Ms Aileen Morrissey:

On 21 July, three months ago this week, we met women from a group called "the Mothers of Soacha". Soacha is a poor suburb of Bogotá. They were the mothers of the victims of the so-called "False Positives". I see them as the mothers of young sons who were executed. These murders were committed with impunity by the army which then claimed the boys were guerrillas killed in combat in order to allow the soldiers to qualify for a bonus. Because of this bonus of a pay increase, additional holidays or promotion which results in a high body count, young men from poor areas are fair game as far as the soldiers are concerned.

Picture us sitting in the home of one of these mothers with five other mothers present, hearing their testimonials of how their sons, some of whom had been as young as 16 years, had been lured away on the false promise of work or taken off the local bus on their way home never to be seen again. One mother told us that her son had been missing for days and that his body had then been discovered in the hospital morgue. Another described how her son had to retrieve his younger brother's body from a mass grave and the terrible memories he had of that experience. A mother told me she had no more tears and pleaded with me to speak about her son who had gone to take up an offer of work to support his four young children. However, there was no work and he was murdered by the army. Following the return of his body, his brother went about the neighbourhood asking what had happened to him. The army beat him and threw him off a bridge, leaving him for dead. He did not die but had broken his back. His mother was raising her first son's four young children and now had a son in a wheelchair. Over time, the doctors in the hospital in Bogotá had performed a series of operations and he had learned to walk again. However, three weeks later, soldiers shot him three times in the head. His mother has lost so much, yet she still speaks of peace.

These testimonials gave witness to what had happened to the boys and men in question, but the testimonial that impacted on me the most was that of a mother, Maria Doris Tejeda, who had not had her son's body returned. She has been waiting for years for his return, but in her heart she knows that he is dead.

When these mothers take cases on behalf of their sons, they are frustrated within the legal system by unwarranted delays. Cases must be addressed in a timely fashion. How often have we heard the expression that justice delayed is justice denied? There must be a guarantee that human rights violations will be tried in civilian courts and that the military justice reform Bill will not be used to widen the reach of the military courts in order that they can hear these cases. The Colombian ambassador made reference to this issue on 9 October, but I ask how the military courts can be given the power to judge cases such as those of the False Positives?

We have seen how women have been the front runners in peace processes, not only here in Ireland but in other areas of conflict. The mothers of Soacha are no different. They are calling for and working for peace, yet they are the victims of death threats for speaking out. Their determination to seek justice and peace is remarkable.

These mothers remind me of people in my own neighbourhood. I could put names to the faces and so could the members. This issue is the members' issue and it is mine. Our world is like a village and these people are part of that village. Article 2 of the free trade agreement, of its nature, is not strong enough to force improvements in the human rights situation in Colombia. The best chance of improving the situation is to use the leverage this agreement gives to call for human rights improvements before the agreement is implemented. We ask the Government to show that we in Ireland support human rights, to oppose this agreement in the clear understanding that doing so would give an opportunity for the development of real improvements on the ground and in neighbourhoods such as Soacha.

I have told the Government the plight of the mothers of Soacha, as I promised them on 21 July 2014. I thank the members for listening.