VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #0049/01 0192239
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191444Z JAN 10 ZFF6
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2061
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000049 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
USTR FOR EISSENSTAT, ROMERO, AND HARMAN 
DOL FOR ZOLLNER AND QUINTANA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EAID ETRD PGOV PHUM PREL USTR LAB CO
SUBJECT: 2009 LABOR VIOLENCE NUMBERS AND IMPUNITY UPDATE 
 
REF: BOGOTA 1120; 08 BOGOTA 2175; 08 BOGOTA 4390; BOGOTA 3031 
 
SUMMARY 
 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) National Union School (ENS) statistics show that murders 
of trade unionists fell by 20% in 2009, and by 80% since 2002. 
However, ENS Director Jose Luciano Sanin said the focus on killings 
masked the scope of anti-union violence -- only 26% of the violent 
acts ENS had recorded were murders.  Labor groups decried high 
impunity rates for crimes against unionists, and called for greater 
government resolve in identifying and punishing the perpetrators. 
Vice Minister of Labor Ricardo Andres Echeverri Lopez said the GOC 
had invested extensively in protecting unionists and combating 
impunity.  Consequently, the murder rate for unionists had fallen 
faster than the overall homicide rate since 2002: by 74% compared 
to 49%.  Today, the murder rate for Colombian unionists (5 per 
100,000) is lower than the general homicide rate in the United 
States.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
HOMICIDES OF UNIONISTS DOWN 20 PERCENT 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The National Union School (ENS) reported that 39 trade 
unionists were murdered in 2009, 20% less than in 2008 but equal to 
the number killed in 2007.  The Ministry of Social Protection (MPS) 
reported 28 killings in 2009 (18% drop).  Vice Minister Echeverri 
emphasized that 15 were teachers, and preliminary evidence 
indicated that not all of the 28 were killed for their union 
activity.  (Note:  ENS includes in its statistics a broader 
spectrum of labor activist groups that are not registered as 
unions, including peasant leaders, family members of unionists, and 
members of organizations that have "union-like" structures.  End 
Note.)  Still, by ENS calculations trade unionist murders have 
fallen by almost 80% since 2002, when it reported 186 murders. 
 
 
 
OVERALL VIOLENCE ON THE RISE? 
 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) ENS Director Jose Luciano Sanin acknowledged the positive 
trend, but warned that focusing on murders alone masked the true 
nature and scale of the violence.  He said that homicides 
represented only 26% of the 10,364 "violations of life, liberty, 
and integrity of union workers" that had occurred since January 1, 
¶1986.  Total anti-union violations increased by 73% between 2007 
and 2008 (from 441 to 762) according to ENS.  The majority of 
violations consisted in death threats (4,418) and forced 
displacements (1,611), and, to a lesser extent, arbitrary 
detentions, harassment, non-lethal attacks, disappearances, 
kidnappings, torture, and illegal searches.  While murders had 
steadily fallen, non-lethal crimes had continued unabated, he said. 
 
 
 
 
LABOR DECRIES IMPUNITY, CALLS FOR GREATER GOC RESOLVE 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Labor groups said that the Prosecutor General's Office had 
only initiated investigations into 1,119 of the 2,704 murders labor 
groups had identified, leaving nearly 60% in complete impunity 
(Note: the Prosecutor General's Office only recognizes a unionist 
 
link in 1,344 of the 2,704 cases.  End Note.)  Labor groups also 
complained that many investigations remained in the preliminary 
stages with very few convictions.  According to ENS, impunity rates 
by number of convictions were 95% for murders, 98.7% for attacks, 
99.9% for threats, 93.7% for kidnappings, 99.7% for forced 
displacement, and 100% for forced disappearances and tortures. 
 
 
 
GOC HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS, POINTS TO RESULTS 
 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Vice Minister Echeverri said that the GOC had invested 
heavily in protecting unionists and combating impunity.  For 
example, the GOC maintained a $45 million protection program for 
approximately 10,000 vulnerable social leaders/activists, including 
1,500 labor leaders; provided $4 million in funding for a permanent 
International Labor Organization (ILO) office in Bogota; engaged 
private sector companies and labor leaders in a regular tripartite 
dialog; passed legislation to harmonize domestic law with ILO 
conventions; strengthened its labor inspections capacity; and 
created a special Labor Sub-Unit within the Prosecutor General's 
Office with three dedicated judges to investigate, prosecute, and 
try cases of violence against unionists (reftels). 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) As of December 20, 2009, the Prosecutor General's Office 
reported 234 convictions (209 for murder) against 334 perpetrators 
of anti-union violence since 2000, including 69 convictions in 
¶2009.  The Labor Sub-Unit, created in October 2006, was responsible 
for 184 (79%) of the total convictions.  Echeverri said that as a 
result of GOC efforts the murder rate for unionists had dropped 25 
percentage points faster than the overall homicide rate since 2002 
(74% compared to 49%).  The 2009 general homicide rate was 32 per 
100,000, compared to 5 per 100,000 for unionists using ENS 
statistics.  (Note: According to the FBI, the U.S. general homicide 
rate in 2009 was approximately 6 per 100,000.  End Note.) 
Echeverri defended the GOC's resolve in protecting unionists and 
combating impunity. 
NICHOLS