Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Lavery Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Colombia.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

8. What representations he has made to the Colombian Government on the imprisonment of civil society activists and trade unionists in that country.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

I welcome the Colombian Government’s efforts to improve the human rights situation, but we remain concerned about the number of murders of, and threats against, human rights defenders. Most recently, I raised human rights with Colombian Foreign Minister Holguin when we met at the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels last month.

[Mr Swire]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The peace process, and the peace that we hope will ensue, is the big prize in Colombia for all its people. I therefore welcome the announcement in recent days that the FARC and the Government of Colombia are aiming to de-escalate the conflict and expedite the peace talks in Havana. That is welcome news.

[Ian Lavery]

Huber Ballesteros, leader of the Patriotic March opposition movement in Colombia, has been in prison since August 2013. Amnesty International claims that the case is emblematic of those of thousands of human rights activists repeatedly intimidated over their work for social justice and support for marginalised groups. What extra pressure can the Minister place on his counterpart in Colombia to stop this human rights abuse?

[Mr Swire]

We raised these issues some time ago with the Colombian ambassador, who raised the specific cases of Huber Ballesteros and David Ravelo with the Minister of the Interior, and in November 2014 embassy officials visited Mr Ballesteros in prison. The ambassador also raised his case with Guillermo Rivera on 3 February and wrote to the prison authorities that month to ensure his dietary requirements were being respected.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

T6. Earlier, the Minister welcomed the decision of FARC to have a unilateral ceasefire in Colombia. Will he therefore consider making a supportive statement requesting an immediate bilateral ceasefire in Colombia?

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

The hon. Gentleman will have seen that the Government of Colombia have made a statement about de-escalating the conflict. We fully support the ongoing negotiations in Havana. That is the big prize, as I said earlier, and it is important that both sides come to the table in the spirit of co-operation and not violence. That message needs to get out to all corners of the country.