of Sucre and official of FENSUAGRO, Ana María Andrea Ablanedo and Daniel Bustos Gutiérrez, international delegates of the Spanish NGO SOLDEPAZ PACHAKUTTI, Mauricio Rubiano (who was released after having allegedly suffered ill-treatment), Human Rights Secretary of the CUT Youth Department, María Isabel Lenis, regional defender, Valle del Cauca Section, Otoniel Ramírez, President of the CUT Valle del Cauca branch, Berenice Celeita, President of NOMADESC, human rights organization, Oscar Figueroa and Angel Tovar, officials of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI). The Committee notes that the Government categorically denies these detentions and will not proceed with the examination of these allegations unless the complainant organizations provide new elements.
  77. 252. With respect to the communication of the Vice-President of the Republic dated 29 April 2003 (received at the Office on 12 May 2003), which is reproduced in extenso pursuant to the request of the Government, the Committee wishes to emphasize the following points: (1) For practical reasons (excessive volume, need to make translations in various languages in limited periods, etc.) the complainants’ allegations and the Government’s replies are not extensively reproduced in the reports of the Committee and only a summary is provided; (2) The consolidated list of victims corresponds to the period 1991-2000; the request at the 329th Report referred in fact to the list for the period 1991-2002 just as indicated in the 328th Report (the 329th Report was confined to repeating this request, and due to a typing error, 1991-2000 appeared); the Committee adds that it is currently examining cases which correspond to the period 2000-2003 (see annexes to 329th and 330th Reports); (3) As to the Government’s statement that the Committee did not introduce into the 330th Report the electronic mail of the Government dated 16 January 2003, the Committee wishes to indicate that the secretariat of the ILO’s competent branch received a fax dated 16 January 2003 containing the following text:
    • I inform you that as it has been impossible to transmit to your electronic mail the reply of the Colombian Government to the 329th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, the complete response has been transmitted to the email address: ilo@.org .
    • The response will be sent in printed form by special courier.
    • There is no proper proof of the reception of the electronic mail to which the Government refers in the records of the aforesaid branch. (4) With respect to the information requested from the Government (330th Report) on the investigations relative to detentions during the strike of 16 September 2003, the Committee wishes to emphasize that the complainant organization had mentioned the name of various trade unionists and activists which had been detained. Although the Government indicated in its response of 15 January 2003 that the strike passed by “with relative normality” it did not expressly refer to the occurrence or non-occurrence of detentions. Only in the communication of 29 April 2003, did the Government expressly indicate that “there was no such detention”; (5) With respect to the requests to reinstate the dismissed workers formulated by the Committee, the Committee is notes that, according to the Government, “reinstatement pertains to the exclusive competence of the Republic’s judiciary and can be requested only by the affected party”; nevertheless, the Committee emphasizes that in its 328th, 329th, and 330th Reports, it did not ask for any reinstatement in the framework of Case No. 1787; in other cases before the Committee, the Government was requested (this is a common practice in similar conditions) to take measures for reinstatement; this includes both formal (if they belong to the competence of the Government) and informal measures (communication of the decisions of the Committee to the parties, reconciliation measures, good offices, etc.) and the Colombian Government has in fact adopted measures of this type in the past through the Ministry of Labour.
  78. 253. Finally, the Committee notes the communication of the national trade union confederations dated 28 March 2003, on the need to establish a commission of inquiry and the Government’s reply to this communication.

The Committee's recommendations

The Committee's recommendations
  1. 254. In the light of the foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
    • (a) Noting the comprehensiveness of the Government’s report and taking into consideration the extreme gravity of the situation, the Committee regrets to observe that since the last examination of the case, 84 assassinations (in 11 of which the victims were trade union members and the facts related to 2003 and in 73 the victims were trade union officials and members and the facts related to 2002 and the preceding years), seven detentions and seven threats, have been denounced. The Committee recalls that freedom of association can only be exercised in conditions in which fundamental human rights, and in particular those relating to human life and personal safety, are fully respected and guaranteed.
