Home
| Databases
| WorldLII
| Search
| Feedback
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED
NATIONS |
|
CRC
|
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/70/Add.5 5 January 2000 ENGLISH Original: SPANISH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Periodic reports of States parties due in 1998
[26 June 1999]
*
For the initial report submitted by the Government of Colombia, see
CRC/C/8/Add.3; for the consideration of the initial report
by the Committee, see
CRC/C/SR.113, 114, 115, 188 and 189.
GE.00-40076 (E)
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. GENERAL 1 -
69 3
A. Diagnosis 1 - 27 3
B. Childcare policies 28 -
55 6
C. Achievements 56 - 69 10
II. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE
CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 70 - 443 12
Articles 2 and 3
71 - 77 12
Article 4 78 - 86 14
Articles 5, 9 and 18 87 -
100 17
Articles 6, 7 and 8 101 - 112 19
Articles 10, 11 and 22 113 -
116 21
Articles 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 117 - 123 21
Articles 17, 29,
30 and 31 124 - 157 23
Article 28 158 - 201 29
Articles 19, 34, 35,
36 and 39 202 - 224 37
Articles 20, 25 and 27 225 - 263 44
Article
21 264 - 269 53
Articles 23, 24 and 26 270 - 289 54
Article 32 290
- 359 63
Article 33 360 - 403 78
Articles 37 and 40 404 -
408 86
Article 38 409 - 433 87
Article 42 434 - 443 91
List
of annexes 96
I. GENERAL
A. Diagnosis
1. In recent decades, Colombia has paid special attention to the development
of children and has taken a number of legislative and
institutional measures
aimed at improving the prevailing conditions of inequity and lack of access to
promotional, preventive and
childcare services.
2. The condition of
children has improved significantly as a result of these measures, which have
included mass vaccination
campaigns,[1] the expansion of
the Community Welfare Homes scheme, the Plan for the Survival and Development of
Children and the Plan for the Universalization
of Basic Primary
Education.
3. Between 1960 and 1992, the mortality rate for children
under five fell from 132 per thousand to 32 per thousand, while
the infant
mortality rate for children under one year of age fell from 82
per thousand to 30 per
thousand.[2]
4. For
primary education, net coverage rose from 50 per cent in 1950 to 85 per cent in
1994. Meanwhile, in the period 1965-1989,
overall malnutrition fell from 21.1
per cent to 10.1 per cent, while chronic malnutrition dropped from
31.9 per cent to 16.6 per
cent and acute malnutrition from 3.9 per cent to 2.9
per cent.
5. Despite these advances, the following indicators applied
when the current presidential term of office began in 1994. In 1995,
it was
established that 41 per cent of the child population, i.e. 5.9 million children,
were below the poverty line and that 15.6
per cent, i.e. 2.2 million, were in a
state of extreme poverty. In many cases, the social risks faced by the child
population were
aggravated by special family circumstances.
6. Poverty
affected 26.7 per cent of households and extreme poverty 10.4 per cent, with
such households averaging 5.4 and 5.9 persons,
respectively, well above the
national average of 4.5 persons per household.
7. Unemployment
rates were also higher in poor households, whose income amounted to barely one
fifth of the income needed to satisfy
basic needs. This means that the children
of poor homes are more exposed to problems of health, disabilities,
malnutrition, lack
of schooling, illtreatment, abandonment and sexual abuse,
with the increased risk that such children begin to live permanently in
the
street and enter into conflict with the law.
8. It was also found that
Colombian families had undergone changes in their structure, functions,
responsibilities, social roles and
values. There was a trend towards smaller
family size, a gradual decline of the extended family, lower fertility, an
increase in
the divorce rate and the number of successive unions, an increasing
number of single-parent families and greater equality between
the
responsibilities and roles of men and women, among others.
9. It was
observed that family structure differed according to regions and subregions,
urban and rural locations, social strata and
ethnic background, so that there is
no single family model, but many types of
families.[3]
10. The child
population continues to face a high risk of death and illness, which is worse in
outlying regions of the country and
in deprived social
groups.[4] It was found that
the main dangers to children’s health were perinatal illnesses, infectious
respiratory and intestinal diseases,
trauma and violence, oral health problems
and disorders of the sensory organs.
11. The Government was particularly
concerned about the frequency of low weight at birth, which was responsible for
38 per cent of
perinatal mortality and almost 50 per cent of child mortality, as
well as for a high rate of accidents among pre-school and school-age
children.
12. It was also observed that the reduction in the average
breastfeeding period[5]
significantly affected the nutritional and immunological state of infants. It
was found that, in infants and preschoolage children,
malnutrition is mainly
related to a calorie and protein deficiency and leads to retarded physical
growth and learning capacity.
The main nutritional effort has traditionally
been directed at this group. Nevertheless, in view of the magnitude and
severity of
nutritional problems in the school-age group, which vary according
to the different geographical
regions,[6] the programmes
benefiting this sector of the population clearly need further support. In
addition, significant nutritional and public
health problems arise from
deficiencies in micronutrients, especially iodine, iron and vitamin
A.
