ICFTU Responds to Trade Unionist Assassinations in Colombia

At its recent world congress, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) passed an emergency resolution in response to violence against union members in Colombia. Nearly 3,000 trade unionists have been assassinated by government agents, paramilitary groups and rebel forces in Colombia over the last 15 years. According to the ICFTU, the government has so far refused to implement recommendations by the International Labor Organization to make Colombian legislation comply with ILO Conventions 87 and 98. Despite constant demands from the international community and the world trade union movement, the assassination of trade unionists in Colombia continues with impunity.

The ICFTU Congress demanded that all affiliated organizations and International Trade Secretariats strongly support the Colombian trade union movement. It called on these groups to work with governments and employers in every country to ensure that the next meeting of the ILO Government Body establishes a Commission of Inquiry on freedom of association in Colombia.