Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 248, March 1987

Case No 1343 (Colombia) - Complaint date: 08-JUL-85 - Closed

1. 493. The Committee on Freedom of Association first examined this case at its meeting of February 1986 and presented an interim report to the Governing Body (see 243rd Report, paras. 570-587), which approved it at its 232nd Session (February-March 1986). Having received new allegations from the complainant as well as various observations by the Government, the Committee again examined the case at its May 1986 meeting and presented another interim report (see 244th Report, paras. 357-383) to the Governing Body, which approved it at its 233rd Session (May-June 1986). Lastly, the Committee examined the case at its November 1986 meeting (see 246th Report, paras. 381-408, approved by the Governing Body at its 243rd Session (November 1986)), in particular in the light of information obtained during the direct contacts mission carried out in Colombia in July 1986.
2. 494. Subsequently, the Government transmitted additional observations in communications of 5 and 18 November, 11 December 1986, 27 January and 3 February 1987.
3. 495. Colombia has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 496. When the Committee examined the case at its November 1986 meeting, it reached the following conclusions and recommendations concerning the allegations then pending (see 246th Report, para. 408):
   • a) The Committee observes that in almost all the cases alleging the assassination, kidnapping or disappearance of trade union officials and trade unionists judicial inquiries have been opened in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee made at its meetings of February and May 1986. The Committee observes, however, that the Government points out that it needs further information from the complainant organisation concerning the alleged deaths of the agrarian trade unionists Leonor Marle, Omar Vergara, Solón López and Serafén Herrera and the physician and trade union leader Gabriel Anchique Gómez and concerning the disppearance of José Jairo López Cadena. The Committee requests the complainant organisations to provide any information available to them concerning these allegations to allow the Government to be able to reply exactly to these allegations.
   • b) The Committee observes that according to the information provided the deaths of some trade union officials and trade unionists were not related to their trade union status or activity and that the whereabouts of some persons whose disappearance had been alleged has now been established.
   • c) With regard to the other allegations concerning the assassination or disappearance of trade union officials and trade unionists (see Annex 1), the Committee notes that judicial inquiries and trials are now under way. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in the different trials and expresses the hope that the whereabouts of the persons who have disappeared will shortly be established. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the recent allegations concerning death threats against various trade union leaders (the complainants had referred in particular to Jorge Carrillo (CUT), Abel Rodréguez (FECODE), and Miguel Angel Castro, Gustavo Osorio and Angelino Garzón (CSTC)), and on the allegation concerning the disappearance of 70 workers of the Malaria Eradication Service in April 1985.
   • d) The Committee requests the Government to inform it of developments in the trials concerning the injuries suffered by the trade unionists Meyer Rivas and Heriberto Ramirez Rengifo.
   • e) The Committee awaits the observations of the Government concern ing the allegations of interference in trade union activities to which it has not replied (namely: the use of tear gas by the Bogotá police against a group of workers of the Croydon undertaking who were on strike; searching of the headquarters of the Federation of Petroleum Workers (FEDEPETROL); placing of explosives by para-military groups in the headquarters of the Federation of Workers of Valle del Cauca (FEDETAV); attacks against the premises of FEDETAV in Palmira and Cali and of the Cement Trade Union of Valle in Yumbo; and the attack against the headquarters of the Trade Union of Workers of Santander (USITRAS) in Bucaramanga).
   • f) The Committee requests the Government to state whether the three workers of the Vianini Entrecanales undertaking mentioned by the complainant (Messrs. Rafael Mauriao Mendoza Aguilar, Pedro Antonio Rodriguez Rojas and Pablo Emilio Leal Cruz) were in fact dismissed and if so, the reasons for the dismissals and the results of any judicial action which they have been able to undertake with a view to their reinstatement.