13. Iron deficiency, which is the most common, affects children and
pregnant women. Endemic goitre and cretinism have reappeared
in the country
owing to the marketing of noniodized salt and the lack of any effective system
of supervision and
control.[7]
14. At the
time, the main prevention and nutritional programmes of the Colombian Family
Welfare Institute (ICBF) benefited 1.2 million
children under 7 years of age,
equivalent to 50 per cent of all children in a state of poverty or
extreme poverty, and 1.8 million
children between the ages of 7 and 14, i.e. 66
per cent of the poorest population in that age group.
15. Thanks to its
coverage and focus, the Community Welfare Homes programme is the broadest
ranging of all the government schemes
to help the poorest child population. By
June 1995, the Community Homes were providing the infrastructure for the
protection, care
and nutrition of almost 900,000 children every
year.
16. This programme has had the effect of encouraging women’s
leadership in community organization and participation, while stimulating
the
improvement of housing where the programme is conducted. Nevertheless, the
shortcomings of the welfare homes were notorious.
The daily diet offered only
low calorie content and was lacking in basic nutrients.
17. With regard
to accommodation, 43 per cent of the homes operated in conditions of
overcrowding and 23 per cent in conditions of
critical
overcrowding.[8]
18. It
was also found that, despite efforts to make primary education universal and to
expand the coverage of secondary education,
the objective of universal basic
education, as provided for in the 1991 Constitution, was still far from being
achieved.
19. Pre-school education has remained a privilege of children
belonging to the more favoured social strata and thousands of children
in a
state of poverty have no access to such education, owing to restricted quotas or
a complete absence of opportunities.
20. The most serious problem was the
high drop-out rate among students in the educational system, particularly among
low-income children.
In addition, 2.4 million children and young people between
the ages of 12 and 17 did not attend school at all, educational coverage
being
particularly limited in rural areas and among low income
groups.[9]
21. There has
been a serious shortage of data in the country concerning children in especially
difficult circumstances. Owing to
the low number of complaints and
under-registration, whatever data are available are taken from investigations,
surveys and estimates
made by the various institutions caring for these children
and not from systematic records or regular surveys. It is a known fact,
however, that the rights of millions of children are in serious jeopardy.
Thousands of them are ill-treated, abandoned or obliged
to live in the street
and to work.
22. In 1991, 25,000 deaths of children under 18 were
recorded, 37 per cent of which involved
violence.[10] In 1992, an
estimated 2 million children were ill-treated (850,000
severely),[1] while, in 1993,
the National Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences Institute recorded a daily
average of 18.2 personal injuries,
five cases of sexual abuse and five
post-mortem examinations among children under 18. That same year, the Survey on
Mental Health
and Consumption of Psychoactive
Substances[1] showed a 15 per
cent occurrence of child ill-treatment.
23. In 1993, ICBF took care of
35,000 children classified as being abandoned or at risk (foundlings, abandoned,
ill-treated, exploited
and/or disabled). It was estimated that, in 1995, there
may have been 15,000 street children and that 60 per cent of those moving
around
the cities had no alternative to street living.
24. According to 1994
studies on child labour,[13]
it was estimated that 1 million children under the age of 14 were working, as
were almost 2 million children between the ages of
12 and 17. The informal
economy accounted for 80 per cent of those children’s activities, while
many were performing high-risk
tasks. In 1994, the Ministry of Labour and
Social Security issued 25,572 work permits to children aged between 12 and 17;
this implies
that only 1.2 per cent of all the children involved were
offered minimum guarantees and working conditions.
25. Many children
have to face the consequences of political violence. In 1994, it was estimated
that there were around 108,000 families
displaced as a result of violence, which
included 169,000 children between the ages of 1 and 10 and 200,000 children
between the
ages of 11 and
20.[14]
26. According
to the 1993 National Population Census, 593,546 persons were suffering some form
of disability, including 240,912 children
under the age of 18, i.e. 40.6 per
cent of the total.[15]
27. Since 1992, ICBF has been responsible for the protection and care of
children between the ages of 12 and 18 in conflict with the
law.[16] In 1993, out of the
19,251 children appearing in court on charges of criminal offences, 13,616
were taken care of in open institutions
and programmes. The remainder were sent
back to their families, after a warning to the parents or legal representatives
or the imposition
of various restrictions on the young person’s behaviour.
The survey identified 32,400 active court cases involving children
under 18 as
either principal offenders or
participants.[17]
B. Childcare policies
28. As soon as it was informed of the critical diagnosis concerning children,
the Government of President Ernesto Samper submitted
the programme El Tiempo
de los Niños (Time for Children) for the consideration and approval
of the National Council for Economic and Social Policy
(CONPES).[18] This programme
sets out the Government’s childcare policy, designed especially to help
children in a state of poverty or in
especially difficult circumstances, with a
view to improving their quality of life and effectively guaranteeing their
rights to survival,
protection, development and participation.
29. The
programme El Tiempo de los Niños was developed within the
framework of the present Government’s development plan El Salto
Social (The Social Leap). This broader programme is an attempt to
consolidate the upheaval recently experienced by the country and to ensure
that
it leads in the end to a more peaceful and equitable society, united in a
process of dynamic and sustainable economic development,
whose final objective
is to shape a new type of economically more productive Colombian citizen, one
who is socially more aware, who
is politically more willing to participate and
tolerant, who is more respectful of human rights and, as a result, more peaceful
in
his or her relations with other citizens, conscious and protective of nature
and proud of belonging to Colombia.
