AC-Initiatives

Citizen Action against recruiting of children in 10 municipalities in Colombia

Internal armed conflict in Colombia and its exacerbation has had meaningful negative effects on civilians, specially boys, girls and teenagers in the rural areas in the country. They have become victims. On the one hand, because they are exposed to coercion and forced displacement resulting from constant confrontation between guerrillas, paramilitaries and members of the public forces. On the other hand, because they are forced to take active part in the war by enlisting.

Recruiting of boys and girls by illegal armed groups has worsened, becoming a serious problem for the country in regards to human rights. Moreover, the attention given has not been appropriate for the prevention and protection of the population at risk, due to that non of the actors involved in the conflict nor civil society have made the effort to stop the recruitment of underaged boys and girls. For girls, the situation is even more severe since the units of outlaws target them as object for sexual practices as means to grant them privileges and security. This clearly constitutes sexual abuse while also forced to birth-control from the age of 12 and undergo abortion in case of pregnancies (Human Rights Watch, 2004).

Even though there are no official numbers, UNICEF considers that in Colombia there are around 15,000 rebel boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 16, and 1 of every 4 combatants is under 18.  Also, children are used for high-risk missions, including activation and deactivation of antipersonnel mines, espionage, servitude, sexual slavery; and recruited because they represent an available, malleable and capable human potential keen to undergo risky tasks without assessing the risks.

The main reasons for this is found in the high levels of family violence and sexual abuse. This forces children to flee their homes and, together with the lack of opportunities as a result of extreme poverty and the restricted access to education, they face the urge to enlist. UNICEF reveals that from the 3,911 demobilized children between 8 and 18 years of age, 15% acknowledges having been recruited “at gun point”, while 85% joined “voluntarily”.

Another reason found for the increase in the recruitment comes as an effect of the recent international economic crisis, as stated by the UNICED representative Mr. Paul Martin. Also, in Colombia there are the “areas of cultural resonance” or areas with scarce State presence and a high and prolonged control by the rebel groups where “cultures of resistance and opposition” have developed, as in Meta.

Recruitment of boys, girls and young people takes place mainly in around 60 municipalities in 20 departments in the Country, specially in the rural areas of Putumayo, Tolima and Meta being this the worst case. For this reason, the municipalities beneficiaries from this intervention are: Puerto Rico, Puerto Lleras, Fuente de Oro, La Uribe, Mesetas, San Juan de Arama, El Castillo, Cubarral, El Dorado and Granada.

In the municipalities mentioned, the problem of children recruitment by different armed groups has been continuous in the last 30 years with critical periods. This situation has reduced the capacity of communities to resist recruitment and victimized at least 3 generations. As a consequence, the inability of the State to alleviate and eradicate the situations has increased the distrust of citizens in the capacity of the State to change the situation.

As a consequence, the recruitment of minors must be prevented by collective action where the protection of children is recognized as the protection of the whole community.

The general objective of this initiative is “to increase social awareness, including boys and girls, on the violation of human rights as a consequence of the recruitment of children, with the purpose of promoting collective actions for its prevention, in the municipalities of Puerto Rico, Puerto Lleras, Fuente de Oro, La Uribe, Mesetas, San Juan de Arama, El Castillo, Cubarral, El Dorado and Granada, in the department of Meta”.

In this sense, this initiative will address strategies for the construction and strengthening of social networks aiming at the development of actions of collective resistance against the recruitment of children. They include focal points, such as: social networks (school, church, shops, stores), groups of men and women, families and blood-related groups, as well as formal and informal groups of boys, girls and young people. Additional, strategies for the strengthening of an institutional support network for the prevention of children recruitment will be developed. The idea is to link together local public institutions responsible for the management of policies for the attention of children, demobilization, reconciliation and human rights, in the municipalities where intervention takes place.

The initiative expects that the results have an impact on:

1. the collective recognition at the local and regional level of the causes associated with the recruitment of minors. Also, new citizen and institutional actions for the prevention of recruitment and the protection of minors.
2. The groups of men and those of women (all over 18) have strengthened their abilities to detect recruitment risks and to communicate protecting measures to minors.
3. The main networks have strengthened (school, church, shops, stores, etc.) the ability to detect recruitment risks and to communicate f protecting measures to minors.
4. Spaces for and forms of juvenile and children organizations have been strengthened, with the ability to detect recruitment risks and to communicate f protecting measures to minors.
5. There is a institutional support network for the prevention of recruitment and the strengthening of social networks to resist its occurrence.