Informace o publikaci
Prevention and rehabilitation programmes for child victims of recruitment in Colombia.
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2014 |
| Druh | Konferenční abstrakty |
| Fakulta / Pracoviště MU | |
| Citace | |
| Popis | Objective To give an insight into the system of prevention, attention and rehabilitation of the former child soldiers that is funcioning in Colombia, and to identify the institutions responsible for carrying out the programmes in this scope. Introduction The internal armed conflict in Colombia have been affecting the population of this country for more than 50 years. It is impossible to say how many children (under the age of 18) have been recruited and actually take part in different Colombian illegal armed group (the recruitment of children into government armed forces was oficially prohibited in 1999). The estimations differ in various investigations: e.g. the most recent investigation by Natalia Springer (2012) talks about 18 thousand of children, the Human Rights Watch´s estimate is around 11 thousand (2004) and the Public Defender´s report talks about 6 thousand (2002). Methods and Materials Based on the investigation of documents, the international and national legislation applicable to the situation of former child soldiers and reports of Colombian, international and non governmental institutions that attend and work with these children (mainly the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare, the Defender Office, the UNICEF, the Human Rights Watch, reports by Natalia Springer). Discussion Colombia is a democratic, middle income country with strong government that has adopted all of the most important international laws and resolutions related to human rights and welfare of its population in general, and its children in particular. Also national laws, including the Constitution, the Code of Minors and the Law of Victims, are based on the human rights focus. The country has been denouncing the recruitment of children since 1999. The prevention of recruitment and all related programmes are coordinated by a state institution, unique in the world, the Inter-sectoral commission for the prevention of recruitment and the use of children by illegal armed groups created in 2007. The concrete activities are carried out in the most vulnerable and threatened municipalities within three types of strategies: a medium-term early warning focused on municipalities with existing risk factors, a short-term emergency prevention for collective threats and an immediate protection in case of an individual actual danger. Prevention activities are also organized by international organizations and NGOs. Unlike in other conflict-affected countries, in Colombia a government institution named the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF) is the only responisble entity to take care of demobilized children, help them with physical and psychosocial recuperation and with reinsertion into the society. Therefore, all demobilized members of armed groups under the age of 18 have to be sent within the first 36 hours to the ICBF that has subsequent coalitions and contracts with different local institutions and NGOs, but always under the supervision and responsiblitiy of the ICBF. From the beginning of the Specialized Attention Program (launched on November 10, 1999) to September 2013, the total number of 5.330 children and adolescent, former members of illegal armed groups, were attended. There are two types of models of protection: the institutional one and the sociofamiliar one. Those who reach the age of 18 have the possiblity to continue with their reinsertion in the framework of the program held by the Colombian Agency for Reintegration. In spite of the measures introduced, children in Colombia continue to be recruited and the attention provided have had various shortcomings that should be addressed. |