Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘The role of civil society in the EU-Colombia and EU-Peru trade agreements’
Date: 2012-07-11
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Colombia, Peru, agreement (EU), civil society, human rights, migratory movement, multilateral agreement, trade agreement, working environment








C_2012299EN.01003901.xml










4.10.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 299/39





Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘The role of civil society in the EU-Colombia and EU-Peru trade agreements’
2012/C 299/08
Rapporteur: Giuseppe IULIANO

On 19 January 2012, the European Economic and Social Committee, acting under Rule 29(2) of its Rules of Procedure, decided to draw up an own-initiative opinion on

The role of civil society in the EU-Colombia and EU-Peru trade agreements.

The Section for External Relations, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 28 June 2012.
At its 482nd plenary session of 11 and 12 July 2012 (meeting of 11 July), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 139 votes to four with eight abstentions.
1.   Conclusions and recommendations

1.1   As it has not been possible to complete the negotiations for an association agreement with all the countries which make up the Andean region, at the request of Colombia and Peru the EU has decided to go ahead with the construction of new trade relations with these two countries. The negotiations were concluded in May 2010 and the Trade Agreement was initialled by the three parties on 24 March 2011 and officially signed on 13 April 2011. The Agreement is currently before the European Parliament which will have to decide whether to approve it or reject it, without the option of introducing amendments. At this stage, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will be expressing its opinion and putting forward a series of guidelines for all the actors involved, to be taken into account in the event the Agreement is approved and ratified (1).
1.2   The European Economic and Social Committee considers that a trade agreement between the EU and Colombia and Peru could be a useful instrument both for Europe and for all the Andean countries involved. Ecuador and Bolivia might be willing to return to the negotiations. The Trade Agreement could help foster growth, competitiveness and decent work, as trade is an important mechanism for supporting development and relieving poverty. However, its economic, social and environmental repercussions must be carefully evaluated, in a transparent, comprehensive way in the interests of all the parties. And here civil society can and must play a key role.
1.3   In the process of negotiating this trade agreement it became clear that there was insufficient dialogue with the parties' organised civil society. In order to fill this gap and involve civil society in an institutionalised way, the EESC, having held discussions during its recent mission to Peru and Colombia with institutional representatives of organised civil society from both countries, proposes the establishment of a joint consultative committee (JCC) made up of representatives of European, Peruvian and Colombian civil society, with a consultative role in areas affecting human rights, sustainable development and the assessment of the sectoral impact of the Trade Agreement. The JCC would draw up a list of areas to monitor (2), and could be consulted on these areas by the signatory parties or could issue opinions, recommendations or studies on its own initiative. The JCC would hold an annual meeting with the body representing the parties to the Agreement, unless otherwise decided by common consent. The JCC would be compatible with the session with civil society organisations and the public at large provided for in Article 282 of the Agreement. It would be able to negotiate with the parties the possibility of establishing indicators on the sectoral impact of the implementation of the Agreement. The mechanisms already approved in previous EU trade agreements with other countries and regions of the world could be used as an example for launching a consultative forum with these characteristics.
1.4   The EESC considers reinforced cooperation between the European Parliament and the parliaments of Colombia and Peru to be important and welcomes the resolution adopted by the European Parliament, which could result in the implementation of parliamentary mechanisms for the simultaneous monitoring of the agreements entered into, in particular with regard to the human rights situation, the ILO's decent work agenda on working conditions and trade unions, gender equality, legal immigration with guarantees, the agreements on environmental protection and the possible implementation of recourse to the dispute settlement commission.
1.5   The EESC considers that a consultative body of this kind would make it possible to involve civil society in the Trade Agreement, institutionalise consultation, influence its development, tackle the challenges it entails, ensure fluid, direct communication with those responsible for the implementation of the Agreement and formulate specific recommendations on the positive or negative consequences of its application.
1.6   In May 2012 an EESC delegation visited Colombia and Peru. The mission can be considered a success in terms of the number and level of the discussions held with the parties and the useful information collected, which resulted in the views of civil society from both countries on the Trade Agreement being reflected in the opinion and in the formulation of a proposal for the establishment of a civil society joint consultative committee to monitor the Agreement. The opinion analyses the main problems existing in Colombia and Peru, which will need to be monitored by the civil society organisations.
2.   General comments

