Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the large number of trades unionists killed in Colombia and the failure in recent years of the European Union in its negations with Colombian Governments to make the protection and freedom of trades unionists and human rights protectors a condition of any beneficial relationship with the EU [43132/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of and share the deep concern that has been expressed at the manner in which human rights defenders, including trade union activists have been treated in Colombia. Every death is a tragedy. Despite the Colombian Government's efforts and some progress achieved, the Colombian state institutions have not yet been able to fully address the issue of violence against human rights defenders. It is, however, important to recognise the progress that has been made, which is acknowledged in reports issued by the International Labour Organisation and various UN special rapporteurs. Colombia has made substantial changes to its legal system, including reforming the legislation regulating strikes to bring it in line with international standards. The Government has also recognised the need for greater efforts to protect vulnerable population groups, including trade unionists. Measures taken in this area include the increase of resources for official protection programmes, enhanced risk assessment capacities and the toughening of criminal sanctions for attacks on trade unionists.

At the insistence of Ireland and other member states, the EU-Colombia free trade agreement, which was concluded in May of this year, contains robust and enforceable provisions on human rights, labour standards and sustainable development. Specifically, the first article of the agreement contains a human rights clause permitting the immediate and unilateral suspension of concessions in case of human rights violations. Such provisions make the agreement a powerful instrument to further the cause of human rights in Colombia. This agreement should not be seen as an end point, but rather as a first step. The provisions for human rights and sustainable development in the agreement ensure continued EU engagement with Colombia in these areas.

I welcome the human rights commitments made by the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, since his inauguration on 7 August. In particular, I am encouraged that the President has tasked his Vice President, Angelina Garzón, with particular responsibility for taking forward his Government's programme in this important area. I have written to Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguin Cuéllar to indicate my continuing interest in human rights dialogue with the Colombian Government. The Government will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Colombia through our Embassy in Mexico and in co-operation with our EU partners with resident diplomatic missions in that country.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I am grateful to the Minister for his reply. I recently visited Colombia with Deputies Kitt and Breen and Senator Daly and put to the vice president a number of the points raised in my question. We also had an opportunity to follow up on these points at a meeting today with the Colombian Republic's ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who is on a visit to Dublin.

I put it to the Minister that the transition from the Uribe Government to the Santos Government represents an opportunity for the advancement of human rights. Would the Minister agree that this must be delivered? In other words, in terms of the number of people being charged with crime, there must be substantial progress in relation to impunity. There must be protection for people who have been displaced from their land, some 4 million hectares in total.

I referred specifically in my question to the position of trade unionists. The vice president of the CUT was assassinated during President Uribe's time. During the first 75 days in office of the Santos Government, a number of trade unionists have been killed. The Minister referred in his reply to the International Labour Organisation, ILO. The ILO standards in regard to either consultation or conditions at work are not being observed by the extractive industries in the areas which our delegation visited. I have raised all of these issues with the Colombian ambassador. The Minister states that there is an enforceable human rights clause in the Colombia-EU agreement. Perhaps he will say if it is a stronger clause than was contained in the EU-Israel agreement, which has not been enforceable. What is the substantial difference between the two agreements and how will the Colombia-EU agreement ensure transparency and enforceability in relation to human rights?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the visit by Deputies Higgins, Kitt, Breen and Senator Daly to Colombia. I applaud Deputy Higgins on that initiative. It is important that Oireachtas representatives visit such locations to see and hear at first hand from a variety of different perspectives. This adds value to our consideration of the situation.

I agree with the basic points made by Deputy Higgins in regard to impunity and the need to view the transition to a new Government and new leadership as an opportunity to deliver on commitments given. The Deputy will be aware from previous responses to questions on this matter that I met last February with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navanethem Pillay, at which time I specifically asked for her perspective in respect of Colombia and progress and human rights issues in that regard. The response I received was positive. All of this is in a relative context in terms of where we are coming from in that country.

On the human rights clause, it is a strong clause. Obviously, much depends on the will of the European Union to, in given situations, invoke its rights to suspend an agreement because of a violation of human rights. The EU has acted in previous situations, in particular in regard to Sri Lanka where the GSP plus arrangement was suspended because of violation of human rights issues. Also an investigation was undertaken in regard to El Salvador in terms of its non-compliance with ILO conditions.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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The Minister and I could agree on much of this. The fundamental issue arises from the EU representative in Bogota who was not clear in his reply to the specific question as to how the human rights clause might be made transparent or enforceable. The issue that arises for the EU and Ireland is whether we can have an economic agreement first and that human rights will follow, which is a residual theory of human rights.

As a delegation, we were interested in and in agreement on the need for the human rights requirement to be up-fronted. In other words, that the process of establishing human rights becomes something that happens on the same day as does economic development.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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A question please Deputy.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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That was my question. This is about the placing of human rights and the economic change in ratio to each other. We believe that if the European Union pressed, it could have a transformational effect in making human rights development and economic opportunities coterminous rather than human rights being residual by assumption to economic development.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not accept that human rights are residual. The Deputy's point is well made. I, too, have made the point that the agreement represents an opportunity to up-front the human rights dimension and to get greater delivery. The agreement includes a number of binding commitments to implement core labour environmental conventions. It also foresees a mechanism for the monitoring of the implementation of labour laws, which includes civil society institutions. I believe this represents a significant new step.

We believe that with this addition, the agreement will contribute to the improvement of the situation of human rights in Colombia and, in particular, to labour rights. Obviously, this will require vigilant monitoring of the situation. Ireland has been to the fore at the EU in insisting on this clause because of the concerns raised domestically by members of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs here.