P 171830Z MAR 08 FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA TO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY UNCLAS BOGOTA 001017 SUBJECT: UPDATE ON LABOR-RELATED VIOLENCE,

IMPUNITY, AND PROTECTION IN COLOMBIA REF: BOGOTA 6746 -------Summary -------1. Colombian labor confederations report eleven possible union homicides so far in 2008. The Social Protection Ministry (MSP) has confirmed ten of the cases. The Prosecutor General's (Fiscalia) labor sub-unit--which was only set up in November 2006--has resolved 40 of the 73 labor cases solved since 2001. The Ministry of Interior and Justice (MOIJ) Human Rights Protection Program increased the number of individuals covered by over 50 percent in 2007. End Summary. --------------------------Unionist Homicides in 2008 ---------------------------

2. Union confederations have reported eleven possible unionist homicides so far this year to the Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) and the ENS. The MSP has confirmed ten (one victim was part of a peasant group, not a union) of the eleven cases. MSP does not include members of peasant groups, because they lack the employer-employee relationship required to register with the MSP as unionists. The MSP noted that based on informal conversations with the police investigating the crimes, union-affiliation did not appear to be the motive in any of the homicides. The motives ranged from robbery to domestic disputes. 3. The ENS has confirmed eight of the confederations' cases. The ENS includes in their statistics any "union-related killings", which can include peasant leaders (not formally registered as unions), family members of unionists they determine are targeted due to their family members' union affiliation, or members of any organization that has a "union-like" structure. ----------------------------------------New Labor Sub-unit Speeds Up Convictions ----------------------------------------4. The Fiscalia's Human Rights Unit has been assigned 1262 cases, all of which stem from ILO case 1787 of 1994 (a labor violence complaint filed with the ILO by the International Confederation of Free Trade Union Organizations - ICFTU). Since 2001, the Fiscalia's Human Rights Unit has resolved

73 of these cases, leading to the conviction of 156 perpetrators. The new sub-unit on labor crimes which began operations in November 2006 (see refel) resolved 40 of the cases, convicting 67 individuals. The Fiscalia expects the number of cases resolved/convictions obtained to rise rapidly as the sub-unit continues its work. --------------------------Protection Program Expands --------------------------5. In 2007, the GOC's $39.5 million protection program included 9444 human rights activists, journalists, local elected officials and other threatened individuals, including 1959 unionists. In 2006, the program covered 6097 individuals, including 1504 unionists. The increase in 2007 reflected the GOC's extension of the program to include displaced community leaders (502), Union Patriotica (UP) members (410), and local politicians running in the October, 2007 local elections (1266). The GOC added the UP members are protected due to an Inter-American Human Right court proceeding regarding this group. The UP was a leftist political party with ties to the FARC, many of whose members were murdered by paramilitaries and narco-traffickers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Brownfield (Edited and reading.) reformatted by Andres for ease of