2.1   The EU maintains growing economic and trading relations with the Andean region, and in particular with Colombia and Peru. It is now the Andean countries' second trading partner, after the USA. Trade between the EU and the Andean countries shows significant growth over the past decade, with bilateral flows increasing from EUR 9,1 bn in 2000 to EUR 15,8 bn in 2007, with an annual average growth rate of 8,25 % (3). In 2010 bilateral trade in goods between the EU, Colombia and Peru accounted for around EUR 16 bn.
2.2   The parties to the Trade Agreement have developed links which go beyond the economic arena and embrace areas such as political dialogue, culture, education, science etc. The EU has monitored democratic transition processes and contributed to the defence of fundamental rights, making commitments to solidarity, which the EESC welcomes and supports.
2.3   The present Agreement was preceded by the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Andean Community and its Member Countries of the other part, concluded in 2003, and the respective rights and obligations assumed by the parties as members of the World Trade Organization (4).
2.4   The Agreement will open up the respective national markets of the parties to goods and products with significantly reduced levels of customs duty. The industrial sectors of Colombia and Peru will see many of their products benefit from greater flexibility regarding entry than has been available under the more restrictive GSP+ rules (5). Among other sectors, changes were negotiated in petrochemicals, plastics, textiles and clothing, fisheries products, bananas, sugar and coffee. It will also be important to monitor the impact of application of the Trade Agreement on the agricultural sectors of the parties, in relation to issues such as designations of origin, safeguard clauses and sectoral stabilisation mechanisms, which will need to be monitored and evaluated. The Committee welcomes the references to the importance of trade for sustainable development and the promotion of fair and equitable trade (6).
2.5   The informal economy plays a significant role in both Peru and Colombia, with one of the most serious effects of this being the high rates of informal work in the Andean countries, prompting the Committee to express concern about labour standards in both Colombia and Peru. The situation of young people and women is particularly difficult, as they are faced with worse unemployment or more unfavourable employment conditions. Impact assessments must include a gender perspective and pay attention to the working conditions of young people, as these groups face specific challenges (7). The EESC again draws attention to the need to adopt and implement specific and effective action for the progressive elimination of child labour, which is a worrying phenomenon affecting both countries.
2.6   The situation of human rights, including labour and trade union rights, in their countries is a cause for serious concern for the people of Colombia and Peru and for European civil society. The EESC is pleased to note that Article 1 of the Trade Agreement clearly states that violations of democratic principles and fundamental human rights can lead to the temporary or final suspension of the Agreement. The Committee also welcomes the commitments made by the parties under the fundamental Conventions of the ILO in Article 269(3) of the Agreement (8) and calls for these commitments to be fully respected during the application of the Agreement.
2.7   The EESC has on numerous occasions set out its vision of how it would like to see the negotiations for trade agreements develop. In its view bilateral agreements must be compatible with multilateralism (9). The EESC considers that bilateral negotiations should not lead the EU to relax its social, labour and environmental demands. These dimensions must be borne particularly in mind, as must the economic dimension, and mechanisms must be sought to harmonise them when implementing the agreements.
2.8   The Committee furthermore considers that experience shows that an active role for civil society during the implementation of the agreements makes it possible to identify important potential partners in the countries concerned, establish relations beneficial to all parties and facilitate the resolution of any disputes. The Committee has consistently called for agreements negotiated by the EU, or in the process of negotiation, to contain a social dimension, and has upheld this position in previous opinions (10).
