Report on human rights violations No. 16 "And the shadows are coming that already have a name… And those who forgive are also coming." Alejandra Pizarnik
The information organized into the Human Rights Database of the Escuela Nacional Sindical (ENS) shows that, from January 1 to December 31, 2005, 70 union members were murdered in Colombia, 260 received death threats, 56 were arbitrarily etained, seven were attacked with explosive devices or firearms, 32 were harassed and persecuted for their union activity, eight were forcibly displaced, three were forcibly disappeared and one unionist was the victim of an illegal search.
In accordance with this information, 444 cases of violations to the life, liberty and physical integrity of unionized workers were registered throughout Colombia in 2005. Nevertheless, concerning the forced displacement of union members, it should be pointed out that this violation is obviously under reported. Due to fears of reprisal, these violations are not reported. In some cases (as with violations against unionized teachers), it is only reported as a threat and not as forced displacement.
Additionally, the victims and labor organizations do not consider many situations of intra-urban forced displacement to be a violation because the displacement is normalized and considered to be a logical consequence of the threat, without it explicitly being considered a violation as well. Likewise, in some departments, denunciation can become even more dangerous
than the union activity for which the violation was received. This is why a strong tendency towards silence predominates.
Autor: Human Rights Unit of the Escuela Nacional Sindical (ENS)
Como Obtener: Contactarse con el promotor de publicaciones Marco Fidel Agudelo al e-mail: publicaciones@ens.org.co
Escuela Nacional Sindical: Calle 51 55-78 Medellín - Colombia
Tel: (54) 513 31 00
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