Dear constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about the protests and the situation in Colombia and asking me to sign Early Day Motion 4. I do not as a general rule sign EDMs as they are seldom debated, expensive to administer and the issues raised by them are generally debated by the House of Commons by other means.
I share your concerns and know that my ministerial colleagues at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office do too. Indeed, it is for such reasons why Colombia remains one of 31 human rights priority countries for the UK - Human Rights and Democracy: 2020 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Befitting its priority status, and as a UN penholder, I know that ministers and officials regularly raise human rights concerns directly with the Colombian Government and via the relevant multilateral fora, including in relation to the right to peaceful protest. The UK's Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, for instance, raised concerns on a virtual visit to Colombia in February.
The UK is forthright in supporting the right to peaceful protest everywhere, including in Colombia. The Minister for the Americas, Wendy Morton, called for an end to violence at the time of the protests, and for all instances of excessive force used against protestors to be thoroughly investigated by the authorities and appropriate action taken against those responsible. The Minister has since spoken with the Colombian Foreign Minister and Ambassador to receive updates on the progress of investigations to this end.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Fuller MP