    • (b) The Committee urges once again the Government to take immediate measures to institute investigations into all the alleged acts of violence and make significant progress on these investigations. The Committee reiterates once more its request to the Government to continue sending its observations on the progress made in the investigations already begun on which the Government has reported (Annex II) and to take measures to ensure that investigations begin without delay into other murders, abductions, disappearances, attempted murders and threats referred to in Annex I (acts of violence against trade union officials or members up to the Committee’s meetings of November 2002 for which the Government has not sent its observations or has not reported the initiation of investigations or judicial procedures) as well as those referred to in the section on “new allegations” in this report (with respect to the latter, the Government has not sent any information on only a few of the new allegations).
    • (c) The Committee encourages the parties to coopeate fully and directly so that the Government may rapidly transmit detailed and comprehensive replies to the Committee. The Committee recalls the complainants’ duty to collaborate with the Government in order to provide the maximum amount of precisions possible in all cases where this is requested. Nevertheless, the Committee underlines that the complainants have communicated substantial information on many of the 51 allegations (on which the Government does not have enough precisions) and with renewed efforts from the Government it should be possible in any case to report whether investigations were instituted and in which stage they are.
    • (d) The Committee requests once again the Government to take the necessary measures to put an end to the intolerable situation of impunity and punish effectively all those responsible.
    • (e) With respect to the trade union status of 25 victims objected to by the Government, the Committee requests the complainant organizations to provide the information necessary to clarify this question.
    • (f) The Committee also requests the Government to continue and increase the protection of all trade unionists who are at risk and to continue keeping it informed on the evolution of the protection programme and the “Working Plan of the Inter-Institutional Committee for the Prevention of Violations and the Protection of Workers’ Human Rights” to which it had referred at the last examination of this case.
    • (g) The Committee once again recalls that it would be advisable to deal specifically with situations in which violence against trade union members is very intensive – for example in the sectors including education, the petroleum industry, the health services as well as municipal and departmental administrations. Such information should also refer to regions where acts of violence occur most frequently, such as the departments of Valle del Cauca and Antioquía and the municipality of Barrancabermeja, especially in the Empresa de Petróleo de Colombia and the Empresa de Gas de Barrancabermeja.
    • (h) With respect to allegations of threats, assaults, murder of trade union officials, the detention of four officials, the refusal to provide protection to one official, presented by the ICFTU on 3 February 2003, the Committee requests the Government to continue keeping it informed on the evolution of these investigations.
    • (i) With respect to the non-compliance with the agreement concluded on 29 January 2002 between the Government, the workers of the Cali Municipal Enterprises (EMCALI) and the community of Cali, through which it had been established that the enterprises would not be privatized, the Committee requests the Government to send its observations in this respect.

