U.S. Rep. Miller Presses Colombia for More Information on Removal of Judge from Panel Handling Cases of Killings of Union Members
Human Rights Advocates Have Speculated that Politics May Have Led to Judge’s Removal

Monday, March 3, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC --U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) has asked the judicial branch of the Colombian government for information about its unexpected and unexplained decision to remove a highly respected judge from a three-judge panel tasked with handling Colombia’s large backlog of criminal cases stemming from thousands of assassinations of the country’s labor union leaders and members.

The Superior Council of the Judiciary, the administrative arm of the Colombian judiciary, removed Judge José Nirio Sánchez from the panel in January. According to some reports Miller has received, the decision to remove Sánchez came in a contentious 12 to 11 vote. In communications with Miller, human rights advocates have praised Sanchez and speculated that political considerations may have led to his removal from the panel. In a letter to Miller last month, Colombia’s Vice President said Sanchez was an “excellent” judge but could not provide the Colombian judiciary’s rationale for removing him, citing the separation of powers.

In their correspondence with Miller, the human rights advocates have speculated that Sánchez’s removal may have been in response to decisions he wrote in high-profile cases. In one case, Sánchez wrote a decision convicting members of the Colombian military of murdering three union members; in that decision, he also ordered an investigation into whether higher-ranking Colombian military officials played a role in the killings. In another decision, Sánchez ordered an investigation into whether the Switzerland-based Nestlé Corporation had a role in the killing of a union member.

“The removal of Judge Sánchez raises serious questions about whether political considerations have been allowed to undermine Colombia’s process for bringing justice to the killers of union members,” said Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Colombia must have an independent, effective, sustainable process for investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating these cases. If it lacks such a process, then killers will continue to murder union members with impunity.

“As the U.S. Congress debates the proposed trade agreement with Colombia, it is essential that we consider whether Colombia is doing everything it can to protect the safety of workers who want to exercise their basic workplace rights without worrying about becoming a victim of violence,” said Miller. “A trade agreement will not help workers in either country if the basic rights of workers and union members in Colombia are not protected.”

Miller, who traveled to Colombia in January and met personally with Sánchez just days before his removal, said the information he is seeking is vital to determining whether Colombia has an effective, sustainable process for investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating cases involving the killings of union members, free from political interference. Colombia remains the most dangerous country in the world for union members; since the 1980’s, more than 2,500 workers have been assassinated in Colombia for joining, forming, or leading labor unions.

Colombia established the specialized three-judge panel in mid-2007 to adjudicate the country’s backlog of cases of killings of union members. Miller, who has praised the creation of this panel, has already raised concerns about whether it has been allowed to operate without disruption. For example, the panel is set to be temporarily suspended and then reappointed every six months, despite the fact that the cases before it could take years to adjudicate, not months.

Miller made his request for information in a letter sent to the Superior Council on Friday. To see the text of the letter, click here.

In late January, Miller sent a letter expressing similar concerns to Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. To see a copy of that letter, click here. To see a copy of a response to that letter from Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Calderón, click here.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
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