B. The Government's reply

1. 497. In its communications, the Government provides the following information:
   • - The case concerning the crimes of the kidnapping with extortion and subsequent killing of Mr. Pedro Contreras Salcedo was opened on 9 January 1986 and, for jurisdictional reasons, was assigned on 9 March of the same year to the Fifth Higher Court of Cúcuta (North Santander) for an investigation against persons unknown. The proceedings are at the inquiry stage and it has not been possible, in spite of the efforts made, to identify anyone as responsible. At present, the case has been entrusted for 30 days to an itinerant court of criminal investigation for the taking of new evidence that may lead to a clarification of the facts.
   • - With regard to the death of Mr. Jaime Berréo Cardona, a trade unionist, Ernesto Tabera Rodríéguez, was captured at the time the event occurred and a revolver was taken from him, but he succeeded in escaping owing to the crowd of people who helped him to do so. Despite the efforts made, it has not been possible so far to determine the whereabout of the trade unionist involved in the crime, who, as stated, escaped.
   • - Dionisio Hernán Calderón: The Fourth Higher Court of Cali telegraphed that the investigation continues as described in official letter No. 593 of 9 July 1986 which was brought to the attention of the ILO at the time, i.e. the examination was ordered of Heberth Peñuela (the suspect) without success in securing his appearance and, further, the Court looked for Mrs. Dalia Cárdenas, wife of Calderón, to take her statement concerning the events, but it has not been possible to locate her because "according to statements by deponents, she is in the city of Bogotá under the protection of FENALTRASE". The Government reiterates that it is impossible for the judicial authorities to clarify the events in which a person lost his life and consequently to punish those responsible for the crime if there is no co-operation on the part of those who are in possession of some information, as seems to be the case of Mrs. Cárdenas, who has not put in an appearance in the Fourth Higher Court of Cali to report what she supposedly knows.
   • - Hernando Yate Bonilla: The Second Higher Court of Villavicencio telegraphed that the investigation to determine those responsible has again been committed to the 17th Court of Criminal Investigation of Granada (Meta) for certain procedural purposes. The Ministry is contacting the judicial authority mentioned to obtain the information required.
   • - Rubén Daréo Castaño Jurado: The First Higher Court of Manizales reported that proceedings are continuing at the investigation stage and that it has so far not been able to secure the examination of a suspect who has been duly identified and lawfully summoned and against whom a warrant for arrest has been issued, since he did not voluntarily appear at the offices of the court. It may be noted that some headway has been made in this investigation, since the presumed perpetrator of the crime has been identified and the police authorities are taking the necessary action to determine his whereabouts and detain him.
   • - Rogelio Sánchez: After numerous and difficult inquiries, the Sectional Director of Criminal Investigation of Antioquia telegraphed that the death of Mr. Sánchez took place in the township of Chigorodó, that the relevant investigation was initiated by the 12th Court of Criminal Investigation and that, for reasons of jurisdiction, the case is now in the hands of the Ninth Higher Court of Medellén. Upon learning which judicial authority is responsible for the proceedings, the Ministry is communicating with it for the purpose of obtaining the necessary information for transmittal to the ILO.
   • - Luis Jesús Leal Guerrero and Víctor Manuel Leal: The Commander of the Fifth Army Brigade reported that the 25th Military Court of Criminal Investigation carried out the investigation into the death of these men, which occurred on 30 June 1985 on Caño Solado lane, in Tibú township, Department of North Santander, and deemed it appropriate to bring charges against trade unionists Guillermo Vargas Sánchez, Luis Alfredo Mojica Gómez, Víctor Julio Rodríguez Leal, William Castro López, Oscar Antonio Cáceres Rodríguez, Carlos Arturo Limas Rojas, Samual García, Ramon David Guerrero Supúlveda and Leonardo Francisco Caicedo. The jury unanimously found the trade unionists not guilty, but on 9 September 1986, the President of the Summary Military Tribunal did not accept the verdict and the file was referred for review to the Higher Military Tribunal, which confirmed the evidence contrary to the verdict and ordered the holding of a new trial of the same trade unionists. The jury at this trial again produced a verdict of not guilty, which was accepted by the President of the Summary Military Tribunal, and the provisional release of the men tried was ordered until the Higher Military Tribunal decides on the review to which the file was subjected. It should be stressed that the death of Messrs. Luis Jesús and Víctor Manuel Leal Geurrero will not go unpunished; this is obvious from the zeal with which military justice has proceeded to hold two trials against the presumed perpetrators of the crime in which the non-guilty verdict was repeated. In any event, the Fifth Army Brigade will duly be asked for information on the decision that is adopted by the Tribunal in connection with the verdict handed down by the second Summary Military Tribunal, held with a jury composed of persons completely different from those of the first jury.
