We are deeply troubled by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks on June 9th.  She pledged to begin a "very intensive effort" to pass the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.  This remark follows those of several other cabinet-level officials in recent months promoting passage of this flawed agreement.  The Obama Administration should instead undertake a "very intensive effort" to promote labor and human rights and an end to violence in Colombia, rather than a trade agreement that, according to even the U.S. International Trade Commission, will do very little to create good jobs here at home.  

The situation remains dire for workers in Colombia.  Forty-eight trade unionists were murdered in 2009; an additional 18 were subjects of attempted murder.  According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Colombia still leads the world as the most dangerous place to be a trade unionist.  The country accounted for roughly half of all union murders in the world last year.  So far this year, 29 trade unionists have been murdered. If murders continue at the same rate through the end of this year, this will mark a substantial increase in violence. While there have been some prosecutions of those responsible for carrying out these crimes, the rate of impunity remains sky-high. 

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has also identified numerous ways in which the labor laws of Colombia fall short of the ILO's core labor rights - the minimum set of rights to be guaranteed by all countries – with regard to freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively and the right to strike.  Additionally, employers often use arrangements such as sub-contracting, commercial contracts, employer-controlled cooperatives, and other third-party arrangements to render impossible the exercise of workers' fundamental rights to organize, bargain collectively or strike.  

The United States needs to put into place a comprehensive strategy to address the still alarming human rights situation in Colombia.  Even assuming a strong commitment on the part of the Colombian government, it will take substantial time to address these and other serious problems.  It is premature to talk of passing the trade agreement before there is evidence of sustained and substantial advancement on labor and human rights, implementation of needed labor law reform, significant progress to halt the violence against trade unionists and to end the impunity surrounding the true authors of aggression against Colombian workers and union leaders.  

Contact: Josh Goldstein (202) 637-5018