30. It was assumed that childcare
policies implied the need for intersectoral development, involving not only
State institutions,
but also local authorities, nongovernmental organizations
and civil society, in an attempt to strengthen the family and community
structures of the most deprived population groups, while trying to ensure that
poverty is not “handed down from one generation
to the next”.
31. The 1991 Constitution established the principle of joint
responsibility by the State, society and the family for protecting the rights of
the child. At
the same time, it established a process of decentralization,
aimed at bringing the political and administrative power of the State
closer to
the population.
32. In the light of these developments, the Government
took the following measures: it completed the Children’s Covenant; it
gave priority to the human rights of children, with special emphasis on those of
children affected by the armed conflict; it created
the Office of the Juvenile
Judge; and it tackled the problem of child labour, the difficult situation of
street children and the
problems related to child traffic and exploitation.
Similarly, following up an earlier commitment, it convened the Regional Summit
for Latin American and Caribbean Children, which was held in the city of
Cartagena from 28 February to 4 March 1998.
Children’s Covenant
33. As part of the policy set out in El
Tiempo de los Niños, the Government launched the Children’s
Covenant as a planning strategy and a key element of its social policy in favour
of
children. The Covenant involves the active and committed participation of
central, regional and local government agencies, non-governmental
organizations,
private enterprises and other organizations working for child welfare, as well
as the community and social institutions
in general.
34. The
Children’s Covenant aims at an overall improvement in the living
conditions of children starting from three basic principles
or
approaches:
The introduction of cultural change through public awareness, knowledge and training in the rights of children;
The creation of new bodies by the Government, which, like the Office of the Juvenile Judge, watch over the fulfilment of children’s rights in all State institutions; the Office should ensure that children’s rights are given precedence in all actions and programmes undertaken by the Government;
The development of Plans of Action in Favour of Children (PAFI) at the national, departmental and municipal levels, in support of investment and programming efforts guaranteeing the durability and continuity of childhood programmes.
The human rights of children
35. The protection of children’s human
rights is part of the overall human rights policy pursued by the Government, in
close
connection with the programme El Tiempo de los
Niños.
36. As part of the same policy, other measures have
been taken, such as setting out a legal framework for the protection of human
rights and rights of the child, based on stronger cooperation with
intergovernmental human rights organizations and on the fulfilment
of
commitments Colombia has assumed under the covenants and treaties it has
signed.
Children affected by the armed conflict
37. In view of the situation of children
affected by the armed conflict, the Government has given top priority to
humanizing the conflict
and to seeking humanitarian agreements with immediate
effect to release children from the fighting and save them from becoming war
victims.
38. A number of institutions involved in child welfare helped to
set up the Vocational Care and Training Programme as part of the
development of
a special basic and intermediate education programme and they implemented the
Resettlement Programme, both intended
for children under the age of 18 detached
from the conflict.
39. Special care has also been given to children
injured by anti-personnel mines, those displaced by internal violence and
victims
of abduction.
Office of the Juvenile Judge
40. In the pursuit of its policies, the
Government has established the Office of the Juvenile Judge in order to
guarantee the fulfilment
of commitments undertaken for the benefit of children,
as well as to protect the rights of children and to apply them in practice,
in
accordance with the Constitution, the Juvenile Code and the international
treaties ratified by Colombia.
Child workers
41. In 1995, the Government set out its National
Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour and Protection of Young
Workers,
the main objective of which is to prevent early entry into the labour
market.
42. The scheme includes measures of three kinds: prevention of
early child labour, rescue of children who are economically exploited
or engaged
in activities making it difficult for them to attend school or impeding their
development and the provision of temporary
assistance to ensure that, during
their separation from the labour market and the improvement of their living
conditions, the children
receive sufficient support to guarantee the exercise of
their other rights.
Street children
43. In order to deal with the situation of
street children, the Plan of Action for the Prevention and Care of Street
Children and
Adolescents has been launched with a view to creating greater
awareness and participation by institutions and society in general.
44. In addition, on the basis of the model sponsored by the World Health
Organization, the Office of the First Lady has been developing
the project
entitled “Analysis and improvement of the living conditions of street
children”.
Traffic in and exploitation of children
45. With regard to the traffic in children, the
Government has set up the Inter-Agency Committee to Combat the Traffic in Women
and
Children. The objectives of this Committee are: to review the policies
implemented to combat this type of traffic and to propose
the adoption of
programmes and measures to prevent it and to prosecute the sexual exploitation
and abuse of and traffic in women
and children; to recommend whatever actions,
agreements or treaties are required to strengthen international cooperation in
the fight
against the traffic in women and children; to coordinate the
development and introduction of an information and data processing system
concerning the activities and movements of national and international criminal
networks; and to propose the use of dissemination
mechanisms with a view to
preventing crimes connected with the traffic in women and children.
Regional Summit for Latin American and Caribbean Children
46. Colombia convened the Regional Summit for
Latin American and Caribbean Children pursuant to the commitment it made at the
International
Forum on the Rights of the Child, held in Paris in 1995, to
promote actions in favour of children’s rights in the region.