   • - Death of José Bertulio Quino Ubaldo: First, it is necessary to note the inaccurate identification of the person concerned by the complainant organisation in the complaint presented to the ILO, since the dead man is not José Rutelio Quintero, but José Bertulio Quino Ubaldo. Despite that inaccuracy, which very considerably hampered the search for information by the authorities for proper transmittal to the Committee on Freedom of Association, the Commander of the Fourth Army Brigade, Brigadier General Augusto Rodríguez Arango, reported that the event in which Mr. Quino lost his life occurred in the township of Apartadó and not in Turbo. He further indicated that the investigation was initiated by the 21st Military Court of Criminal Investigation on 27 June 1985 and that after one year during which it had not proved possible to link anyone responsible, it became necessary to order the case provisionally closed, as required by law, without prejudice to a further intensive search for and identification of those responsible. It is considered necessary to explain that in the parts of the country in which public order is disturbed, military criminal justice supplements the ordinary courts in expediting some procedures and in the task of investigation, activities which are duly monitored by the Office of the Attorney-General and subject to all procedural guarantees. It should also be noted, as has been done on previous occasions, that the law orders the provisional dismissal of cases after a given lapse of time during which it has not been possible to establish even a superficial link to a perpetrator, but it must also be borne in mind that this closure of the case does not imply the cessation of investigations for that purpose; on the contrary, they must be continued until a link is established and the judicial proceedings are then re-opened. This constitutes an ample legal guarantee against the possibility of the offenders going unpunished.
   • - Death of Jaime Quintero Cruz: The Second Higher Court of Cali (Valle) reported with regard to the proceedings which its office was conducting in connection with the death of Jaime Quintero Cruz that in view of the time that has elapsed since they were intiated, the case has been ordered provisionally closed, in compliance with the terms of section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure ("If no-one is charged in the investigation, such further inquiries as may be necessary and for the length of time deemed appropriate may be ordered for the complete elucidation of the authors or participants, for which purpose the assistance of the Judicial Police shall be obtained. If, however, after one year from the date of initiation of a case no-one has been ordered questioned for lack of grounds therefor, in spite of the exploration of evidence conducive to completion of the investigation, the case shall be closed by a decision stating the reasons, without prejudice to continuation of the investigation if evidence subsequently emerges to link someone and hold him for trial, so long as criminal prosecution has not lapsed"). Although the case continues in the above-mentioned court, no decisions are taken on it, nor do the time limits apply, but it remains available, immediately the investigating authorities find someone who may be the guilty party, for the re-opening of the proceedings, which may culminate in a definitive decision.
   • - Death of Javier Sanabria Murcia: The Third Court of Criminal Investigation of Florencia (Caquetá) reported that the proceedings are still in the investigation stage and that the Attorney-General of the Nation sent special agents to that city to help in the judicial investigation, but that it has not been possible to date to identify anyone as responsible.
