The OAS-RIAL Supports Bilateral Cooperation Colombia-Peru

The broad agenda of bilateral cooperation between Colombia and Peru is now being implemented through concrete actions. From October 21 to 23, representatives of Labor Ministries from both countries participated in a technical exchange mission in Bogota, facilitated by the OAS-SEDI Inter-American Network for Labor Administration (RIAL).

A delegation from Peru visited the Ministry of Labor of Colombia to gain from its experience in the area of conflict prevention and resolution. Colombia established the Directorate for the Prevention and Solution of Labor Conflicts and Labor Corporate Social Responsibility in 2010, gaining a wealth of experience in a similar context to the neighboring country. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (MTPE) of Peru is interested in strengthening this area of ​​action, in particular the legal defense of workers, which is why it called on the RIAL to facilitate the exchange.

Gloria Gaviria, Head of International Relations and Cooperation of the Ministry of Labor of Colombia stated that "the OAS RIAL has allowed us to strengthen ties with our counterpart Ministries in the region." Gaviria stressed the importance of this being the first activity in the framework of the agreements signed by the governments in the First Binational Cabinet held on September 30 in the border city of Iquitos, Peru.

Gaviria was referring to the historic step taken by the Presidents of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and Peru, Ollanta Humala Tasso, to advance the bilateral cooperation agenda when they met with their respective cabinets of Ministers last month. At the meeting, eleven agreements of cooperation and integration were signed in various areas -including the area of labor- where the countries established common goals and deadlines for achieving specific results.

"With the support of the OAS RIAL, the governments of Colombia and Peru will make progress on the specific commitments made at the binational meeting led by the Presidents of both countries and reaffirmed in the Roadmap subscribed by the Ministers of Labor of Colombia and Peru, Luis Eduardo Garzón and Fredy Rolando Otálora," Gaviria said.

In this regard, Sherry Tross, OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development said that "The fact that the governments of Colombia and Peru identified the OAS-RIAL as an essential tool for their countries to use in advancing their cooperation agreement is strong validation of the utility and impact of the OAS cooperation mechanisms.”

The exchange mission is the first step in this inter-Ministerial cooperation, which will continue to be followed-up and receive institutional support. Paskal Vandenbussche, one of the three participants from the MTPE of Peru, welcomed the opportunity, stating that "My colleagues and I have been discussing the lessons learned, particularly what we can take and propose to the MTPE-Lima. Certainly, there are several lessons that we are evaluating and we will explore how we can implement these in our country to obtain better results, taking into consideration Peru’s context. "

To date, the RIAL has coordinated 80 bilateral cooperation activities with valuable results in terms of strengthening priority areas of labor administration, as defined by Member States through the Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor (IACML). Priority areas include labor inspection, youth employment, combating child labor and promoting gender equality, among other areas of regional interest.