Strategy underway to prevent the recruitment of minors in Cesar

Within the framework of the International Day of the Red Hands, the National Police of Colombia articulates actions with the entities attached to the Intersectoral Commission for the Prevention of Recruitment by organized armed groups and by organized criminal groups (CIPRUNNA), to prevent the recruitment, use and use of children and adolescents in criminal actions.

For this commemorative date, the Cesar Police Command held a walk in the Carmen de Valledupar neighborhood, with the participation of the El Carmelo Parish School, Municipal Youth Council, Municipal Youth Commission, Social Management Office, ICBF, Government Secretary Municipal, Ministry of Labor, Victims Office and representative of the community action board of the El Carmen neighborhood.

The day began from 20th Street #5c-49 with a tour of the El Carmen neighborhood with the company of all the aforementioned participants, who are guarantors of the rights of children and adolescents. At the end of the activity, the on a mural the thoughts of each of the participants who joined the international day against child recruitment.

The convention on the rights of children and their participation in armed conflicts, states undertake to develop strategies for the prevention of the recruitment of minors and care for the victims of this crime. Colombia, through Law 833 of 2003, approved the optional protocol of the convention on the rights of the child regarding the participation of minors in armed conflicts.

According to the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, 668 boys and girls stated that they had been recruited between 2018 and 2022. Of these reported cases, 25% correspond to 2018, 22% to 2019, 25% to 2020, 20% to 2021 and finally 8% by 2022.

During 2023, the Children and Adolescents Police has reached 160 municipalities, deploying activities of the “Open Your Eyes” program, for the prevention of recruitment and sexual violence against children and adolescents and on the occasion of this day it was launched The strategy ‘Rescuing lives, saving dreams’ is underway, as an immediate action to the occurrence of situations that may violate the rights of children and adolescents, sending a team specialized in violence prevention to different prioritized areas of the country to apply the methodology.

This strategy seeks to raise awareness in the community about the serious harm that the crime of child recruitment can generate, inform about the channels and routes of care, in addition to coordinating with territorial entities for the construction of strategies aimed at its prevention and care.

The deployment of activities by investigators from the line against children and adolescents has allowed the capture of 227 people in the last two years, for the crimes of using minors to commit crimes and illicit recruitment.

During the year 2022, the Childhood and Adolescent Protection Groups carried out 13,323 prevention actions, through the execution of the “Open Your Eyes Program” with 344,031 beneficiaries.

Between 2021 and 2022, the National Police has captured 227 people for crimes of using minors to commit crimes and illicit recruitment.

The National Police invites citizens to report any type of behavior or conduct that may put the rights of children and adolescents at risk to the ICBF hotline 141 or the emergency hotline 141.

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