Child Protection

Protecting Children and Youth in Colombia

• Situation
• Colombian Government Response
• Canadian Cooperation

Situation

Colombia's 18 million children and adolescents make up about 40 percent of its total population. More than half of them live in poverty, while a quarter live in extreme poverty (surviving on less than $1 a day)


Children and youth account for more than half of Colombia's 3 million internally displaced people-the third highest number in the world. One out of every four guerrilla and paramilitary soldiers is under 18 years of age. Thousands of children in combat zones and cities are killed each year by small arms. Countless others live in dangerous conditions as street children, child labourers, child prostitutes.

The decades-long conflict affecting 75 percent of the country, massacres, landmines, and child recruitment have driven many families from rural areas to urban slums, where they lack adequate housing, jobs, or social services.

Youth without access to basic education or employment are at greater risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of violence. They can be more easily recruited into armed groups, urban gangs, or organized crime, including the illegal drug trade, or forced into commercial sex work.

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Colombian Government Response

The Government of Colombia has taken concrete steps to strengthen child protection. The 2006 Law on Childhood and Adolescence aligns Colombian legislation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Since 2003 the Colombian government has been developing a National Action Plan for Children and Adolescents, which defines goals and strategies to improve living conditions and protect rights over a 10 year period (2007-2016).

Public policies and programs have been prepared at the national, departmental, and municipal levels to promote the rights of children. For example, the Early Childhood Policy seeks to benefit children under the age of 6, while regional and local governments have a strategy to include child protection in their development plans and budgets. The Colombian Family Welfare Institute (spanish only) has programs to assist children and youth on issues such as domestic violence and the reintegration of demobilized young soldiers.

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Canadian Cooperation

Canada is recognized as a world leader in child rights and protection. Canada helped draft the CRC and hosted the first major international conference on war-affected children in Winnipeg in 2000. Since then, Canada has been instrumental in promoting the UN Security Council Resolution 1612 on Children Affected by Armed Conflict.

CIDA uses a child-based approach derived from the CRC. Its strategy for children's rights and protection targets groups threatened by armed conflict, other forms of violence such as sexual exploitation and trafficking, forced labour, HIV/AIDS, and natural disasters. CIDA projects seek to provide social services for vulnerable children, build the capacity of government and civil society organizations to defend child rights, and foster meaningful youth participation in development.

Canada, through CIDA, has been one of the major donors supporting child protection in Colombia. CIDA currently promotes democratic governance through peacebuilding and human rights, with a focus on child rights and protection. Over the past four years, CIDA has allocated $10 million, or about one-third of its bilateral program funding, to projects promoting child protection and rights.

CIDA currently funds several child-related initiatives in Colombia.

• A project with Plan Canada has trained more than 3,000 teenagers to resolve conflict in schools and on the streets, and to build peace in their communities. This project was chosen by UNESCO as an example of a best practice in education.
• Demobilized child soldiers receive vocational training and support through a project with the International Organization for Migration. The project also works with schools and local governments to prevent the recruitment of other youth.
• Two projects with UNICEF help reduce youth recruitment in various areas of the country and strengthen public policies to protect children.
• Children and youth also benefit from other CIDA projects to improve services and security for internally displaced persons, foster community justice and conflict resolution, and reinforce human rights programs in Colombia. One project with the YMCA seeks to prevent at-risk children and youth from leaving home to live on the streets, while another builds skills in citizenship, community development, and peacebuilding.

CIDA-funded projects have increased the participation of children and youth in local decision making, provided social services to at-risk groups, and raised public awareness about child rights and protection. Some projects have also helped strengthen the child-protection policies and programs of local and national government agencies or civil society organizations.

Canada's contribution to child protection is recognized and valued by the Colombian government and donor community. According to Carolina Porras, the Colombian government official in charge of Canadian cooperation, "Canada's projects for children and youth have a unique focus on local participation. Children, youth and other community members identify their own needs, decide what to do, and carry out the activities. These projects really respond to local needs, and are adapted to suit each community."

"CIDA-funded projects also reinforce the priorities and policies of the Colombian government at the local and national levels," she says. "During the development of our National Action Plan for Children, CIDA provided technical assistance that helped us define priority issues and activities. Child protection is a key issue for the Colombian government, so we appreciate Canada's increased support in this area."

From January to June 2007, Canada has been the President of the G24 group of international agencies that work with the Colombian government and civil society on issues such as human rights and peace. "During its presidency, Canada has played a leadership role among donors in promoting child rights and protection," says Ms. Porras. Canada has given these issues a much higher profile on the public policy agenda in Colombia."

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PDF Format

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Conference on War-affected Children (PDF 606 KB, 110 pages)