   • - Deaths of Angel Amable Arroyave Restrepo and Juan Alberto Rodas Rua: The Third Higher Court of Medellín reported that, by a court order dated 16 October l986, the case concerning the deaths of Messrs. Arroyave and Rodas was ordered provisionally closed, one year having elapsed since the date of initiation of the case without it being possible to link anyone to it, as required by the provisions of section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
   • - Alleged disappearance of Gustavo Alcalde Ospina: The prosecuting attorney assigned to the armed forces reported that, despite repeated efforts to locate Mr. Alcalde Ospina, it has not been possible to determine his whereabouts or whether he is staying in the region of Urabá or somewhere else. According to the statements of some witnesses obtained by the authorities, it is possible that this man - concerning whom the Government deems it necessary again to draw attention to the fact that he ceased being a trade unionist long before his supposed disappearance (he had given up his membership in the Trade Union of the Hydroelectric Station of Anchicayá) - joined the subversive groups operating in the region mentioned and does not wish to enter an appearance - which, obviously, makes it almost impossible to locate him. Nevertheless, the prosecutor assigned to the case stated that he will communicate whatever information he manages to obtain. The Government also transmits information received from the Second Prosecuting Attorney assigned to the Judicial Police describing the inquiries and other measures that have been carried out and indicating that all efforts are continuing to determine the whereabouts of this person.
   • - Disappearance of Miguel Angel Díaz Martínez and Faustino López Guerra: the Second Prosecuting Attorney assigned to the Judicial Police (Human Rights), the First Criminal Circuit Court of Tunja and the Director-General of the National Police reported that despite the issue of the relevant arrest warrant to the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) and the Judicial Police against Jorge Luis Barrero, sentenced in court for the crime of kidnapping in the persons of Miguel Angel Díaz Martínez and Faustino López Guerra, it has not been possible to arrest him. Although it has also not been possible to determine the whereabouts of Messrs. Díaz and López, their possible deaths have not been confirmed and the National Civil Registry indicated that their names have not been stricken as deceased.
   • - Alleged disappearance of 70 workers of the Malaria Eradication Service (SEM): The prosecutor assigned to the armed forces reported that none of the investigations carried out so far has demonstrated the truth of the allegation that 70 workers of the SEM disappeared. The Municipal Court of Mixed Jurisdiction of Yondó (Antioquia) is dealing with criminal case No. 342 concerning the alleged disappearance of Oliverio Hernández Leal, José A. Cardona and Ignacio Soto Bedoya, while the Second Circuit Court of Mixed Jurisdiction of Arauca (Arauca) is proceeding with criminal investigation No. 2218 on the alleged disappearance of Luis Aquiles Mesa (whose case was ordered provisionally closed under section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), Juan José Buendéa, Manuel Fonseca, Miguel Angel Mejéa, Gregorio Ernesto González and Carlos Julio Medoza. Attention must be drawn to the exaggerated nature of the complaint, since 70 workers of the Malaria Eradication Service have not disappeared and, on the contrary, criminal proceedings are taking place in which only the nine persons indicated above belonging to the service are alleged to be involved in any case of disappearance. There is nothing to show that more workers disappeared.
   • - Injuries suffered by Heriberto Ramírez Rengifo: The Commander of the Valle Police Department reported that, despite the refusal of the person concerned to collaborate with the authorities, the investigation is being conducted by the First Higher Court of Cartago to which the Ministry is applying for information concerning the situation.
   • - Alleged threats against trade union leaders: The Commander of the Bogotá Police Department reported that Messrs. Abel Rodrígues, Gustavo Osorio, Angelino Garzón, Jorge Carrillo, Braulio Herrera (a false name or alias, because his real name is Cardona) and Miguel Angel Castro did not have recourse to the judicial units of the national police to lodge a complaint concerning acts endangering their personal safety. This confirms what was stated by the Government on an earlier occasion to the effect that trade union leaders who allegedly receive threats fail to lodge a complaint with the competent authorities and thereby, apart from preventing them from making the appropriate investigation, become liable if the threats are true, for concealment of illegal acts. The Commander also indicated that at the offices or homes of Messrs. "Braulio Herrera" and Gustavo Osorio are guarded by the national police. The Government emphasises once again the lack of veracity in this accusation, because it suggests that the State does not give trade unionists adequate protection whereas the authorities are always prepared to ensure this if they are duly informed of the events affecting the trade unionists or if they request it.
