UK Union Women's Conference Pledges Continued Support for Colombian Trade Unionists
27th March 2011
Justice For Colombia News | on: Thursday, 10 March 2011
On 10th March 2011 the TUC Women's Conference voted unanimously to pass two motions on Colombia, calling on the TUC to continue its support for the Justice for Colombia campaign.
The motions, put forward by the Musicians Union (MU) and University and College Union (UCU), condemned the violence against women in Colombia which "has increased dramatically since the new Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos came to power". They maintained that there has also been an attempt on the part of the Colombian authorities to “mislead the international community as to the severity of the situation”.
As an example of attempts to silence those who have spoken out on an international stage, the congress heard the case of Liliany Obando, a Colombian trade unionist, academic and human rights defender who has been imprisoned for more than 31 months, without being convicted of any crime. In an effort to break the silence imposed on her, UCU delivered a message from Liliany to all women trade unionists, sent from Buen Pastor Prison in Bogota.
The conference voted to continue campaigning for the release of Liliany and other political prisoners in Colombia and called on the TUC to “maintain its pressure on the European Union to suspend its Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Colombia” as any support from the EU or the British government must be “conditional on a real improvement in the human rights situation”.
The Fire Brigades Union, the National Union of Teachers and ASLEF, the train drivers union, also spoke for the motions.
Later that afternoon JFC held a successful fringe meeting supported by several unions. Over 150 delegates attended to hear an update on the situation for women trade unionists in prison in Colombia. Speakers included Jo Stevens of Thompsons Solicitors, Pat Stuart, Chair of TUC Women's Committee and member of the UNITE EC, and Maire Daley of the UCU.