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11 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 33/1998
Unions worldwide have condemned the murder of human rights lawyer Eduardo Umana Mendoza in Colombia and are pressing for a full investigation of the crime.
In a letter to Colombia’s President Ernesto Samper, the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) urged him to take effective measures to ensure that the murder will be fully and impartially investigated. "We also demand that your Government urgently develop and apply efficient means of prevention and protection that will guarantee the legitimate defence of human rights in Colombia," the ICEM said.
Dr. Umana, a prominent defender of trade unionists, indigenous communities and the families of "disappeared" people, was shot six times in the head by two men and a woman posing as TV journalists on Saturday.
Over the last ten years, thousands of people, including at least 2,700 trade unionists, have been assassinated in Colombia by guerrillas, paramilitary groups, and contract killers hired by drug barons or landowners.
Significantly, Dr. Umana was about to take on the legal defence of some of the 17 oil industry trade unionists now awaiting trial on vague accusations of links to terrorism. The charges are based on secret testimony by unidentified witnesses. The trade unionists, who are members of the oil workers’ Unión Sindical Obrera (USO), are to be tried in special courts under a system dubbed "justicia sin rostro", faceless justice, because most of the witnesses will wear masks to hide their identity.
As human rights organisations have pointed out, this procedure is open to obvious abuse. The ICEM again urged Samper to abolish the "faceless justice" system, to free the imprisoned oil workers immediately and to guarantee them a public and fair trial, with full provision of legal aid.
In the last ten years, 83 workers at the state oil company Ecopetrol have been murdered. State-backed paramilitaries, supposed to protect public safety, have reportedly instigated violence in many areas, threatening oil workers and invading their living quarters. The paramilitaries and death squads have announced that one of their tasks is to prevent workers from joining the union and from carrying out their union tasks - in short, to get rid of the oil workers’ union USO.
The ICEM urged Samper to "take measures to ensure that the oil workers can exercise the rights to carry out their legitimate union tasks", as guaranteed in the Conventions of the UN’s International Labour Organisation and in the Colombian Constitution. "You must make sure that all civil and military authorities respect these rights," the ICEM insisted. "In particular, we urge you to take measures to protect the life and integrity of USO President Hernando Hernandez who has faced serious threats."
The ICEM pledged continuing support to the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and human rights organisations. It will also step up pressure on multinational oil companies operating in Colombia, such as BP (British Petroleum), to ensure that security forces are not used to intimidate workers. The ICEM is running a support programme in Colombia to reinforce national union structures in the oil, electricity and coal mining industries.
In a letter to Colombia’s President Ernesto Samper, the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) urged him to take effective measures to ensure that the murder will be fully and impartially investigated. "We also demand that your Government urgently develop and apply efficient means of prevention and protection that will guarantee the legitimate defence of human rights in Colombia," the ICEM said.
Dr. Umana, a prominent defender of trade unionists, indigenous communities and the families of "disappeared" people, was shot six times in the head by two men and a woman posing as TV journalists on Saturday.
Over the last ten years, thousands of people, including at least 2,700 trade unionists, have been assassinated in Colombia by guerrillas, paramilitary groups, and contract killers hired by drug barons or landowners.
Significantly, Dr. Umana was about to take on the legal defence of some of the 17 oil industry trade unionists now awaiting trial on vague accusations of links to terrorism. The charges are based on secret testimony by unidentified witnesses. The trade unionists, who are members of the oil workers’ Unión Sindical Obrera (USO), are to be tried in special courts under a system dubbed "justicia sin rostro", faceless justice, because most of the witnesses will wear masks to hide their identity.
As human rights organisations have pointed out, this procedure is open to obvious abuse. The ICEM again urged Samper to abolish the "faceless justice" system, to free the imprisoned oil workers immediately and to guarantee them a public and fair trial, with full provision of legal aid.
In the last ten years, 83 workers at the state oil company Ecopetrol have been murdered. State-backed paramilitaries, supposed to protect public safety, have reportedly instigated violence in many areas, threatening oil workers and invading their living quarters. The paramilitaries and death squads have announced that one of their tasks is to prevent workers from joining the union and from carrying out their union tasks - in short, to get rid of the oil workers’ union USO.
The ICEM urged Samper to "take measures to ensure that the oil workers can exercise the rights to carry out their legitimate union tasks", as guaranteed in the Conventions of the UN’s International Labour Organisation and in the Colombian Constitution. "You must make sure that all civil and military authorities respect these rights," the ICEM insisted. "In particular, we urge you to take measures to protect the life and integrity of USO President Hernando Hernandez who has faced serious threats."
The ICEM pledged continuing support to the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and human rights organisations. It will also step up pressure on multinational oil companies operating in Colombia, such as BP (British Petroleum), to ensure that security forces are not used to intimidate workers. The ICEM is running a support programme in Colombia to reinforce national union structures in the oil, electricity and coal mining industries.