The meeting
considered the four most acute problems connected with the situation of
children: violence within the family, the eradication
of child labour, the
sexual exploitation of children and children in armed conflict.
47. The
Summit was attended by the First Ladies of the region and was supported by
several international organizations involved in
child welfare work, such as
UNICEF, UNESCO, ILO, IDB, INTERPOL and OAS, through the Inter-American
Children’s Institute. It
was also supported by the Fondation pour
l’enfance.
48. In view of the magnitude of each of these problems
in the various countries, the Summit sought to devise a plan of action to deal
with them responsibly, as required by the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
49. The Summit agreed on the need to establish diagnoses as a
guide for policies, programmes and actions; and to intensify the exchange
of
successful attempts at intervention through horizontal cooperation in order to
ensure that international information exchanges
facilitate judicial proceedings
and the drafting of stricter international legislation.
50. The First
Ladies signed an undertaking in which they emphasized the need to apply the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, commitments
already made, declarations,
resolutions and agreements, and the need to take national, bilateral and
multilateral measures wherever
necessary to prevent any aggravation of problems
affecting children. In their undertaking, they agreed to foster cooperation
between
States and civil society in order to combat these problems and to
strengthen the role of the family in the protection of childhood;
to promote
development measures and the management of projects aimed at comprehensive care;
to support the development of national
legislation; to promote coordination
between government institutions and civil organizations; and to continue to
support the development
of policies for the elimination of poverty, improving
the quality of life, improving education and health systems and supporting
families in their productive and reproductive tasks.
Colombian Family
Welfare Institute (ICBF)
51. In addition to the above programmes,
ICBF, an organization working for the protection and harmonious development of
the family,
the protection of children and the guarantee of children’s
rights, put forward a series of policies for the period 1994-1998,
the
development and implementation of which the Committee may evaluate in this
report.
52. Where children are concerned, all these policies have
followed a holistic approach, starting from the recognition of the family
as an
all-embracing concept and of the local authority as the agent of social policy
and participation by civil society. The policies
are being developed through
three major investment programmes, set out in El Salto Social as
follows:
Mobilization for children;
Protection, development and
well-being of children;
Special programmes for children in irregular
situations.
Objectives of the policy on
children’s issues
53. The following are the objectives of the
policy on children’s issues:
To contribute to the comprehensive development of the poorest and most vulnerable children by bringing them within the purview of the principal nutrition, health and education programmes and encouraging families and the community to take responsibility for and become involved in activities aimed at children’s welfare;
To improve the quality of existing services for the poorest children through decentralization and the establishment of effective partnerships with non-governmental organizations and civil society;
To bring about changes in the attitudes and practices of individuals,
families and institutions, aimed at prevention and care in cases
of the
ill-treatment, abandonment, abuse and sexual exploitation of children, the
eradication of dangerous work for children and
the discouragement of child
labour in general and the integration of street children into family or
community structures;
To create a child-friendly culture which recognizes the differences and
diversity of the youngest members of the population and involves
the family,
State and different sectors of society in their survival, development,
protection and participation in order to meet
their basic needs, help them
attain full and harmonious development and ensure that they achieve their
maximum potential.
54. In pursuance of the objectives of the El Salto
Social, the Children’s Covenant was designed as a joint working
strategy for Government institutions, society and the family in a
series of
participatory processes intended to guarantee children’s well-being. The
Covenant basically combines the will of
the Government and civil society, the
technical formulation of plans of action, the coordination of publicly and
privately sponsored
children’s programmes and the introduction of
follow-up and monitoring systems to ensure that children's rights are enforced,
within the framework of the Government's social policy.
55. The goal is
to raise society's awareness of the conditions under which children live;
confirm and stimulate the commitment of
the State, society and the family to
improving those conditions; promote planning processes aimed at achieving
objectives through
coordinated actions among the sectors involved; and
contribute to children's comprehensive development.
C. Achievements
56. The Government's policies, backed by a significant financial effort, have
led to fundamental achievements - as will be seen throughout
the report - of
which the following are worthy of mention.
57. The political decision to
give priority to social spending, as reflected by the increase in investment in
this sector, led to
the reduction of the size of the population with unmet basic
needs, from 32.7 per cent to 27 per cent in 1997 (1.4 million fewer
poor people
with unmet basic needs). It also reflected a greater share of spending on this
group within the social spending category
of the national budget, equivalent to
49 per cent. This increase in investment can also be seen in the progress
achieved in providing
services to children in the last four
years.
58. During this four-year period, the share of child-related items
in the social budget was 17 per cent, equivalent to Col$ 1.3 billion.
The budgetary shares of the most representative programmes were as follows
during this period: Welfare Homes, 61 per cent, protection
and development of
children, 16 per cent, and children in an irregular situation, 12.4 per
cent.
59. Most of the programmes described above are the responsibility
of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, whose services were expanded
in the
last four years to cover 6.8 million users, representing 76.2 per cent of
children under 7, and 83.7 per cent of children
7 to 18, requiring assistance.
It should be noted that the coverage of protection programmes has been expanded
substantially as
a result of improvements in identifying users.