Z. Annex I

Z. Annex I
  • Alleged acts of violence against trade union officials or members up to the Committee’s meeting of March 2003 for which the Government has not sent its observations or has not reported the initiation of investigations or judicial procedures in particular for having considered insufficient the information submitted by the complainants
  • Murders
    1. (1) Edison Ariel, 17 October 2000, SINTRAINAGRO;
    2. (2) Francisco Espadín Medina, member of SINTRAINAGRO, 7 September 2000, in the municipality of Turbo;
    3. (3) Ricardo Florez, member of SINTRAPALMA, 8 January 2001;
    4. (4) Raúl Gil, member of SINTRAPALMA, 11 February 2001, in the municipality of Puerto Wilches;
    5. (5) Alberto Pedroza Lozada, 22 March 2001;
    6. (6) Ramón Antonio Jaramillo, prosecutor of SINTRAEMSDES-CUT, on 10 October 2001, in the Department of Valle del Cauca, when paramilitaries were carrying out a massacre in the region;
    7. (7) Arturo Escalante Moros, member of USO, disappeared on 27 September and found dead on 19 October 2001;
    8. (8) Armando Buitrago Moreno, member of the National Association of Officials and Employees of the Judicial Branch (ASONAL), 6 June 2001;
    9. (9) Julián Ricardo Muñoz, member of the National Association of Officials and Employees of the Judicial Branch (ASONAL), 6 June 2001, in Bogotá;
    10. (10) Eduardo Edilio Alvarez Escudelo, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees (ASONAL), on 2 July 2001, in Antioquia, by guerrilla forces;
    11. (11) Prasmacio Arroyo, member of the Magdalena Teachers’ Union (SINTRASMAG), on 26 July 2001, in Magdalena;
    12. (12) César Bedoya Ortiz, activist of the University Teachers’ Association (ASPU), on 16 August 2001, in Bolívar;
    13. (13) César Arango Mejía, member of the National Association of Civil Servants and Judicial Employees (ASONAL), on 24 August 2001, in Risaralda;
    14. (14) Plutarco Herrera Gómez, member of the Claims Committee of the National Union of Cargo Handlers in Colombian Maritime Ports, on 30 September 2001, in Valle del Cauca, by paramilitaries;
    15. (15) Milena Pereira Plata, ASINORTH, on 30 October 2001, in Santander, by the FARC;
    16. (16) Eriberto Sandoval, member of the National United Federation of Agricultural Workers (FENSUAGRO), on 11 November 2001, in Ciénaga, by paramilitaries;
    17. (17) Eliécer Orozco, FENSUAGRO, on 11 November 2001, in Ciénaga, by paramilitaries;
    18. (18) María Leida Montoya, activist of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association, on 30 November 2001, in Antioquia;
    19. (19) Herlinda Blando, member of the Union of Teachers and Lecturers of Boyacá, on 1 December 2001 in Boyacá, by paramilitaries;
    20. (20) Alberto Torres, member of the Antioquia Teachers’ Association (ADIDA), on 12 December 2001, in Antioquia;
    21. (21) Adolfo Flórez Rico, activist of the National Union of Workers in the Construction Industry (SINDICONS), on 7 February 2002, in Antioquia, by paramilitaries;
    22. (22) Alfredo González Páez, member of the Association of Employees of INPEC (ASEINPEC), on 15 February 2002, in Tolima, by paramilitaries;
    23. (23) Oswaldo Meneses Jiménez, ASEINPEC, on 15 February 2002, in Tolima, by paramilitaries;
    24. (24) Marcos Antonio Beltrán, activist of SUTEV, on 1 March 2002, in Valle del Cauca;
    25. (25) Jorge Alberto Alvarez, member of SUTIMAC, on 6 August 2001 in the outskirts of Santa Bárbara;
    26. (26) César Gómez, President of the Pamplona Subcommittee of the National Union of University Workers of Colombia (SINTRAUNICOL), on 5 September 2002, in the municipality of Pamplona, Department of North Santander;
  • Abductions and disappearances
    1. (1) Germán Medina Gaviria, member of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI), on 14 January 2001, in the neighbourhood of El Porvenir, town of Cali;
    2. (2) Marco Tulio Agudero Rivera, ASONAL-CUT, in the municipality of Cocorna, on 5 October 2001;
    3. (3) Iván Luis Beltrán, member of the executive committee of FECODE-CUT, on 10 October 2001;
    4. (4) Arturo Escalante Moros, member of the Workers’ Trade Union (USO), on 27 September 2001;
    5. (5) Victor Manuel Jiménez Frutos, Vice-President of the Agricultural Workers’ Union of the Department of Atlántico (SINTRAGRICOLAS-FENSUAGRO-CUT), disappeared on 22 October 2002, in the municipality of Ponedera, Department of Atlántico;
    6. (6) Ramón Alzate, Javier Agudelo, Jhon Jairo Sánchez and Rafael Montoya, members of SUTIMAC, were abducted on 6 April 2001 and released on 11 April.
