Social mobilization against military recruitment of girls, boys and teenagers.

The education community of La Dorada, Caldas raised their voices against recruitment. The internal armed conflict in Colombia has had significantly negative effects on civil society, specifically among boys, girls and teenagers from the rural areas.

Girls, boys and teenagers have become victims; on one side because they have been exposed to coercion and internal forced displacement as a result of frequent clashes between guerrillas, paramilitary groups and members of the armed forces; and on the other hand, because they are forced into the conflict and the warfare by being enlisted by the different illegal armed groups. The recruitment of boys and girls on behalf of illegal armed groups has intensified, becoming a serious human rights situation in the country.

Although there are no updated official statistics, UNICEF believes that in Colombia there are close to 15,000 recruited girls and boys, ages 9 thru 16, and that 1 out of 4 irregular combatants are under 18. Under aged combatants are used in the most risky combat actions, such as activating landmines or demining, espionage, servitude and sexual slavery for higher hierarchies in their troops. They are also recruited because they represent an available/disposable human potential prone to manipulation and brainwash, wanting to do dangerous activities without measuring in advance the risks taken.

The main reasons why this human rights situation worsens are related to high degrees of internal domestic violence and sexual abuse, which oblige the kids to flee their homes, as well as the lack of opportunities to go to school given the extreme poverty in such areas, which induce them to prefer becoming soldiers in illegal armed groups. UNICEF revealed that from 3,911 kids and teenagers demobilized with ages between 8 and 18, 15% acknowledged that they were recruited with a gun on their heads, while the 85% left said they went voluntarily.

The recruitment of girls, boys and teenagers happens in close to sixty towns and limiting districts in twenty of the Colombian departments or states. Therefore, the recruitment of underage combatants can only be prevented as a result of a collective action where protection of children must be enforced and acknowledged as the protection of the entire community. In this regard, AC-COLOMBIA complying with its institutional mission has proposed as an alternative to make visible and face such problem, its advocacy program known as “The Social Mobilization Against Recruitment of Girls, Boys and Teenagers” with the sole purpose of involving all the different social, political, economic and institutional pressure groups towards effective preventive actions against recruitment by illegal armed groups.

To implement such program and within the framework of the Project, “Coexistence and Reconciliation: a Social Action Experiment at the city of La Dorada” led by the European Union, the High Presidential Counselor’s Office for Reintegration and “Corporación, Acción Ciudadana-Colombia, AC-Colombia, a first local workshop took place at the Educational Institution, La Dorada, known as “Awareness Raising Day Against the Illegal Recruitment of Girls, Boys and Teenagers”, this past June 4th, 2010.

This major day included the participation of close to 200 local students and teachers from both public and private schools in La Dorada to initiate preventive actions against recruitment as a strategy to reject and avoid such social problem. By the end of the day, participants expressed themselves as in a public declaration which contains 8 main statements.

In such declaration Youth expressed to the public opinion the need to: Inform the entire education community about the risks to which Children and Youth are exposed given their potential recruitment by illegal armed groups. Train Children and Youth in Ethics and Common Values as an effective mechanism to reject eventual recruitment proposals by illegal armed groups. Guide families on the threats, social and legal causes and consequences of recruitment of Children and Youth. Acknowledge that recruitment in La Dorada is of considerable risk. Become well known as a raising advocacy community in prevention against recruitment. Target the mechanisms, leaders and institutions before which reports to the police of recruitment, can be made. Acknowledge and develop community ownership of the fundamental right to live and value of life, family and youth in an attempt to build a life project away from illegal armed groups. Promote permanent education campaigns to raise awareness both among the education community and society in general, on the recruitment social problem.