2.9   In previous opinions the EESC has given a positive assessment of the EU's decision to establish Sustainability Impact Assessments (SIA), making it possible to present proposals and establish corrective measures which maximise the positive effects and minimise any negative effects of a trade agreement. The EESC once again calls for SIAs to be carried out with the full participation of civil society to ensure that agreements entered into are honoured and risks minimised, thus enhancing the opportunities for the opening up of trade (11).
2.10   The EESC cannot but point out that the negotiation of the Agreement with Colombia and Peru has been the subject of criticism and queries by the parties' social organisations and the trade union movements (12). The EESC in particular shares the concern about the lack of dialogue with civil society during the negotiation process. It therefore welcomes the adoption of a resolution by the European Parliament underlining the importance of establishing clear monitoring and follow-up mechanisms involving representatives of civil society during the implementation of the Trade Agreement (13).
2.11   From the point of view of civil society, the Committee considers that trade agreements should facilitate changes which, inter alia, promote the development of corporate social responsibility, require European companies to be bound by the labour practices of their countries of origin, create and safeguard high-quality jobs, promote the development of collective bargaining, make it possible to monitor closely the exploitation of natural resources, help to reduce the informal economy and informal work, to eliminate violations of human rights and to combat poverty and social inequality and make it possible to improve living conditions, particularly for the disadvantaged.
2.12   The EESC considers that the Trade Agreement contains articles - such as Article 1 on human rights, Article 282 on dialogue with civil society and Article 286 on impact assessments - which facilitate the institutionalised, representative and autonomous participation on a small scale of civil society organisations from both parties (14) through the establishment of a joint consultative committee as a forum open to the whole of Peruvian, Colombian and European civil society.
2.13   The EESC hopes that this Trade Agreement will help the signatories to tackle the most urgent socio-economic problems such as poverty, social inequality and violence, and will help to improve the living conditions of the people, particularly the most disadvantaged; to this end the Committee considers it essential that civil society in the three parties be able to participate actively in the implementation of the Agreement and in the assessment of its impact.
2.14   In May 2012 an EESC delegation visited Colombia and Peru. The mission can be considered a success in terms of the number and level of the discussions held with the parties and the useful information collected, which resulted in the views of civil society from both countries on the Trade Agreement being reflected in the opinion and in the formulation of a proposal for the establishment of a civil society joint consultative committee to monitor the Agreement. The mission was an opportunity to gauge the current state of social, labour and economic problems in both countries and the lack of confidence of the civil society organisations (with the sole exception of the employers' organisations, which support the Agreement in both countries) in the capacity of both their own governments and the Trade Agreement to help resolve them. The mission highlighted the distance between the vision of the governments, which claim to have carried out broad consultations and information campaigns, and the civil society organisations' perception of these (15).
2.15   The opinion highlights some of the main problems of the Agreement's two signatory countries, which will need to be monitored by the CSOs of the parties. In the case of Colombia, emphasis is placed on the human rights issue, with both positive and negative aspects, violations of trade union rights, current implementation of the Victims and Land Restitution Law and the problem of impunity. In the case of Peru, the analysis focuses on the social and labour situation, especially in relation to mining, child labour, emigration to Europe and the rights of indigenous peoples.
2.16   The EESC calls on the parties involved to establish, in consultation with civil society, ideally through the JCC, a transparent and binding action plan complementary to the Trade Agreement on human, environmental and labour rights. Such an action plan should set out clear, time-bound and result-based targets in each of the above areas. In this connection the EESC supports the proposals set out in point 15 of the European Parliament's resolution of 13 June 2012.
3.   Colombia