60. The
share of the national budget allocated to education increased by
178 per cent during the period 1994-1998; it rose from Col$
2.01 billion in 1994 to Col$ 5.6 billion in 1998, for an average
share of 20.2 per cent in the total national budget. The share
of education
spending in GDP during this period rose by 0.87 per cent, from 3.48 per cent to
4.35 per cent. These financial efforts
led to significant achievements both in
the expansion of coverage and the improvement of educational
quality.
61. In the last four years, educational opportunities were
expanded to cover more than 1,700,000 children and young people. Of these
places, approximately 1,120,000 are the result of efforts by the Government and
slightly more than 580,000 were due to efforts by
private, partially
State-subsidized educational establishments.
62. As will be observed in
more detail, educational coverage has increased as follows: from 1993 to
1997, the rate of primary school
promotion for the nation as a whole rose
from 81.8 per cent to 83.5 per cent, while the rate of secondary
school promotion rose from
78.5 per cent to 84.2 per
cent.
63. The total national drop-out rate for both the primary and
secondary levels for the period 1993-1997 decreased from 7.4 per cent
to
6.4 per cent and from 7.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent, respectively. The
repeat rate evolved similarly: the national rate for the
primary level dropped
from 10.8 per cent to 10.0 per cent and, for the secondary level, from 14.5 per
cent to 12.8 per cent.
64. Significant achievements were also made
in eradicating child labour, both in removing children from the labour sector
and shortening
workdays for those who continue to work, and in dealing with
specific sectors which are especially critical because of their dangerous
working conditions.
65. As will be seen in more detail, from 1992 to 1996, the specific
labour-force participation rate for young people from 14 to 17
years of age in
the traditional labour sector dropped from 31.2 per cent to 25.9
per cent, or 17 per cent, while the specific rate
for young people
12 to 13 years of age dropped from 12.8 per cent in 1992 to
9.9 per cent in 1996, or 22.7 per cent.
66. With regard to
the workday, the 38-hour work week of young men 12 to 13 years of age
in 1992 dropped to 32 in 1996 and from 39
to 36 for women in the same age
group. For young workers in older age groups, there were also decreases in
labour intensity for
most of the groups observed. For young women 14 to 15
years of age, for example, the number of hours worked per week dropped from
44.6 to 39.8.
67. The Government of Colombia has paid special attention
to the situation of children working in coalmines. A programme conducted
jointly by Ecocarbón and the Ministry of Mines and Energy has so far
succeeded in removing 753 of the 1,124 young people working
in this sector, or
67 per cent, and providing them with alternative training and their families
with financial support. The objective
of the programme is to remove all
children from such activities by 1999.
68. Concerning nutrition,
although the consolidated figures for 1998 are not yet available, it can be said
that, from 1989 to 1995,
malnutrition among children decreased as follows:
overall malnutrition: 1989: 10.10 per cent; 1995: 8.4 per cent; chronic
malnutrition:
1989: 16.6 per cent; 1995: 15.0 per cent;
acute malnutrition: 1989: 2.9 per cent;
1995: 1.4 per cent.
69. The indicators concerning
the eradication of violence against children are also favourable. In 1991, the
child abuse index was
15 per cent; the figure for 1996 decreased to
5.36 per cent. In 1991, 37 per cent of deaths of children under 18 years
of age were
due to violence and, in 1995, 12.62 per cent of deaths among
children from 5 to 14 years of age were due to violence and 18.82 per
cent to
accidents.
II. PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE CONVENTION
ON
THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
70. This chapter describes the activities carried
out by the Government to promote and ensure the well-being of Colombian children
and make progress towards the full implementation of the rights set forth in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Articles 2 and 3
Respect for the rights of the child,
implementation of the Convention without
distinction of any kind and
protection and welfare of children
71. For
information concerning respect for the rights provided for in the Convention on
the prohibition of any form of discrimination
and the obligation to take account
of the best interests of the child in all circumstances, the Committee is
referred to the first
periodic report of Colombia to the Committee on the Rights
of the Child, submitted in 1993.
72. All Government action must take place on
the basis of the constitutional provision which stipulates that “the
rights of
children shall take precedence over the rights of others”, a
constitutional directive which has been incorporated into the
Juvenile Code,
article 20 of which states:
“Individuals and public and private bodies conducting programmes or
having responsibility in the area of children’s affairs
shall ensure that
the best interests of the child are given priority over any other
consideration.”
73. Colombia’s legal order stipulates that
parents are responsible for the rearing, education and personal care of their
children
and for guaranteeing their full and harmonious development. If parents
or guardians should fail to meet these obligations, the Colombian
Family Welfare
Institute (ICBF) initially provides consultancy, guidance, counselling,
conciliation and protection services, through
the Family Ombudsmen. It does so
through its zonal centres (of which there are a total of 203) located in the 33
regions into which
the country has been divided for this
purpose.
74. When parents or others responsible for children fail
permanently or temporarily to fulfil their obligations, the State provides
protection through ICBF in the form of programmes in institutional settings,
family settings and open settings.
