The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Colombia announced the signing of a cooperative agreement with the Solidarity Center, a non-profit organization that works with NGOs, unions, and community groups worldwide to achieve equitable, sustainable, democratic development. The three-year project will promote respect for workers’ rights in Colombia, as a fundamental tenet of improving human rights, fostering development, and promoting social inclusion in the country.

As the Colombian government seeks to consolidate its commitments under the Labor Action Plan and extend labor rights protections to vulnerable workers in and beyond the priority sectors defined in the Plan, ongoing engagement and participation of unions will be key for recent policy changes to create sustainable advancements for Colombia’s workers. The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) - the national federation that represents millions of working women and men in the United States – is one of the key partners of Solidarity Center.

“This project is significant and vital,” said Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna BaderBlau. “We are at a critical point where the Solidarity Center and its union partners can affect lasting change for the labor and human rights landscapes of the country.”

Through the project, the Solidarity Center will focus on promoting the rule of law, building the labor movement’s participation in processes of legal and social change on workers’ rights, and on promoting inclusion of Colombia’s most vulnerable workers, particularly women and subcontracted, informalized workers. The Solidarity Center project seeks to improve Colombian citizens’ livelihoods through supporting sustainable, dynamic trade unions with capacity to advocate for improved working conditions and access to full social protections.

The project will be implemented by the Solidarity Center’s local office in Bogota, Colombia.