United Steelworkers condemn repression of union and social leaders, population at National Strike in Colombia

Photo by Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters.

The United Steelworkers has sent a letter to Colombian president Ivan Duque expressing their concern about the violence against the national strike.

The USW is the largest private sector union in North America with more than 225,000 members in Canada and more than 800,000 members continent-wide.

Their letter states:

“The United Steelworkers strongly condemn the brutal repression against the Colombian people who have exercised their right to freedom of expression against the tax reform bill and other policies of your government.”

“According to information we have received, a vicious military escalation has taken place in which state repressive agencies – the National Police and the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) – social cleansing groups and plainclothes police officers with the help of the army have intimidated, persecuted, repressed, injured and murdered, not only union and social leaders, but indiscriminately targeting at the general population.”

The United Steelworkers calls on the Duque government to:

-immediately halt the human rights violations taking place against civilians engaging in protest, and to guarantee the safety of all of those in line with internationally recognized human rights standards

– investigate and bring to justice all members of state security agencies responsible for human rights violations during the national strike

-refrain from criminalization and stigmatization of peaceful protests

-urgently engage in a wide-ranging social dialogue and genuinely listen to all sectors of the population to find a solution to the immediate crisis in the country

-effectively implement the 2016 Peace Accords in their entirety.

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has been accompanying human rights defenders throughout the national strike that began on April 28. For more on that, please see this photo journal.