I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 83 together.
As the Deputy points out, approximately 2,000 trade unionists have been killed in Colombia since 1991, with a particularly heavy toll in 2002 when, according to CUT, the main Colombian congress of trade unions, 172 affiliated members were killed, including 49 senior trade union officials. There were also 26 abductions and 17 attempted abductions last year. A further 164 received death threats and it is alleged that 132 were arbitrarily detained by the state security services.
Amnesty International reports that the number of trade unionists assassinated so far this year is 58. There is also a reduction in the level of kidnapping. However, there are credible reports of a significant increase in death threats to trade unionists and their relatives, and an increase in arbitrary detentions. In regard to the attribution of responsibility for these appalling crimes, Colombian trade union sources blame illegal paramilitary organisations, usually described as right wing, for 80% of all assassinations up to the year 2000. However, more recently they are assigning increasing responsibility to the illegal FARC organisation on the other side of the ideological spectrum. It seems that trade unionists believe that the FARC was responsible for many of the exceptionally high number of murders of their colleagues in 2002.
The 59th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in March and April 2003 urged the Government of Colombia to implement measures "to guarantee the right to life, the physical integrity and the ability to function freely of leaders of trade unions and employers' organisations". The commission welcomed the re-activation by the Government of Colombia of the interinstitutional commission for the promotion and protection of workers' human rights. It also expressed the hope that its work would lead to the adoption of additional and more efficient measures to guarantee their life and personal safety and strengthen their protection, in particular by implementing the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation, ILO.
At the same session of the Human Rights Commission, the European Union was particularly concerned to urge the Colombian Government to make the most effective and efficient use of measures in place to fully protect the security and rights of trade unionists, as well as to investigate and bring prosecutions against all those responsible, including members of state forces, who collaborate with paramilitary groups. The EU intervened in the same urgent sense at the March 2003 session of the governing body of the ILO.
Lethal attacks against trade unionists are regrettably just one of many terrible manifestations of the violent conflict which afflicts Colombia and with which Ireland and our EU partners remain closely engaged by affording all possible constructive assistance and co-operation in order to alleviate the plight of the Colombian people, with a view ultimately to a negotiated and peaceful settlement. A meeting in London on 10 July 2003 brought together all Colombia's major donors, including the EU, as well as the Colombian Government itself.
In the London declaration, the international community reaffirmed its political support for the Colombian Government in its efforts to address threats to democracy, terrorism, illegal drugs, human rights and international humanitarian law violations and the serious humanitarian crisis. Delegates also expressed their support for all efforts to develop the fully-functioning institutions of a democratic state throughout the Colombian territory.
On the specific question of human rights, all parties expressed their grave concern and voiced their strong support for the work undertaken by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia. They noted the Colombian Government's pledge to implement the specific, Recommendations for Colombia 2003, contained in the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights which was submitted to the Commission on Human Rights earlier this year. All parties urged the Colombian Government to proceed promptly to take effective action against impunity and collusion.
As the current Italian Presidency draws to a close in December, the EU will review progress in the implementation of the London declaration. In light of any decisions taken on foot of that review, the incoming Irish Presidency will then assess how best to give effect to those decisions.