Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to reiterate in a public session that a number of the members of this committee have met with representatives of human rights organisations and unions in Colombia. They have articulated, very harrowingly, the level of human rights abuses in Colombia currently, the number of killings - killings that are often linked to groups supportive of the state - and the number of people from a human rights and civilian background who are jailed for their views. Their experience is that a large section of Colombian society has been excluded from normal social and economic activity.

This has not improved as regards the negotiations on free trade between the European Union and Colombia. This matter will be debated in the Chamber and it is welcome that the Minister has accepted the request from the committee for a full debate on it. A number of Deputies from other political parties were very supportive of the request. It is necessary to have within the trade agreements an oversight facility to ensure the position on human rights in Colombia improves before proceeding to full free trade. My worry is that if that does not happen, the abuses in Colombia will continue.