   • - Alleged attacks against USITRAS in Bucaramanga, against FEDETAV in Cali and Palmira, and against the Cement Trade Union of Valle in Yumbo: The Director-General of the National Police reported that relevant searches in the intelligence card-files of his agency showed no record of terrorist attacks in April and May l985 against the headquarters of USITRAS in Bucaramanga (Santander) or of such acts against FEDETAV in Cali on 25 February l985 or against the premises of the above-mentioned Federation in Palmira, or against the Cement Trade Union of Valle in Yumbo. Consequently, it is strange that the complainants should present an accusation to the effect that there were attacks against those trade union premises, when there is no record of them in the archives of the National Police, in which the occurrence of every event prejudicial to public order is always registered.
2. 498. The Government also states that information regarding the other persons and events constituting this case will be communicated to the ILO as soon as it is received from the various authorities from which it has been requested. The Government considers it necessary to point out that the complainant organisation, namely the Trade Union Confederation of Colombian Workers (CSTC), dissolved itself, i.e. ceased to exist, on 15 November 1986 and those who had been its members up to that date formed the Unitary Central Organisation of Workers (CUT), a new and distinct organisation, recognition of whose legal personality is under consideration. Consequently, it would seem logical that the CSTC cannot continue to present against the Colombian Government allegations, the overwhelming majority of which, have proved not to conform to the truth or which refer to circumstances that are being investigated by the competent authorities, because it no longer exists as a legal entity and therefore as an internationally recognised trade union organisation.
3. 499. With reference to the Committee's general conclusions in its last report, the Government stresses that although the country is certainly faced with a very delicate situation caused by the illegal armed activities of subversive groups which continue to sow terror in various parts of the country, especially among defenceless peasants in rural areas, and by the equally illegal, armed and loathsome activities of drug-traffickers, who have murdered a minister, a high functionary and many judges and civil servants to try and frighten the authorities fighting them, the armed forces of Colombia cannot be accused of committing irrational and improper acts of violence against individuals, because the extremely rare isolated excesses that may have occurred have been very severely punished by the courts and tribunals, which deal very harshly with actions contrary to the military honour that characterises the armed forces of Colombia as a model in Latin America of civility, republicanism and respect for democracy. In Colombia, the ill-named "paramilitary groups" are not, as the term might imply, armed groups parallel to, or tolerated or supported by, the legally constituted military forces but common criminals paid mainly by drug-traffickers to settle scores. The violent acts committed by these criminals are not aimed exclusively at trade unionists of any particular tendency, because unfortunately the whole country is a victim of the senseless acts of these criminals, and of subversives and drug-traffickers, as is shown by the deaths of the prominent and outstanding personalities mentioned above as well as of other upright and exemplary persons such as the director of the newspaper "El Espectador". As it has always done, the Government is taking all necessary measures to guarantee the rights of all inhabitants, including of course trade unionists, but, while Colombia is not one of those nations convulsed by political and social disorder, it is passing through a complex period in which the armed forces are sparing no effort in combating the three sources of attacks on the country's peace: guerillas, drug-trafficking - with a terrible combination in the form of the drug guerillas operating in the south of the country - and common criminals.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 500. The Committee takes note of the information furnished by the Government concerning developments in the proceedings undertaken in connection with the deaths of 13 trade unionists, from which it emerges that in some cases it has been possible to identify those presumed responsible. The Committee also notes that, contrary to what was indicated by the complainants, in April 1985 only nine, and not 70 workers of the Malaria Eradication Service disappeared and that proceedings concerning those cases are being pursued. The Committee observes that the investigations undertaken with regard to the disappearance of the three trade unionists mentioned in the annex to the 246th Report have not made it possible in spite of the great efforts made, to determine their whereabouts. The Committee further notes the Government's information regarding the injuries suffered by trade unionist Heriberto Ramírez Rengifo. The Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of developments in proceedings relating to the death, disappearance or injuring of the trade unionists mentioned in the annex, and expresses the hope that the investigations undertaken will make it possible to determine who is responsible, punish those who are guilty and establish the whereabouts of those who have disappeared.
2. 501. As regards the death threats allegedly made against some trade union leaders, the Committee notes that according to the Government none of those concerned lodged a complaint with the authorities and that trade union leaders at the offices or homes of Braulio Herrera and Gustavo Osorio have a guard service by the national police.
