WOLA would like to share the following links to recent documents written by WOLA and organizations we partner with in Colombia on human rights, labor rights and Afro-Colombian and indigenous issues. This set of documents includes statements regarding the Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights released by President Obama on April 7, 2011.

US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

• Dramatic Results Still Required by Colombia, WOLA Testifies Before Ways and Means Subcommittee Hearing on Colombia FTA
• U.S.-Colombia FTA Action Plan Falls Short of Protecting Rights, WOLA, LAWG and USOC
• U.S. Congressmen tell President Obama: Colombia must take concrete steps to improve human rights before considering the FTA, WOLA, LAWG and USOC

WOLA Partner Statements on Labor Rights and FTA

• SINTRAEMCALI letter to U.S. policymakers on lack of compliance with ILO recommendations on their case
• National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) statement on FTA
• Declaration on FTA by the Black Communities' Process (PCN)
• AFRODES expresses concern about exclusion of Afro-Colombians from Obama FTA Action Plan
• Colombian Opposition Completes Successful Tour in Washington
• CUT brief on grave labor rights situation in Valle del Cauca
• Letter to Presidents Obama and Santos from Campesino Communities
• National Agrarian Coordination (CNA) Statement Rejecting the FTA (Only in Spanish)

Congressional Statements on Labor Rights, FTA and Action Plan

• Statement on Proposed U.S.-Colombia Action Plan Agreement for the FTA, Jim McGovern (MA-3), George Miller (CA-7), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Mike Michaud (ME-2), Linda Sanchez (CA-39) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-9)
• Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA-39): Colombia FTA Action Plan Doesn't Go Far Enough
• Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-4) Statement on the Administration's Announcement on the Colombia Trade Deal
• Rep. Sutton (OH-13) on the Administration’s Announcement on the Colombia Trade Deal
• Senator Brown (D-OH) Statement on US-Colombia FTA
• Rep. Levin (MI-12): Addressing Worker Rights, Violence and Impunity in Colombia a Work in Progress
• Rep. Slaughter (NY-28) Denounces Obama Trade Agreement with Colombia

Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Issues

• Letter to Ken Yamashita, USAID Mission Director Colombia, regarding the Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Program (ACIP), WOLA and TransAfrica Forum
• Open Letter to President Juan Manuel Santos on Partial Withdrawal of Security Forces from Curvaradó and Jiguamiandó Communities, ACSN
• Threats, Killings and Harassment Targeting Afro-Colombians Continue, ACSN
• Recent Violations of Afro-Colombian Human Rights, ACSN
• Under Santos Government: Paramilitaries Threaten Afro-Colombian Communities and Organizations, ACSN
• Inter-Ethnic Forum Chocó (FISCH), Concerns regarding indigenous communities in Chocó affected by conflict and state abandonment
• Statement by the Coordination of Community Councils and Grassroots Organizations of the Black Communities of the Colombian Pacific in Cauca (COCOCAUCA) denouncing aerial fumigations of their communities
• Statement by Major Community Council of the Popular Peasant Organization of the High Atrato-Chocó-Colombia (COCOMAPOCA) on not having received their land titles

 
General Human Rights

• Memorandum by WOLA and USOC on human rights issues and cases of concern to James Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. State Department
• WOLA letter to Colombian Ambassador to the United States Gabriel Silva regarding current human rights cases
• WOLA, CEJIL and 21 human rights organizations present at Organization of American States (OAS) hearing on regional human rights defenders
• WOLA, CEJIL and others welcome OAS rapporteurship on human rights defenders
• WOLA: Colombian Guerrillas’ Hostage Releases Are Welcome, But Should Not Stop Here
• WOLA: Six months in, Colombia's Santos faces a murky security situation
• Letter to Colombian Attorney General on human rights concerns, USOC, WOLA and others (Only in Spanish)

Press and Items of Interest

• IPS, Colombia: Court Documents Reveal Chiquita Paid for Security
• IPS, Colombia: U.S.-Colombia Deal on Labor Rights Met with Scepticism
• Interview with AFRODES Executive Director Luz Marina Becerra, El Espectador March 26, 2011 (Only in Spanish)
• PBI Video on abuses faced by Afro-Colombians and mestizos in Curvaradó, Chocó
• IACHR Hearing on right to previous consultation with WOLA partners ONIC, CNOA and DeJusticia
• Trailer for "Impunity" by Hollman Morris
• Article on visit of Javier Marrugo, president of the Port Workers Union, whose visit was supported by AFL-CIO and WOLA

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