3.1   Human rights: highlights and lowlights

3.1.1   A new government took power in August 2010. It is headed by President Juan Manuel Santos, who has adopted a different tone on issues related to human rights. The Vice-President is Angelino Garzón, ex-secretary-general of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores trade union and former labour minister who, in keeping with his background, is promoting a policy of strengthening national social dialogue. President Santos' position on human rights is different from that of the government of his predecessor, Álvaro Uribe. Rather than using hard rhetoric which put defenders of human rights in real danger, the government has softened its tone and made concessions to the promotion of dialogue. For the first time it has recognised the existence of an internal armed conflict and seems ready to work towards a definitive solution to the problem.
3.1.2   Colombia is suffering the consequences of a serious internal conflict which has plagued the country for more than 60 years. An armed conflict in which various actors are both a source of, and participants in the violence. Despite the efforts of the government, acknowledged by Amnesty International, the situation remains highly complex (16).
3.1.3   In Colombia the continent's longest-standing guerrilla group, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), remains active. Both the FARC and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) continue to recruit boys and girls as soldiers and to use them in the armed conflict, and have laid anti-personnel mines in many areas, receiving funding through their relationship with drug traffickers. After the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia is the country with the largest number of child soldiers (17).
3.1.4   Between 1,5 and 3 million persons have been displaced from their usual places of residence and work. In February 2012 the FARC announced that it would suspend the practice of kidnapping and it freed ten military hostages. However, they are still holding an unspecified number of civilians (18).
3.1.5   For many years, particularly since the 1970s, thousands of peasant farmers, workers, trade unionists, schoolteachers, human rights activists, leaders of local, municipal and rural social organisations, among others, have lost their lives. According to the Escuela Nacional Sindical (national trade union school), an NGO recognised for its work in defence of human and trade union rights, the total number of trade unionists murdered since 1986 exceeds 2 900. Drug trafficking remains a frequent illegal activity, with a national-level network and international connections. Attempts to eradicate the problem by military means have frequently only served to accelerate the spiral of violence. Numerous members of the security forces have been accused by national and international human rights organisations of murdering individuals they claimed were members of the guerrilla movement, the so-called "false positives" (19).
3.1.6   Women continue to suffer from inequality and discrimination in Colombian society. Gender inequality exists in the home, with high levels of violence against women. In the economic sphere there is a high rate of unemployment, a growing number of women working in the informal economy (57 %) and persistent gender-based wage disparities. In the political arena there is a low level of representation of women in decision-making roles.
3.1.7   According to reports by the country's main trade union federations (CUT, CTC, CGT), the social dialogue, which suffered serious damage during previous governments, has still not shown sufficient signs of positive change. The federations maintain that the lack of social dialogue has contributed to the fall in the rate of trade union membership from 14 to 4 %. The situation of trade union rights in Colombia has been closely monitored by the ILO (20) in recent years, and the ILO has carried out numerous fact-finding missions to the country and maintains a permanent unit in the country to monitor violations of human, labour and trade union rights. In 2011, 29 trade union leaders and activists were murdered. In many cases, those responsible are "demobilised" paramilitaries. Ten more were the objects of unsuccessful attempts on their lives. Daniel Aguirre, secretary-general of the Sindicato Nacional de Corteros de Caña (Colombian sugar cane cutters' union), was murdered on 27 April 2012, bringing the number of trade unionists murdered so far this year to seven.
3.1.8   One positive development is the increase in staff at the national public prosecutor's office assigned to clearing up these crimes. Also, at the initiative of the public prosecutor's office, the National Congress approved a reform of Article 200 of the Penal Code, increasing the prison sentences and fines provided for impeding or disturbing trade union meetings or the exercise of labour rights or for conducting reprisals in response to legal strikes, meetings or free association (21). In January 2012 the national public prosecutor's office and the Escuela Nacional Sindical (national trade union school) concluded an agreement to exchange information and work towards a unified methodology for defining, identifying and documenting crimes against members of trade union organisations.
3.1.9   However, although the climate of violence in the country has moderated, terrorist acts continue to be committed. On the same day that the free trade treaty with the United States entered into force, 15 May 2012, an attempt was made on the life of ex-minister Fernando Londoño Hoyos, in which his two escorts were killed and 49 people injured.
3.1.10   The Victims and Land Restitution Law, adopted in 2011, recognises the existence of an armed conflict and of the victims' rights. It makes provision for reparations for survivors of human rights violations, including those perpetrated by agents of the State. Its application to date has been irregular and incomplete but for the victims it represents an important change, as previously their rights had not been recognised at all. During the EESC's mission, civil society organisations complained that individuals and communities to whom land had been returned were receiving threats. The EESC delegation was informed by the Ministry of Agriculture that judges were being trained to deal with the return of land allocated on the basis of fraudulent legal claims, which had legalised the ownership of land bought for ultra-low prices from peasants forced off the land, the land being used in many cases for the illegal cultivation of drugs. Protection was also being offered to families who had returned to land previously left uncultivated under pressure from guerrilla groups, who were seeking in this way to control the territory.
3.1.11   The problem of impunity, an endemic problem in Colombia: certain progress has been made and key investigations have been undertaken into human rights, including the "parapolítica" scandal, which revealed illegal links between legislators and paramilitary groups. More than 120 former members of parliament were investigated and around 40 were convicted (22). On the other hand, in February 2012 the re-election of the national public prosecutor (23), who had investigated the main cases of corruption and prosecuted paramilitaries, drug traffickers and guerrillas, demonstrating a strong commitment to putting an end to impunity, was declared invalid. The investigations revealed links which had existed between the DAS (Administrative Security Department) and paramilitaries and its direct responsibility for many cases of threats to, and murders of human rights activists, judges, journalists, trade unionists and lawyers (24). In October 2011 the government announced the abolition of the DAS and the establishment of a new intelligence agency.
3.1.12   The government has proposed a controversial reform of Article 221 of the Constitution, which would assign the initial investigation of possible human rights abuses committed by members of the security forces to the military courts. The reform would establish the principle that all offences committed by members of the armed forces during operations and/or procedures would be "related to the service" and would consequently be subject, at least in the first instance, to military jurisdiction. On various occasions the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations have highlighted the military courts' lack of impartiality and independence, which detracts from the credibility of their decisions (25). The Colombian security forces have repeatedly been accused of extrajudicial executions and the Office of the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia estimates that more than 3 000 persons were murdered by agents of the State between 2004 and 2008. Since then there has been a considerable reduction in the number of cases, but the practice has not completely disappeared (26). Various national and international organisations have called on President Santos to withdraw the proposed amendment (27).
3.1.13   In contrast to previous opinions, it emerged from discussions with employers that the business sector felt that the Agreement would promote the legal economy, regular labour conditions, human rights and the environment, and would help reduce levels of violence.
4.   Peru

