UNI urges President Santos to end death squads targeting union leaders [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

UNI urges President Santos to end death squads targeting union leaders
02/05/2013 - Colombia

Nyon, 5 February 2013 - UNI strongly condemns the recent heinous murder of a trade union activist that takes up the toll of trade unionists killed to 21 since 2012. UNI urgently calls upon the competent authorities to bring perpetrators of such crimes to books at the earliest and put an end to the blatant impunity across the country.

“Enough is enough. We condemn such killings but also the impunity that reigns in the country as little or no concrete action is carried out by the authorities to elucidate such murders. On the contrary, what we see is that inaction only allows perpetrators to continue to get away with murder and create a climate of insecurity for Colombian Trade Unionists. Yet, we also want to stress that union leaders in Colombia are not alone. UNI and its affiliates stand by them,” said Adriana Rosenzvaig, the Regional Secretary of UNI Americas.

In the letter attached sent today to the Colombian highest authorities, UNI urged President Juan Manuel Santos and the Labour Minister to take bold steps to make clear progress in stopping such murders and halt the persistent impunity. Colombia remains the most dangerous place for a trade unionist, where many risk their lives more than any other place in the world. In fact, according to Human Rights Watch, more than half of unionists murdered worldwide between 2006 and 2010 were Colombians.

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