  • Attempted murders
    1. (1) César Andrés Ortiz, member of the CGTD, on 26 December 2000;
    2. (2) Hebert Cuadros, member of the Valle del Cauca Single Union of Education Workers (SUTEV), on 16 November 2001;
    3. (3) the national headquarters of the Union of Electricity Workers of Colombia (SINTRAELECOL), on 8 July 2002 in Bogotá;
  • Death threats
    1. (1) Giovanni Uyazán Sánchez;
    2. (2) Reinaldo Villegas Vargas, member of the “José Alvear Restrepo” Society of Lawyers;
    3. (3) the following officials and members of USO: Carlos Oviedo, César Losa, Ismael Ríos, Julio Saldaña, Ladislao Rodríguez, Luis Linares, Rafael Ortiz, Ramiro Luna;
    4. (4) Rosario Vela, member of SINTRADEPARTAMENTO;
    5. (5) numerous officials and members of FECODE;
    6. (6) against SINTRAHOINCOL workers on 9 July 2001;
    7. (7) Rusbel, INCORA official, on 14 August 2001;
    8. (8) Jesús Tovar and Ildis Jarava, ANTHOC officials, were followed by heavily armed men from 16 August 2001;
    9. (9) Jorge Eliécer Londoño, member of SINTRAEMSDES-CUT, received death threats on 2 November 2001;
    10. (10) against trade union officials in Yumbo;
    11. (11) the headquarters of SINTRAHOINCOL;
    12. (12) against the officials of the Cali Municipal Enterprises Union (SINTRAEMCALI): Alexander López Maya, Luis Hernández and the other members of the executive committee received a communication from paramilitary groups;
    13. (13) Gerardo González Muñoz, member of FENSUAGRO-CUT;
    14. (14) workers and members of the Arauca Power Company, by paramilitaries;
    15. (15) in Arauca, activists of the Teachers’ Association (ASEDAR) and National Association of Workers and Employees in Hospitals and Clinics (ANTHOC);
    16. (16) Saúl Suárez Donado, activist of the Workers’ Trade Union, by paramilitaries: when he complained of the incident to the Human Rights Unit in the Attorney-General’s Office, on 19 September 2002, he was detained on a charge of rebellion;
    17. (17) Efraín Holguín, Fernando Trujillo Lozada and José Eduardo Villa Garzón, officials of the Workers’ Union of the Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado of Bogotá (SINTRACUEDUCTO-CUT), in October 2002.
  • Harassment
    1. (1) Esperanza Valdés Amortegui, Treasurer of ASODEFENSA, victim of illegal espionage through the installation of microphones in her workplace;
    2. (2) Henry Armando Cuéllar Valbuena, harassed and physically assaulted;
    3. (3) Carlos González, President of the Union of University Workers of El Valle, assaulted by police, on 1 May 2001;
    4. (4) Mario de Jesús Castañeda, President of the CUT-HUILA subcommittee, on 28 October 2002 for distributing propaganda concerning the national strike convened by the CUT.
  • Sending civilians to war zones
  • In the Ministry of Defence, as a means of anti-trade union harassment, civilians continue to be forced to go to war zones wearing military uniform, without weapons or military training. The following people have been subjected to this:
    1. (1) Carlos Julio Rodríguez García, member of ASODEFENSA;
    2. (2) José Luis Torres Acosta, member of ASODEFENSA;
    3. (3) Edgardo Barraza Pertuz;
    4. (4) Carlos Rodríguez Hernández; and
    5. (5) Juan Posada Barba.
  • Detentions
    1. On 19 October 2001, the following USO officials (active and retired): Edgar Mojica, Luis Viana, Ramón Rangel, Jairo Calderón, Alonso Martínez and Fernando Acuña, former President of FEDEPETROL.
