ILO BACKS OFF FROM COLOMBIA INQUIRY
  

Colombia squeaked by the June 16 meeting of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO), despite being threatened with a Commission of Inquiry. However, condemnation and pressure from union and human rights groups continues, and the ILO special representative will oversee the Colombian government's efforts to deal with attacks and intimidation directed against union and social leaders.

Discussions with some of the participants and a reading of the transcripts from the Governing Body's meeting highlight concerns expressed earlier on AmericasNet: Does the ILO have the ability to develop its tools to influence international labor standards in the global economy outside of international financial institutions and the WTO? In other words, is it an adequate forum?

ILO and Labor Standards

The fact that Colombia was let off the hook has some delegates concerned. Many of the same countries that have directed the question of labor standards away from the WTO and FTAA to the ILO seem to be the ones that voiced concern about the ILO process against Colombia. Strong sanctions against Burma and a special paragraph on restrictions on the right of association in Venezuela put developing countries on the defensive. They expressed concerned over the ILO's aggressiveness and the danger of a precedent in the naming of a special representative to oversee the labor rights practices of a member government. Pakistan, China and the Philippines worried that the assignment of a special representative in the case of Colombia would "develop into a new supervisory mechanism" of the ILO. Significantly, Mexico (which leads the opposition to civil society involvement in the FTAA process) spoke in the name of the Latin American governments. Using careful diplomatic language based on Colombia's arguments that it had and would continue to comply with ILO standards, the Mexicans argued:

"Our region considers that a commission of inquiry under these circumstances is not the most appropriate machinery to give effect to the application of the comments made by the direct contacts mission, taking into account the fact that the Colombian Government has expressed its desire and its commitment to work in coordination with the ILO in implementing each and every one of the recommendations contained in the report by the direct contacts mission. Therefore, we would make a special appeal to all the members of the Governing Body for the International Labour Office to assist the Government urgently through specific programmes and those recently approved by the Director-General with the implementation of the comments made by the direct contacts mission."

The Workers Group accepted the suggestion that a special representative of the director general report back regularly to the Governing Body, leaving the question of a Commission of Inquiry open until a later date. However, Colombian workers were not optimistic about this decision. Their representative stated:

"We want something to be done specifically, specific action to be taken to protect workers so that they can set up their own organizations, negotiate collectively and ensure that their rights to freedom of association and life itself are respected. At the moment in Colombia, even having an opinion different from the Government has become a crime."

Effect on the "Plan Colombia"

Almost immediately the workers took their fight to other forums. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) reported on an international trade meeting organized by the two Spanish national labor centers, UGT and Comisiones Obreras, on July 14 in Madrid. The meeting, sponsored by the Spanish government and the Inter-American Development Bank, was held to pledge financial contributions to the "Plan Colombia" to complement the support approved by the US Congress. In an official note the ICFTU said, "The unions believe that rather than contributing to the peace process, the proposed plan threatens to scupper current peace negotiations, and to intensify the civil war, particularly in view of the huge injection of US funds mainly dedicated to military hardware and training. They are also concerned at plans by the Colombian government (with strong US support) to continue fumigating coca growing regions, because previous fumigation programmes have destroyed arable land and contaminated water, destroying peasants' livelihood, and displacing millions of families. The unions say that the Colombian government should put into effect measures agreed at this year's International Labour Conference to prevent further trade union rights abuses. In addition they stress that aid programmes involving international financial institutions should be geared towards social development and should take civil society's views, including those of trade unions, into account."

Days later, the three Colombian national union centers (CUT, CTC and CGTD) that attended the Madrid conference joined the Confederation of Retired Persons of Colombia in a press conference to announce that they were withdrawing from the social dialogue (mesas de concertaci�n) sponsored by the Colombian government. Although not specifically aimed at the peace negotiations, this action breaks one more thread of democratic dialogue in support of peace in Colombia. It is also yet another sign of the deteriorating role of the government, dramatized by the recent reorganization of the President Andr�s Pastrana's cabinet. The reshuffling included the appointment of a left-wing political leader with links to the labor movement as the new minister of labor, but the official was promptly denounced by the unions and his own political movement.