4.1   Over the last decade poverty has been reduced, but according to data from the World Bank (28), 15 % of the population still lives on less than two dollars a day. Major differences persist between urban and rural regions. As a consequence, growth has so far resulted in a very uneven distribution of incomes. Average incomes (and thus private consumption) have grown but not enough, in 2010 amounting to USD 404.
4.2   Labour and trade union situation: in 2009 nearly 73 % of employed workers had no contracts, 7 % had permanent contracts and 20 % temporary contracts (29). In 2011 the ILO highlighted the growth in informal work and under-employment, the fall in the real minimum wage and very high levels of child labour (42 %). Peru is experiencing a boom in agricultural exports, which has, however, so far not benefited workers in the sector. In 2008, before the international crisis erupted, only just over 200 000 workers had contracts. During the first half of 2011 the recovery began to gather strength. The level of employment reached its historic maximum. However, in this sector working days can exceed the legal maximum, and pay is below the normal minimum wage (30); overtime pay is low and temporary contracts are the norm (31).
4.3   The EESC considers the commitments to comply with the ILO fundamental conventions and the decent work agenda to be a positive step, but renews its call for Peruvian and European civil society to be involved in monitoring their application. One key condition in relation to the concept of decent work is the social dialogue dimension; the participation of employers' and trade union organisations in the framework of collective bargaining, which has an important role to play in complementing legislation in order to improve working conditions. The EESC also recommends that there be a formal exchange of experience of social dialogue.
4.4   Child labour is a long-standing concern for Peruvian civil society. It is particularly prevalent in the mining industry, where girls are also employed. The figures can only be regarded as approximate, as the official statistics do not generally fully reflect the scale of the phenomenon, but according to data from IPEC-ILO (32), in two out of three mining families minors under 18 are working in the extraction, processing or materials transport sub-sectors. Girls, although they do not generally work in the lower levels of mines, are increasingly involved in activities within the mines, e.g. in communications between the mine and the outside world. The ILO argues that the eradication of child labour in mines will help to promote technological change, improve social protection and broaden educational opportunities for the minors involved. The involvement of civil society is essential if progress is to be achieved. The EU has entered into specific commitments on the abolition of child labour with its trading partners and EU companies operating in other continents. Questions of corporate social responsibility and labour and human rights do not stop at Europe's borders. During the implementation of the Trade Agreement these commitments will have to be renewed and their impact on the current situation of child labour evaluated.
4.5   Immigration to the EU: according to Peru's Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (National Institute of Statistics and Informatics) (33), during the period 1990-2009 the number of Peruvians residing outside the country amounted to 2 038 107. After Spain (with around 200 000 Peruvian residents), Italy is one of the countries which has received the most Peruvian immigrants in recent years (34). For the EESC, legal immigration with guarantees is something positive and enriching. The monitoring mechanism involving civil society to be established by the Trade Agreement will need to observe and monitor the human rights of migrants and the prevention of illegal trafficking.
4.6   Rights of indigenous peoples: the EESC notes the entry into force of the Law on Prior Consultation, adopted in 2011 (35). The law, which recognises the rights of indigenous peoples, could contribute to social inclusion and ensure that the benefits of democracy are finally shared by indigenous peoples. It is the fruit of the labours of many social players, but in particular the indigenous peoples themselves, who have consistently called for legislation to ensure that the right to consultation is effectively applied. The full application of the law will be proof of Peru's compliance with its commitments under ILO Convention 169.
4.7   The government of Ollanta Humala took office in 2011, and faces significant challenges and expectations. The signature of the Trade Agreement with the EU can help to tackle these challenges and turn expectations into certainty of positive change, as long as it is understood that simply signing the agreement will not in itself produce the desired changes. This opinion reflects the EESC's intention to contribute to improved relations between the EU and Peru in the future, with the participation of Peruvian civil society in the monitoring and impact assessment mechanisms adopted. The EESC has stressed, and it now reiterates, the importance of these civil society participation structures being representative and independent of the executive.