75. ICBF provides care for all those
under its coverage, through a programme entitled “prevention
project”. The project’s
main objective is to help improve the
living conditions of children, young people and families by carrying out
comprehensive activities
of a preventive nature and ensuring active
participation by users, sound community organization and the strengthening of
the self-management
process. The children’s programmes sponsored by the
prevention project in the last four years have primarily been aimed at
socio-economically vulnerable population sectors, as follows:
Participants in the prevention project
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|
Supplementary care for schoolchildren and adolescents
|
2 038 795
|
2 115 103
|
2 062 897
|
2 582 183
|
Protection of children through Community Welfare Homes
|
1 289 190
|
1 291 605
|
1 322 850
|
1 418 220
|
Nutritional activities for mothers and children
|
287 283
|
299 111
|
293 191
|
275 746
|
Protection of children under seven
|
174 904
|
177 674
|
173 952
|
163 342
|
Distribution of food vouchers for pre-school-age children
|
0
|
82 812
|
85 310
|
86 420
|
Comprehensive assistance for young people through youth clubs
|
0
|
12 675
|
35 455
|
41 295
|
TOTAL
|
3 790 172
|
3 978 980
|
3 973 655
|
4 567 206
|
76. To ensure that institutions, services and establishments responsible
for the care and protection of children meet the required
quality standards, a
selection and contracting process was introduced in 1997 for institutions
providing the Government with protection
services for an initial two-year
period; this made it possible to select the institutions which meet the highest
standards in terms
of technical, financial and human resources, basic services
and physical plant in order to guarantee appropriate services for meeting
the
needs identified. A clear and precise instrument is currently being drafted to
be used in monitoring the institutions contracted
through the public bidding and
contracting process.
77. Contracts have also been concluded with the
Antonio Restrepo Barco Foundation, cofunded by UNICEF, to define “quality
and
optimization standards for the process of the protection of children and
adolescents” and ensure continuity for the process
of
“selfassessment and strengthening of protection and rehabilitation
institutions”. They are an effective means of
formulating clear
objectives for the institutional protection of the rights of the child.
Article 4
Legislative, administrative and other measures for
the implementation
of the rights of children
78. In
accordance with the 1991 Constitution and the current Government’s
policies, the legal and institutional framework for services to children has
been expanded since
the preceding report, information on which is provided below
in order to facilitate the Committee’s consideration of this
report.
79. In the legal sphere, the following steps have been
taken:
(a) Act No. 173 of 1994, by which Colombia acceded to the Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
A draft
legislative decree was prepared and is currently being processed, designed to
obtain greater cooperation from both the judicial
and administrative
authorities; it defines mandatory time limits, jurisdiction, functions and
procedural aspects, with a view to
ensuring the proper implementation of the
Convention.
(b) ICBF also took decision No. 1399 of 18 May 1998
establishing the internal procedure for the implementation of the Hague
Convention
on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and designed an
application form under the Convention for users when acting
as requested
authority.
(c) Act No. 294 of 16 July 1996 relating to domestic
violence. Its purpose is to give effect to article 4, paragraph 5, of the
Constitution by providing comprehensive treatment for domestic violence in all
its forms in an effort to ensure harmony and unity within the family.
It
establishes a procedure enabling the victim or any other individual to apply to
a family judge for a protection measure. The
procedure in question is brief and
effective and provides for measures designed to protect abused families. New
criminal offences
have also been defined, as follows:
Article 22:
physical or psychological intra-family abuse not constituting another
offence;
Article 23: aggravated personal injury;
Article 24:
ill-treatment through restriction of liberty;
Article 25: sexual
violence between spouses;
Articles 26 and 27: aggravating
circumstances.
The Act entrusts the Colombian Family Welfare Institute
with the designing of policies, plans and programmes to prevent and eradicate
domestic violence.
(d) Act No. 311 of 12 August 1996 “establishing
the National Family Protection Register and enacting other provisions”.
The National Family Protection Register is a list which is to include the names
and respective identity and residence papers, if
known, of anyone who, without
just cause, avoids meeting his legal obligation to provide maintenance for his
minor children and adult
children so entitled because of special circumstances,
i.e. they are students or are physically or mentally disabled.
(e) Act
No. 375 of 4 July 1997 or Children’s Act. Its purpose is to establish an
institutional framework and guidance for
policies, plans and programmes
sponsored by the State and civil society on behalf of children. For the
purposes of the Act, young
people are defined as all individuals between the
ages of 14 and 26.
(f) Act No. 361 of 1997 establishing mechanisms for
the social integration of persons with limitations. The principles on which
it
is based are contained in articles 13, 47, 54 and 68 of the
Constitution. It recognizes the right of persons with severe and extensive
limitations to assistance and protection, in view of the dignity to
which they
are entitled. In implementing the Act, ICBF has worked on projects in 23
regions and nine agencies, including the 204
zonal centres throughout the
country.
(g) Act No. 418 of 1997, which embodies principles for life in
society. It contains articles covering admission to mandatory military
service
at the end of secondary school, as stipulated by Colombian legislation in Act
No. 48 of 1993.
(h) Presidential Decree No. 859, which establishes the
Inter-Agency Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection
of
Young Workers.
