Colombian congress member Alirio Uribe of the governing Historic Pact coalition recently visited England to attend the Labour Party’s annual conference, the first time the event has been held under a Labour government since 2009. JFC organised the visit to promote core campaigns around peace, human rights and inequality-tackling social reforms.
Alirio was elected to congress in 2022 as a member of the Historic Pact coalition led by President Gustavo Petro and Vice-President Francia Márquez. Since taking office as the first progressive and trade union-backed government in Colombian history, the Petro administration has opened negotiations with armed groups to reach peace settlements, a policy known as Total Peace, and submitted a series of social reforms in congress that seek to drastically improve conditions for millions of Colombians living in economic difficulty.
However, ongoing conflict has cast uncertainty over Total Peace and there has been a lack of advance in recent months, including in talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla movement. Additionally, a faction of the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) group broke away from the main body and has escalated armed activity in southwest Colombia. Meanwhile, the social reforms face serious obstacles in congress as opposition politicians seek to block their advance.
While at Labour Conference over 22-25 September, congress member Uribe met with several Labour Party politicians to discuss how the government can provide support for peace and human rights in Colombia. They included Fabian Hamilton MP, who is chair of the Latin American All-Party Parliamentary Group, and Kate Osborne MP, Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Colombia group. Both Fabian and Kate, along with Kim Johnson MP, who also met Alirio, have visited Colombia on JFC delegations. Other Labour politicians who met with Fabian included Lord Bryn Davies, David Taylor MP, Liam Conlon MP, Katrina Murray MP and Nav Mishra MP. Sinn Fein’s John Finucane MP also took the time to discuss Ireland’s own experiences of peacebuilding and the importance of supporting peace in Colombia to his party.
Alirio was also the main speaker at a JFC fringe meeting that examined how the Labour government can provide support to peace in Colombia. Other speakers were Fabian and Kate, as well as TUC general secretary Paul Nowak, NEU president Phil Clarke, Thompsons Solicitors chief executive Clare Mellor, UNISON North West’s Joanne Moorcroft – who was a JFC delegate in July this year – and JFC director Hasan Dodwell. The fringe was chaired by POA general secretary Steve Gillan. At the Colombian Consulate in London, Alirio spoke to Colombian activists to discuss the Petro government’s achievements and the multiple challenges it still faces.
JFC would like to thank everyone who met with Alirio. Visits such as this one play an important role in build international ing support for peace, human rights and trade unionism in Colombia.