Stand by Colombia's Victims of Violence

You’ve likely heard about the exciting buzz that has been permeating in Colombia. Yes, you guessed it; we’re talking about the announcement of the peace talks! We’ve decided to compile our own list of interesting sources –including the important voices of different civil society actors that are sometimes not heard –for our faithful readers to easily access.

“Here we have two governments and a very standard labor issue with a small group of workers, yet no resolution, which is very disconcerting. If this can’t be resolved, what can we expect to happen in terms of broader protection for labor?”
Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director of the Latin America Working Group

On September 13, 2012 the Washington Office on Latin America, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, Witness for Peace and the United Steelworkers welcomed Jorge Parra, leader of ASOTRECOL, Association of Injured Workers and Ex-workers of General Motors Colombia, to speak about the group’s struggle protesting their illegal firing from the U.S. - based company.  Claiming they were fired for their work-related injuries, members of ASOTRECOL have been protesting in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, demanding to be reintegrated into the company -and to be fairly compensated for their work-related injuries.

We are often telling you about the dangers faced by Colombian human rights defenders—the email death threats and terrifying phone calls, the funeral wreaths labeled with their names sent to their homes, the trade unionist or land rights activist shot dead.

But there is also much to celebrate in the creativity, bravery and dedication of Colombia's human rights community.  And celebrate they did in September 2012, as Colombian civil society leaders and the international agencies coalition DIAL (Inter-Agency Dialogue on Colombia) launched Colombia's first national human rights prize.

Working for human rights in Colombia is no easy task. But, recent news from that war-torn country gives us hope. Last month, the Colombian government announced peace talks with the FARC, Colombia’s largest guerilla group, to negotiate an end to the five-decades-old conflict.   As the peace process begins next week on October 17th, we want to know: what does peace in Colombia mean to you?