U.S. Members of Congress Continue to Monitor Implementation of Colombia Labor Action Plan

WASHINGTON – Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who participate in the Congressional Monitoring Group on Labor Rights in Colombia issued the following statement today. The Monitoring Group was formed after Congress approved the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement to monitor implementation of the Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights and ensure that it produces meaningful results in protecting the fundamental internationally-recognized rights of workers, including providing protection from threats and violence, and prosecuting recent and past murders of trade union leaders.

“When President Obama announced this week that the Administration intends to put the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement into force next month, he noted that while Colombia has made significant progress to ensure the protection of labor rights, but we all know that more work still needs to be done. The Congressional Monitoring Group on Labor Rights in Colombia remains committed to ensuring that both the U.S. and Colombia continue to make progress on labor rights including the commitments announced in the Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights.”  
 
“The purpose of the Labor Action Plan is to change the legal and security landscape in Colombia that allowed thousands of Colombians who were union members to be killed and intimidated with impunity and fundamental worker rights to be systematically undermined. The transformation of commitments made in the Labor Action Plan into meaningful change on the ground for workers’ rights has yet to be fully realized, and Colombia faces a long and challenging road to assure that workers can freely exercise fundamental internationally recognized rights.  Ensuring that the Labor Action Plan works as intended is vital to that effort.”
 
“The Colombian Government has taken important action to improve labor rights, but until more change is realized on the ground, the Monitoring Group’s work is not done. We will continue to engage governments, workers, employers, labor, and non-governmental organizations to monitor the implementation of the Labor Action Plan, the enforcement of its key elements, and help all parties achieve tangible results.” 

In addition to labor rights and the prevention and prosecution of perpetrators of violence against labor leaders, the Monitoring Group also monitors the situation of Colombian human rights defenders, victims’ and land rights leaders, and the implementation of the Victims’ and Land Restitution Law, including the protection of returning communities.

The Monitoring Group includes U.S. Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, George Miller, Sander Levin, Howard Berman, Rosa DeLauro, Jim McGovern, Michael Michaud, Sam Farr, Joseph Crowley and Henry “Hank” Johnson, Jr