TCCC statement regarding Amnesty International report on Colombia

Amnesty International has recently published a report entitled, "Colombia -- Killings, Arbitrary Detentions, and Death Threats: The Reality of Trade Unionism in Colombia," which referenced a series of allegations regarding our Company and the Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia.

The Coca-Cola Company shares Amnesty International's concern about the ongoing violence in Colombia, and we have worked with others to try to address the consequences of six decades of violence in Colombia.  For example, last year we supported a series of forums hosted by the International Business Leaders Forum, the UN Global Compact and Fundacion Ideas para la Paz in Bogotá, Washington, D.C. and London to raise awareness of the conflict in Colombia and to discuss the role that business can play in the peace-building process. Amnesty International was invited to attend these forums as well, and two members attended the London meeting and had the opportunity to participate in this dialogue. The report from these forums is available at http://www.iblf.org/media_room/general.jsp?id=123876.

As a result of those discussions, a working group of Colombian and multinational companies has been meeting to develop a set of “Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights” for implementation in Colombia and ultimately, to other “zones of conflict” around the world.

In addition, our Company has been working to expand our policies and guidelines to further demonstrate our commitment to the protection and promotion of workplace rights.

Earlier this year we released our Workplace Rights Policy which serves to ensure that we apply a consistent approach to workplace rights worldwide.  The policy contains the Company’s principles on freedom of association, forced labor, child labor, discrimination, work hours and wages, safe and healthy workplaces, workplace security and community and stakeholder engagement.

We also released a Human Rights Statement which communicates our Company’s pledge to manage our business around the world in accordance with the highest standards of integrity with a specific emphasis on human rights in the workplace.

Both the Policy and the Statement express our commitment to the principles of the UN Global Compact.  We entered into the Compact in 2006, pledging that we will promote and continually strive for improvements in human rights, labor standards, the environment and anti-corruption.

Colombia: News
Colombia: Media Information
Colombia: Key Facts