Monthly Archives: April 2008

AFL-CIO Speaks on Colombia FTA

In today’s Washington Post, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney writes:

Last Sept. 27, 16-year-old Andres Damian Florez Rodriguez was on his way home from school when he was forced into a van by three armed men. Andres is the son of Jose Domingo Florez, a leader of the Coca-Cola bottling union in Santander. The assailants drove along, beating the boy while they received radio instructions. Then they gave him a message to convey: “Tell your papa that we won’t rest until we see [the union leaders] quartered in pieces.” Read more »

CDI Report Finds U.S. Aids Child Slavery

In a report released on March 31, 2008, the Center for Defense Information reports that the U.S. government has provided military funding to six countries who have been identified as using child soldiers.

CDI’s analysis of the 2007 human rights reports found that:

The most egregious cases of child soldier use by government forces continue in Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sri Lanka.

The reports reveal use and recruitment of child soldiers by government forces or government supported groups in eight countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, DRC, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

In 2006, government use was found in nine countries: Burma, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

The United States provides military assistance to six of those eight countries: Afghanistan, Chad, DRC, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda.

The full report can be found by clicking here.

Sudan Task Force Issues Profiles

SDTF

The Sudan Divestment Task Force issued its updated its “Sudan Company Profiles” today. The complete report can be found by clicking here.

Zimbabwe: Trade Unions Speak Out

COSATU

At a meeting of the COSATU and ZCTU on Tuesday – two leading trade unions in southern Africa – a statement was issued in regarding the elections held in Zimbabwe last week. The Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions held the meeting to receive a report from the ZCTU on the current political crisis in Zimbabwe.
Read more »

Report: Business and Human Rights

Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law have jointly published a report entitled, “On the Margins of Profit: Rights at Risk in the Global Economy.”

This report can be found at the HRW web site or by clicking here.