Colombian President Alvaro Uribe may have good news to share with Obama when they meet on Monday: his government has managed to significantly increase the security of trade unionists.
The killing of union members has been one of the main arguments used by opponents of a free trade agreement with Colombia. Just last month, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that Colombia needs to address the issue of violence against union leaders before the U.S. Congress votes on the agreement.
In 1996, a peak year for violence against unionized workers, 247 of them were assassinated. However, since 2002, the homicide rate for the general population has been steadily decreasing, and the homicide rate of union members has dropped even faster.
According to data provided by the trade unions, the current number of homicides per 100,000 union members is at its lowest since 1996: 6.1. That's six times lower than the rate for the total Colombian population, and about equal to the homicide rate of the United States in 2008. See more detailed data here.
The Colombian government attributes the improvements to special protection measures (taken mainly in response to the effective pressure by trade unions and human rights NGOs in the U.S.) and to the dismantling of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), the ultra right-wing paramilitary group that was responsible for most of the killings.
There are still plenty of concerns that need to be addressed regarding human rights and the rule of law in Colombia.
The Government has been involved in several scandals recently. More than a thousand systematic extrajudicial executions known as "falsos positivos" have been reported. Opposition members, journalists, Supreme Court judges and human rights organizations have been illegally wiretapped for years. A project is underway to amend the Constitution which would allow the president to run for a third term. The system of checks and balances is eroding, and there is open confrontation between the president and the high courts. A third of Congress is being investigated for links with the paramilitaries. President Uribe continues to stigmatize his political opponents and human rights workers.
So, as the free trade agreement remains stalled in Congress, both Congress and President Obama should take into account the human rights situation in Colombia. However, it's time to recognize that the security of trade union members has improved enough in Colombia that it's time to take this issue out of the spotlight when the two presidents meet on June 29.