3. 502. Lastly, the Committee observes that the complainants have not sent the details requested by the Committee concerning the alleged deaths of the agrarian trade unionists Leonor Marle, Omar Vergara, Solón López and Serafín Herrera and of the physician and trade union leader Gabriel Anchique Gómez, and concerning the disappearance of José Jairo López Cadena. The Committee also observes that the Government denies some allegations of interference in trade union activities (attacks against the premises of FEDETAV in Palmira and Cali and of the Cement Trade Union of Valle in Yumbo; and the attack against the headquarters of the Trade Union of Workers of Santander (USITRAS) in Bucaramanga), but has not sent observations concerning other allegations of interference: use of tear gas by the Bogotá police against a group of workers of the Croydon undertaking who were on strike; search of the headquarters of the Federation of Petroleum Workers (FEDEPETROL); and placing of explosives by paramilitary groups in the headquarters of the Federation of Workers of Valle del Cauca (FEDETAV). The Committee again observes that the Government has still not sent the information it had been asked for with regard to the dismissal of three workers of the Vianini Entrecanales undertaking.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 503. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • a) The Committee is particularly attentive to and concerned with the grave problems that exist for the exercise of trade union rights in the general climate described by the Government. In this respect, it takes note of the Government's general statements concerning the very delicate situation facing the country and its desire to safeguard the rights of the whole population, including trade union rights.
   • b) The Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of developments relating to the death, disappearance or injury of the trade unionists mentioned in the annex, and expresses the hope that the investigations undertaken will make it possible to determine who was responsible, punish those who are guilty and establish the whereabouts of those who have disappeared.
   • c) The Committee again requests the complainants to furnish whatever information may be available to them in connection with the alleged deaths of agrarian trade unionists Leonor Marle, Omar Vergara, Solón Lopez and Serafín Herrera and of the physician and trade union leader Gabriel Anchique Gómez, and concerning the disappearance of José Jairo López Cadena, so as to enable the Government to reply with exactitude to those allegations. The Committee also requests the Government to send its observations concerning the pending allegations of interference in trade union activities.
   • d) The Committee again asks the Government to indicate whether the three workers of the Vianini Entrecanales enterprise mentioned by the complainants (Messrs. Rafael Mauriao Mendoza Aguilar, Pedro Antonio Rodríguez Rojas and Pablo Emilio Leal Cruz) were in fact dismissed and, if so, the reasons therefore as well as the results of any judicial proceedings that may have been instituted with a view to their reinstatement.

Z. ANNEX

• List of dead, disappeared or injured trade unionists concerning whom the Committee requests the Government to inform it of developments in the relevant proceedings
• Dead trade unionists
• Leonel Roldán
• Francisco Javier Correa Muño
• Dionisio Hernán Calderon
• José Luis Ortega
• Oscar Salazar
• Hernán Yate
• Jaime Quintero Cruz
• Javier Sanabria Murcia
• Rubén Castaño
• Carmelo Gelves Ortega
• Rogelio Sánchez
• Luis Jesús Leal Guerrero
• Víctor Manuel Leal
• Eder Lascarro
• Celso Rojas
• Jesús Flores
• Angel Amable Arroyabe
• Juan Alberto Rodas
• Pedro Contreras
• Faeriel Santana
• Jaime Bronstein
• Diomedes Cedeño
• Héctor Perdomo Soto
• José Bertulio Quino Ubaldo
• Jaime Berrio
• Disappeared trade unionists:
• Miguel Angel Díaz
• Faustino López
• Gustavo Alcalde Ospina
• Oliverio Hernández Leal
• José A. Cardona
• Ignacio Soto Bedoya
• Luis Aguilés Mesa
• Juan José Buendéa
• Manuel Fonseca
• Miguel Angel Mejéa
• Gregorio Ernesto Conzález
• Carlos Julio Mendoza
• Injured trade unionists:
• Meyer Rivas
• Heriberto Ramírez Rengifo