  • Annex II
  • Alleged acts of violence against
  • trade union officials or members
  • for which the Government has sent
  • its observation
  • Carlos Cordero; Gabriela Galeano; Elsa Clarena Guerrero; Alfonso Alejandro Naar Hernández; Jesús Antonio Ruano; Leyder María Fernández Cuellar; Edgar Thomas Angarita Mora; Manuel Pájaro Peinado; Fernando Euclides Serna Velásquez; Yolanda Paternina Negrete; Miguel Chávez; Manuel Ruiz; Ana Ruby Orrego; Cristóbal Uribe Beltrán; Prasmacio Arroyo; Efraín Toledo Guevara; César Arango Mejía; Luis Ernesto Camelo; Marcelina Saldarriaga; Gilberto Arbeláez Sánchez; Jacobo Rodríguez; Juan David Corzo; Bibiana María Gómez Bedoya; Antonio Mesa; Germán Elías Madrigal; Gustavo Castellón Fuentes; Edith Manrique; Jorge Julio Céspedes; Luis Alfonso Gaviria Meneses; Generoso Estrada Saldarriaga; Germán Darío Ortiz Restrepo; James Estrada; Rubí Moreno; Víctor Alberto Triana; Walter Oñate; Oscar Jaime Delgado Valencia; Oswaldo Enrique Borja Martínez; Nohora Elsy López; José Wilson Díaz; Cecilia Gallego; Roberto Carballo; Eduardo Chinchilla Padilla; Luis Miguel Rubio Espinel; José González Barros; Adolfo de Jesús Munera López; Oswaldo Moreno Ibagüe; Oscar de Jesús Payares; Alfonso Morelly Zárate; Gema Lucía Jaramillo; José Fernando Mena Alvarez; Oscar David Polo Charry; Jairo Vera; Ismael Ortega; Walter Arturo Velásquez Posada; Nefatalí Romero Lombana; Julio César Jaraba; Paula Andrea Gómez Mora; Eumelia Aristizabal; Rosa Cecilia Lemus Abril; six workers in public enterprises in Medellín belonging to SINTRAEMSDES; Julio Enrique Carrascal Puentes; Winsgton Jorge Tovar; Alvaro Alberto Agudel Usuga; Jorge Feite Romero; Ricaurte Jaunten Pungo; Alvaro Laiton Cortés; Carlina Ballesteros; Hugo Alberto Peña Camargo; Hernando Silva; Miguel Angel Rendón Graciano; Gonzalo Ramírez Triana; on 20 August 2002 the following 27 individuals were abducted in the Department of Chocó; including a number of retirees and workers of the Cali Municipal Trade Union: Flower Enrique Rojas; President of the Cali Trade Union of Workers (SINTRAMUNICIPIO); María del Carmen Rendón; Jair Rendón; Antonio Bejarano; Henry Salcedo; Diego Valencia; Carlos Salinas; Beatriz Orozco; Soledad Fals; Elécer Ortiz; Jaime Sánchez Ballén; Pedro Potosí; Oscar Ivan Hernández; Gerardo Machado; Néstor Naráez; Libaniel Arciniegas; all members of the union; Héctor Fabrio Monroy; attempted murder against the executive committee of SINTRAEMCALI; Clemencia del Carmen Burgos; Omar García Angulo; Henry Alberto Mosquera; Ricardo Valbuena; Juan de la Rosa Grimaldos; Jorge Nisperuza; Gerardo Rodrigo Genoy Guerrero; José Rodrigo Orozco; Leonel Pastas; Edgar Púa and José Meriño; Edgar Mojico and Daniel Rico; Domingo Rafael Tovar Arrieta; Henry Ocampo; the Cartagena branch of the National Union of Workers in the Food Industry (SINALTRAINAL); Eduardo Camacho Rugeles; Carlos Dimate; Antonio Guerrero; Demetrio Guerrero; Marcos Moreno; Diógenes Correa; Gustavo Guamanga; Nicolás Acevedo Cuartas; Willain Mendoza; the Executive Committee of SUTIMAC; Jesús Antonio González.
© Copyright and permissions 1996-2024 International Labour Organization (ILO) | Privacy policy | Disclaimer