Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 781: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will support trade unionists (details supplied) in Colombia. [30655/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland attaches importance to the work of trade unionists in Colombia, and condemns all acts or threats of violence against trade union organisations and individuals there. We raised the issue of human rights in Colombia during the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review on Colombia in December 2008. Specifically, we recommended that the Colombian Government implement its existing legislation in full, sanction unsubstantiated allegations against individual activists, strengthen the protection provided to individuals and investigate and punish crimes against them.

Ireland, along with its EU partners, monitors the human rights situation in Colombia and raises issues including human rights abuses impacting on trade unionists with the Colombian authorities through the ongoing EU-Colombia dialogue on human rights and in regular contacts at political level. The Government will continue to monitor the situation in Colombia through our Embassy in Mexico City, which is accredited to Colombia, as well as in cooperation with our EU partners with resident diplomatic missions in that country.