(i) Decision of the Board of Directors of the
Asociación Nacional de Industriales (ANDI), which sets forth rules of
behaviour
for its members aimed at preventing and eradicating work by children
and young people.
(j) Decision No. 0061 of 30 May 1997 by the Office of
the Procurator-General of the Nation designating departmental juvenile and
family procurators and municipal representatives as juvenile judges.
80. The following new agencies have been added to the institutional
framework:
(a) Office of the Juvenile Judge. Colombia is the
first country to have created this Office, which is designed to act as a
government agency on behalf of the Government
to ensure, on a preventive basis,
that every government programme or activity fulfils its commitments towards
children, protects
them and gives priority to their rights, as stipulated in the
Constitution, the Juvenile Code and the international covenants ratified by
Colombia. The duties of the Office of the Juvenile Judge are: to
raise the
awareness of State agencies in finding ways to improve children’s welfare;
and ensure that this policy guides all
government plans, programmes and projects
in meeting their objectives. The Office of the Juvenile Judge is also
responsible for
identifying, coordinating and enhancing the effectiveness of
activities and information relating to achievements and shortcomings
in carrying
out work on behalf of children and working towards a consensus on granting
priority to children’s services. Lastly,
it is responsible for
identifying the rights most often violated, for the purpose of reordering
priorities in children’s programmes.
There are now juvenile judges in all
departments of the country and these functions are also performed by the heads
of departmental
planning divisions and legal offices. The Colombian Family
Welfare Institute also includes a juvenile judge in each and every one
of its
regional offices.
(b) Office of the Local Attorney for the Rights of
Children, Young People, Women and the Elderly. This is a new institutional
body which is responsible for carrying out activities to promote and defend
human rights; it is attached
to the Ombudsman’s
Office.
(c) National System for the Follow-up and Monitoring of
Children’s Rights. In coordination with the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Ombudsman’s Office and the Higher
Education Foundation
(FES), an inter-agency working agreement for promoting,
disseminating, monitoring and exercising the human rights of Colombian children
was established in 1992. The follow-up and monitoring system provides the
Ombudsman’s Office with timely and reliably attested
local, regional and
national information on the enforcement of children’s rights and enables
it to make recommendations to
the authorities and individuals, conduct research
of a socio-legal and technical nature and develop policies for the protection of
children’s rights. Four pamphlets have been issued on the results of the
research.
(d) National System of Action to Combat Child Abuse.
The System was established in late 1997 under the coordination of the Office of
the Presidential Adviser for Social Policy. It
seeks to meet existing
challenges by establishing an inter-agency coordination system comprising bodies
with national coverage and
competence in working on behalf of children. It also
seeks to build a unified information system on cases of child abuse in Colombia
and to review existing legislation and streamline and adapt the administrative
process for the reporting and treatment of cases.
(e) Inter-Agency
Committee to Combat the Traffic in Women and Children. Established by
Decree No. 1974 of 31 October 1996, the Committee’s task is to review
policies and propose programmes and
measures to prevent and punish offences
relating to the traffic in women and children. It recommends action to be taken
and agreements
or treaties to be adopted to strengthen international cooperation
in this area.
81. Its activities have made it possible to build
international support networks at the policy level and establish a methodology
for
organizing a database on the cases investigated, raise the awareness of the
public, public officials and the authorities of these
offences and of Act
No. 360, which expands the penalties for committing them, improve treatment
systems for victims through the establishment
of direct lines and conduct
support workshops for the victims of sex offences.
82. The
Committee’s management was able to streamline the legislative process for
the adoption of four related agreements and
expedite the preparation of
explanatory introductions to three bills adopting three other
agreements.
83. The Committee suggested that the Hemispheric Action Plan
proposed by Colombia at the Summit of the Americas should be adopted
and that
the Latin American countries should vote as a bloc to adopt the draft
International Convention against the Smuggling of
Illegal Migrants in the
United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice.
84. It has designed two pamphlets on preventing, halting and
punishing the traffic in persons and is planning the preparation of a
third.
85. The national education budget increased by 178 per cent during
the period 1994-1998, rising from Col$ 2.01 billion in 1994 to
Col$ 5.6 billion
in 1998, for an average share of 20.2 per cent in the overall
national budget
86. The share of education spending in GDP during this
period rose by 0.87 per cent, from 3.48 per cent to 4.35 per cent.
Articles 5, 9 and 18
Rights and duties of parents
87. With regard to the
rights, duties and obligations of parents under the Colombian constitutional and
legal system, the Committee
is referred to Colombia’s first report,
submitted in 1993. Concerning other forms of extended and community-based
families,
see Colombia’s eighth and ninth reports on measures taken to
eliminate racial discrimination, submitted on 15 June
1998.
88. In addition to its work with families in crisis and at risk,
which will be described below, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute
has an
extensive outreach programme of activities which are designed to protect and
strengthen the family and which convey outspoken
messages with educational and
awarenessraising content, based on a humanrights and genderequality approach, by
means of large-scale
media campaigns and alternative means of communication at
the national, regional and local levels in order to help strengthen the
family
and Colombian society as a whole.
89. Article 44 of the Constitution
states that one of the fundamental rights of the child is the right to have a
family and not be separated from it. The Constitutional
Court has endeavoured
to make this right effective by upholding it in its case law.
