Trade Union Rights Unit, Colombia
The Trade Union Rights Unit is now operating in Bogotá in the offices of the respected lawyers’ collective CAJAR. It is staffed by a qualified lawyer, Sandra Gamboa Rubiano, who is employed to work full time on the project, with the support of the other lawyers of CAJAR. The project has allowed CAJAR to take on a much larger number of trade union cases than were handled previously by the general Social and Economic Rights Unit (which deals mainly with non-labour cases).

The majority of cases accepted by the Unit are ‘parte civil’ in which CAJAR represents victims or victims families as civil third parties in criminal hearings before the Fiscalia. In these cases, the State is prosecuting the alleged perpetrators of violations but CAJAR is able to intervene in the case and to present evidence in the hearing in an attempt to secure a conviction.

The Unit has accepted fourteen cases on behalf of the university professors’ union ASPU, two cases on behalf of the university workers’ union SINTRAUNICOL, and seventeen cases on behalf of the health workers’ union ANTHOC (including an infamous case against the members of the army who murdered three senior leaders of the Arauca region of ANTHOC in Arauca in 2004).

Other cases accepted by the Unit include one demand for the army to initiate its own disciplinary procedures to investigate the murder of two ASPU members and six demands under Administrative law, calling on the government to acknowledge responsibility for human rights violations against ASPU members and to pay compensation to victims families.

The Unit is also pursuing military internal disciplinary procedures on behalf of ANTHOC for an investigation of the murder of the members of ANTHOC in Arauca in 2004. The Unit is also seeking to secure the release of three members of ANTHOC from arbitrary detention, and has four demands under Administrative law calling on the government to pay compensation to victim’s families.

International cases:
The Unit has made seven successful applications for Medidas Precautelares (a protection order) from the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights. Three of these orders grant an internationally respected protected status for twenty-three leaders of ANTHOC who are currently facing serious threats, and requires the Colombian authorities to ensure that they are protected against these threats. Two of the other orders are in favour of eight members of ASPU, while two further orders were secured on behalf of members of SINTRAUNICOL and the teachers and workers of the Universidad Industrial de Santander, who are currently facing serious threats against their life.

ICTUR staff lawyer Miguel Puerto, who is also a member of the CAJAR collective, attended a meeting of the newly formed UN Human Rights Council in September and in December 2006. Mr Puerto visited seven of the UN Working Groups (including those on Arbitrary Detention, Extrajudicial Executions and Human Rights Defenders). On behalf of the Unit, Mr Puerto presented four cases to two of the Groups concerning trade union rights violations, and he will be attending the UN regularly in 2007 to pursue key cases before these bodies.

Education work:
A workshop with SINTRAUNICOL members on human rights issues took place on 1 June 2006. The Unit sent a lawyer and human rights training materials to support the workshop.

CCAJAR organised a series of 14 workshops around Colombia to raise awareness of the International Criminal Court and principles of international human rights law. The Unit worked with unions to make sure that their members attended and participated in these workshops. Around 30 members and leaders from the three unions (SINTRAUNICOL, ASPU and ANTHOC) attended the workshops.

CAJAR is running a human rights diploma (10 day-long sessions) in Bogotá. Twelve union members are attending this course: eight members of ANTHOC (including a relative of the victim of the Arauca leader assassinated in 2004); two members of ASPU and two members of SINTRAUNICOL.

Funding
The project was funded by the UNISON International Trade Union Development Fund with additional support from Amnesty International UK Section Charitable Trust and LO-Norway. Funding ended in mid-2007, but ICTUR and CAJAR have opened discussions with organisations considering supporting the project over the year ahead.

Contact ICTUR:

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