VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #5489/01 2082324
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 272324Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7664
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 9212
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUL 8859
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 5290
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 5890

UNCLAS BOGOTA 005489 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA DISPUTES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT ON 
LABOR 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Amnesty International (AI) released a report on 
July 3 criticizing the GOC's record on combating violence 
against trade unions.  The report accused the Colombian 
military of maintaining links with former paramilitary groups 
that used terror tactics against unionists.  It also 
criticized the GOC for not making significant progress in 
reducing killings of labor unionists and addressing impunity. 
 The GOC said the document ignored GOC efforts to protect 
unionists and prosecute perpetrators of violence.  It also 
charged the report used outdated and inaccurate data, and 
noted AI did not seek GOC input. End Summary 
 
------------------------------------- 
GOC POINTS OUT FLAWS, DISPUTES CLAIMS 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  AI's July 3 report said the Colombian military maintained 
links with paramilitary groups and accused the GOC of not 
doing enough to protect unionists and combat impunity. 
Minister of Social Protection Diego Palacio Betancourt issued 
a statement, posted on the Presidency's web site on July 4, 
criticizing AI for publishing a report with numerous factual 
errors and for failing to seek GOC input.  The 59-page AI 
report entitled "Killings, Arbitrary Detentions, and Death 
Threats:  the Reality of Trade Unionism in Colombia" included 
examples of labor killings and recommendations to the GOC as 
well as the international community. 
 
¶3.  Betancourt said AI never met with the GOC to verify any 
of the information they cite or to discuss the programs the 
GOC has in place to battle violence against unionists.  He 
rejected AI's claim that a relationship persists between the 
armed forces and the former paramilitaries. The AI document 
quotes a report by the ENS as saying that 77 unionists were 
killed in 2006, but Betancourt said the ENS report they cited 
registered 72.  He said the GOC reports 60 unionist murders 
in 2006, and clarified that not all of those were killed 
because of their union affiliations. 
 
¶4.  Betancourt said AI selectively chose its date ranges for 
statistics to produce the most dramatic results.  When 
calculating the number of murders, Amnesty cited numbers up 
until April, 2007, but when referring to convictions of 
murderers, AI only cited the number achieved up until 2004. 
Betancourt said this hides major advances in the past few 
years.  For example, AI's document reported there had not 
been a single conviction in a case of unionist homicide.  The 
most recent update from the GOC reports there have been 48 
cases resolved, with 89 individuals jailed since 2002. 
 
¶5.  Betancourt also said that Amnesty emphasized killings 
committed by former paramilitary groups, while not adequately 
addressing those committed by guerrilla groups like the 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).   He said 
that, while paramilitaries are mentioned on nearly every page 
of the report, Amnesty International only dedicated one and a 
half pages to discussing violence perpetrated by the FARC. 
Betancourt's letter said ENS attributes 285 of the murders 
from 1991 to 2006 to the paramilitaries and 147 to guerrilla 
groups (in the majority of cases, the responsible party is 
unknown). He suggested the killings committed by guerrillas 
merited further emphasis by AI. 
 
------------------------------------- 
GOC CITES PROGRESS, INCREASED EFFORTS 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Betancourt said whether one uses GOC statistics or ENS 
statistics, murders of unionists  fell by over 60 percent 
from 2002-2006. (Note: ENS reports two more unionists were 
killed in 2006 than in 2005, but ENS and GOC show the same 
overall downward trend during the period-- see table below.) 
Betancourt also pointed out that, in accordance with the 
tripartite agreement brokered by the International Labor 
Organization and signed by the GOC, industry leaders, and the 
labor confederations, the GOC set up a special unit within 
the National Prosecutor's office (Fiscalia) to investigate 
violence against unionists.  This unit has nearly 100 
investigators and prosecutors. 
 
¶7.  He also said the Ministry of Interior and Justice's 
protection program currently protects 1504 union leaders. 
According to Betancourt, GOC resources dedicated to this 
effort have risen substantially since 2000. The program's 
budget for 2007 was over USD $34 million. He called on AI to 
recognize these achievements in their report. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
          Table:  Unionist Murders from 2001 to 2006 
     Sources: Ministry of Social Protection and ENS 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
                                                  % Change 
        '01    '02    '03    '04    '05    '06    '01 - '06 
        ---    ---    ---    ---    ---    ---    --------- 
 
ENS:    197    186     94     96     70     72      63.4% 
 
MSP:    205    196    101     89     40     60      70.7% 
 
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Drucker