International Trade committee  Thank you very much. In fact, as I've said before this commission, we are convinced that the free trade agreement is one of the best tools available to a country such as Colombia to overcome the problems that affect us, beginning with poverty, lack of public safety, and the need

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your question. Evidently, it is one of the programs that the Office of the President of the Republic has initiated, and as you aptly mentioned, a senior advisor to the president in matters of reinsertion and reconciliation has been a

International Trade committee  If you will allow me, I would like to make a few brief comments. One comment is in relation to the popularity rating of President Uribe. I agree with the statement made by the honourable Mr. Silva. I don't believe, Mr. Julian, that it's just a question of support by those who a

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. In my opinion, the agreement with the U.S. hasn't been rejected, but it's awaiting the decision of Congress. It's not that the progress that has been made in terms of human rights hasn't been recognized. In fact, it's recognized that we have come a long way

International Trade committee  Yes, honourable member. In fact this is an opinion that we have heard before, and we fully respect that point of view. In relation to waiting for a solution--in other words, solving problems before we actually sign or implement a free trade agreement--my reaction has always been

International Trade committee  Yes, Mr. Chair. First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to this honourable committee for the opportunity it has given me to participate in this meeting. I would also like to extend my greetings to Honourable Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo of the Republic of Colo

International Trade committee  Well, I would not want to speculate, but in fact we Colombians hope that the agreement will be passed, and we want to reach an agreement with Canada also quickly for the same reasons. Now, on the subject of the approval or not and the effect this could have on Canada, well, we ha

International Trade committee  In fact I have to tell you that for us it would be a very hard blow not to be able to conclude free trade agreements with countries with which we have identified and with which we share a vision of a democratic world that respects freedoms and that also supports the free and just

International Trade committee  This is one of the issues covered in the parallel agreements that deal with environmental and labour issues. As you've pointed out yourself, and for those who know Colombia, we are a country that has been classified as a mega-diverse country, and we're very interested not only in

International Trade committee  I would say that the results achieved in 2007 have been significant, with 38 convictions for the murder of trade union members last year. The result compares impressively with a total of 45 convictions in the prior five years, and only one from 1991 to 2001. Since the sub-uni

International Trade committee  Definitely. And not only that, but we certainly would be ready to assist the subcommittee in getting those appointments, if you so decide. The only recommendation is that it's better to know first the places you are going to be, just in case the area happens to be somehow risky

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. I would like to have information on particular cases, specific cases as you just mentioned now. I don't have that information, so I've taken down the names that you've mentioned, and I promise I will look into this with government, and we will report on the

International Trade committee  No, I wouldn't be able to do that because I don't have that information with me. To speak about specific cases, we would have to know the true reasons behind the murder, but also we would have to be aware of the procedures carried out. I have general information but no specific i

International Trade committee  According to our information, the number of trade unions in Colombia has increased over the past years. I don't have the yearly percentages, but the information for 2007 tells me that there are one million unionized workers in Colombia and 7,650 trade unions. The administrative m

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for the question. In fact, I'm glad those were the thoughts that came to Mr. Emerson's mind after visiting Colombia. The situation is not resolved, but what satisfies us is the progress made. Now, you've asked us how have we progressed. I can tell you that c