Fighting for their lives

Political violence against teachers in Colombia

Awareness of the scale of human rights violations against Colombian trade unionists is growing. Of the 1,174 reported murders of trade unionists worldwide between 1999 and 2005, 860 were Colombian and half of these were teachers, according to the Colombian National Trade Union School.

During the same period 1,198 teachers in Colombia received death threats, 318 were forced to leave their homes and jobs for fear of violence, and 36 'disappeared'.

Research from the University of Amsterdam asks: who is carrying out these attacks, why are teachers being targeted, what effect is the violence having on teachers' unions and the education system, and what is being done about the ongoing violence?

Who is carrying out these attacks?

The conflict between left-wing guerrilla movements, far-right paramilitary organisations and the Colombian state has been going on for several decades. Thousands of civilians have died and over two million are internally displaced. The vast majority of violations against teachers appear to have been carried out by the paramilitary organisations and state security forces.

Why are teachers being targeted?

The teachers' union, Federación Colombiana de Educadores (FECODE), is the largest trade union in the country. Since the mid-1990s it has been involved in protests against government-led reforms aimed at decentralising educational delivery and reducing budgets.

Teachers are caught up in the conflict in several ways. Right-wing paramilitary organisations with alleged links to the Colombian state see any form of opposition to government policy as evidence of sympathy towards the guerrillas — trade unionists are therefore seen as 'legitimate' military targets.

Teachers living in remote rural areas are often seen as community leaders, which can bring them into conflict with powerful local, national and international interests. In the petrol-rich region of Arauca, for example, teacher trade unionists have campaigned for oil multinationals to finance social investment in the region.

What effect is the violence having?

The organised political violence has created fear amongst union members and weakened the ability of unions to organise, particularly in rural areas. It has also led to shortages of qualified teachers in certain regions. Since 1991 over 1,000 teachers have left their jobs for fear of violence. Teachers are also affected psychologically and emotionally.

1999 – 2005 Comparison between world statistics on
trade union homicides and Colombia (Larger version)

What is being done?

A series of initiatives developed by FECODE, national human rights organisations and the government are beginning to address teacher's insecurities:

• human rights training
• special protection measures (such as mobile phones, armed bodyguards or bullet-proof vehicles)
• relocation to different schools without loss of earnings
• a working group (including FECODE, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and various Colombian state authorities) assesses the risk of individual teachers, providing them with administrative and financial support.

Yet it is uncertain how efficient these measures are and there is still a lack of trust between education trade unions and the Colombian authorities. The research recommends:

• increased vigilance by the international community towards human rights violations, drawing attention to the responsibility of the Colombian government
• all armed groups to support the current FECODE initiative to make schools 'neutral territory'
• improved coordination between local, national and international human rights organisations to react effectively to human rights threats
• better recording and sharing of statistics on human rights violations against educators
• more research on political violence against teachers in conflict and post-conflict countries to develop better international policy responses.

Mario Novelli
AMIDST, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ Amsterdam, Netherlands
T +31 (0)205 254571
m.novelli@uva.nl

See also:

Education Under Attack, Paris: UNESCO, by Brendan O'Malley, 2007
www.unesco.org/education/attack/

Colombia Killings, Arbitrary Detentions, and Death Threats - the Reality of Trade Unionism in Colombia, London: Amnesty International, 2007
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR230012007

Political Violence Against Teachers in Colombia, Brussels: Education International, by Mario Novelli, forthcoming

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