79 Colombian Teacher Trade Unionists Killed in Three Years – No Convictions
Justice For Colombia News |
on: Friday, 26 November 2010
The National Union of Teachers (NUT, representing 300,000 British teachers) yesterday wrote to the Colombian Ambassador asking him for details of any convictions in 79 cases in which members of the Colombian teachers’ trade union have been assassinated. NUT leader Christine Blower points out that “unless progress is being made on bringing those responsible to justice, it will be very difficult for the Colombian regime to convince the international community that they are taking human rights seriously.”
Whilst the Colombian authorities say that they are making progress in bringing those responsible for trade union assassinations to justice, they have not been able to produce any evidence to back up the assertion by, for example, providing the names of those that have been convicted or where they are being held. Colombian trade union and human rights organisations claim that in the vast majority of the killings nobody is punished.
In her letter Ms Blower lists 79 cases since 2007 in which members of the Colombian teaching union FECODE have been assassinated and asks the Ambassador to explain in which cases have those responsible been punished. Read the full letter here.