Brussels, 11 July 2012.


The President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Staffan NILSSON




(1)  The Agreement is to be ratified by the 27 parliaments of the Union and the parliaments of Colombia and Peru.

(2)  As laid down, for example, in the action plan on labour rights included in the agreement between Colombia and the United States and in GSP+.

(3)  Sustainability Impact Assessment of trade, drawn up at the request of the European Commission by Development Solutions, the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the University of Manchester, 2009.

(4)  Also the objectives of the EU-Colombia Protocol on Human Rights (2009), ratified at the sixth regular meeting of the Mechanism of Human Rights Dialogue, held in Bogotá on 30 January 2012.

(5)  Generalised System of Preferences Plus.

(6)  Articles 271 and 324 of the Trade Agreement.

(7)  EESC opinion New trade agreements negotiations - The EESC position, rapporteur Mr Peel, co-rapporteur Ms Pichenot (OJ C 211, 19.8.2008, p. 82).

(8)  "Each Party commits to the promotion and effective implementation in its laws and practice and in its whole territory of internationally recognised core labour standards as contained in the fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Organization" Article 269(3) of the Trade Agreement.

(9)  OJ C 211, 19.8.2008, p. 82.

(10)  "The EESC deems it essential that the AA include a social dimension, consistent with an AA that goes beyond commercial aspects and is ultimately intended to increase social cohesion.", rapporteur: Mr Zufiaur (OJ C 248, 25.8.2011, p. 55).

(11)  EESC opinion Sustainability impact assessments (SIA) and EU trade policy, rapporteur: Ms Pichenot (OJ C 218, 23.7.2011, p. 14).

(12)  Letter to the European Parliament from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas and the Council of Global Unions of 22 February 2012. Position of the Colombian CGT on the EU-Colombia trade agreement, February 2012.

(13)  Resolution of the European Parliament on the EU-Colombia Peru Trade Agreement, adopted on 13 June 2012.

(14)  The EESC for the EU side.

(15)  The mission programme and the report are attached in Appendix B.

(16)  Statement by Amnesty International submitted to the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva, 2012.

(17)  2012 Report of the Tribunal internacional sobre la infancia afectada por la guerra y la pobreza (International tribunal on children affected by war and poverty), http://www.tribunalinternacionalinfancia.org.

(18)  On 28 April 2012, in breach of their promise, they abducted the French journalist Romeo Langlois, who was released a few weeks later.

(19)  Under Colombian law these killings are considered to constitute the murder of protected persons.

(20)  Source: successive reports by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, International Labour Conferences, ILO.

(21)  Report received from the Embassy of Colombia in Brussels on the activities of the national public prosecutor's office, March 2012.

(22)  In February 2011 former senator Mario Uribe, ex-president of the Congress and cousin of President Álvaro Uribe, was found guilty of having links with the paramilitaries.

(23)  Viviane Morales had her election annulled for alleged procedural irregularities in her appointment.

(24)  In September 2011 Jorge Noguera Cotes, who headed the DAS from 2002 to 2005, was found guilty of having placed the intelligence agency at the disposal of paramilitary groups, and of the 2004 murder of a university professor.

(25)  Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Colombia.

(26)  Human Rights Watch 2012.

(27)  Letter to President Santos, Human Rights Watch, 9 February 2012.

(28)  World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2011.

(29)  Source: Ministry of Labour, Peru.

(30)  The daily wage is between USD 8,84 and 10, and the minimum living wage is USD 259,61/month.

(31)  A clear example of the inappropriate use of temporary contracts is the palm oil sector.

(32)  International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour of the ILO, www.ilo.org.

(33)  Perú: Estadísticas de la Emigración Internacional de Peruanos e Inmigración de Extranjereos, 1990–2009 ("Peru: Statistics on the emigration of Peruvians and immigration of foreign nationals, 1990-2009"), Lima: 2010.

(34)  Since 2011 the EU has been financing the Perú Migrante project.

(35)  Law No. 29785, Law on the Right of Prior Consultation for Indigenous Peoples, recognised in Convention 169 of the ILO.