Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Colombian authorities about protection of members of Union Sindical Obrera and its allies in Meta against assassination attempts and other targeted violence.

Our Embassy in Bogota will meet Union Sindical Obrera (USO) on Thursday 18 December. Our Embassy will also raise trade union rights, including this particular case and the issue of rights for contracted labour in the oil and mining sectors, at their next meeting with the Colombian Ministry of the Interior in early 2015.

Business and human rights is a core part of our human rights strategy in Colombia. Our Embassy regularly raises our concerns about the violence and intimidation suffered by human rights defenders, including trade unionists, with the Colombian government.