Colombia has improved under Santos: Human Rights Watch

[Bacchus39]

http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/19607-colombia-has-improved-under-santos-human-rights-watch.html

Non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch recognized that Colombia has improved in "all areas" during the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos, Colombian media reported.

Chilean Jose Miguel Vivanco, Executive Director of HRW, said that Colombia improved in "all manner of areas" since President Santos took office in August 2010.

"Since then, recognize that with President Santos the country has improved its political climate, public debate, in all manner of things including obviously in the subject of human rights," said Vivanco after a meeting with President Santos at Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace.

Vivanco said he welcomed "the possibility to maintain a sustained and respectful dialogue," with the head of state and added that such a meeting "would not have been possible to have with former-president Uribe," President Santos' predecessor who ruled for eight years.

[naaman fletcher]

1. He's doing a great job

given the hand that he was dealt.

[cqo_000]

2. HRW: Colombia continues to face an extraordinarily high level of anti-union violence

Letter to Attorney General Morales
October 3, 2011


... A major reason for this ongoing violence has been the chronic lack of accountability for cases of anti-union violence... In 2006, the Attorney General’s Office sought to end this impunity by establishing a sub-unit of prosecutors to focus exclusively on crimes against trade unionists.

Since its creation, the sub-unit has made important progress...Yet this progress, while welcome, has in fact been very limited.

...

Over the past several months, Human Rights Watch has carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the sub-unit’s work, reviewing hundreds of court judgments for crimes against trade unionists, examining the most recent available data provided by the Attorney General’s Office on the status of investigations, and conducting dozens of interviews with prosecutors, judges, rights advocates, and victims.

Our research has found severe shortcomings in both the scope of the sub-unit’s work and the investigative methodology that it employs.

...

We are concerned that unless you take action to improve the sub-unit’s performance, the office will continue to fall short in ensuring accountability for attacks on trade unionists, and Colombia will remain a uniquely dangerous country for workers seeking to exercise their basic labor rights.

José Miguel Vivanco
Human Rights Watch

http://www.hrw.org/print/news/2011/10/03/colombia-ensure-justice-anti-union-violence