90. The
Juvenile Code states that children should be cared for by their family,
relatives, guardians or representatives, but that,
when the latter are unable to
fulfil this obligation, the State may assume responsibility in their
place.
91. Part VI of Colombia’s first report, “Family
environment and alternative care”, discussed aspects relating to
the
presence of the parents, parental responsibilities, separation from parents,
family reunification when separation from parents
has occurred, lack of family
environment, etc.
92. In order to ensure that parents fulfil their
obligations satisfactorily, ICBF carries out preventive and support activities
based
on training or family life, schools for parents, strengthening of values
and information campaigns on the rights and duties of parents.
93. If the
parents fail to fulfil their obligations, ICBF, through the Family Ombudsmen,
takes extrajudicial action to resolve difficulties
through conciliation; where
agreement cannot be reached, ICBF, acting in the best interests of the child,
institutes civil proceedings
in the family courts or family courts of mixed
jurisdiction.
94. In cases of failure to fulfil obligations, the State,
through ICBF, acts to protect children by taking protective measures in
accordance with Part One, articles 29 to 128, of the Juvenile
Code.
95. If children are separated from their parents, ICBF assumes
responsibility for their protection.
96. With regard to family
reunification, Title V, articles 337 to 348, of the Juvenile Code, as reproduced
in the initial report,
contain information on permission for minors to leave the
country. The provisions in question ensure that minors are always accompanied
by persons authorized to do so.
97. ICBF is also responsible for the
protection of children abroad, in cooperation with Colombia’s embassies
and consulates
abroad, as stated in article 328 of the Juvenile
Code.
98. In cases where the child’s separation from his parents is
due to irregular situations - such as abandonment; temporary or
permanent
absence or moral or mental incapacity of persons having legal responsibility for
him; failure, within a reasonable time,
to collect the child from a hospital or
other institution to which the child has been admitted; sexual abuse or physical
illtreatment;
evidence of serious problems of behaviour or social maladjustment;
or the existence of serious friction between the parents which
threaten the
child’s mental or physical health - ICBF, through the Family Ombudsman of
the place where the minor is living,
must report the irregular or dangerous
situation and assume responsibility for the minor’s immediate
protection.
99. The Family Ombudsman institutes the protection procedure
and recommends measures for each case, as follows:
Preventive measures or a warning to the parents or to the persons responsible for the child;
Placement of the child in the custody or in the personal care of the nearest relative who is in a position to assume this responsibility;
Family placement;
Full care in a Special Protection Centre;
Institution of proceedings for the adoption of the child if the latter has been declared to be abandoned (this is the only measure which may not be called for in the order initiating the inquiry).
100. Article 42 of the Constitution embodies the guiding principles
concerning Colombian families, one of the basic tenets of which is equality of
rights and duties.
Articles 250 et seq. of the
Civil Code contain the provisions relating to rights and obligations
between parents and children and equal rights and duties
between parents.
Articles 133 et seq. of the Juvenile Code refer to
maintenance obligations towards children under 18 years of age.
Failure to provide maintenance was
raised to the rank of an offence
(Penal Code, art. 263).
Articles 6, 7 and 8
Rights of the child to
life, nationality and identity
101. The measures of protection of the inherent right to life and the rights
to an identity, a nationality and family relations provided
for by the
Constitution and the Colombian legal system were described in the initial report
submitted to the Committee.
102. The protection of the right of the
child to life is a constant concern of the Government and involves a commitment
to safeguard
the country’s future and one of its most valuable assets.
The Government has therefore endeavoured to ensure that everyone
throughout
Colombian territory has the possibility of a full life.
103. This was a
key aspect of the adoption of the policy defined in El Tiempo de los
Niños and, consequently, assistance to and the protection of children
and their lives were carried out through the Comprehensive Human
Rights Policy
and the Children’s Covenant.
104. These projects, to which
reference has already been made, cover all activities to guarantee the right of
children to life and
protection.
105. This right is provided for in
programmes relating to the exclusion of minors from armed conflict and to care
and support for
those who break away from irregular armed groups, as well as for
victims, displaced children, street children and child victims of
kidnapping and
the traffic in persons.
106. It is also a key element of the programmes that the Government has set
in motion in connection with health (prevention of teenage
pregnancies,
prevention of disease, improvement of living conditions), security (programme
for the elimination of child labour) and
education (better knowledge of
children’s rights, raising awareness of the importance of respecting
children’s rights).
107. The national civil registry and identity
card campaign was carried out in 1997 with a view to improving the protection of
the
right of the child to be registered immediately after birth and to have a
name, an identity and a nationality. This programme reached
the remotest
communities in the country. A second campaign that is now being carried out
will cover indigenous children born as
of January 1998.
108. By carrying
out these campaigns, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute is trying to
increase the number of birth registrations.
A birth certificate is regarded as
a vital document because it enables minors without civil registration to have a
legal identity.
109. With UNICEF’s support, the National Civil
Registry Office published a handbook for the registration of indigenous minors.
This campaign was extended to the border area with Ecuador, where a handbook
published with the support of UNICEF and ICBF was distributed
in Colombia and
with the National Children’s and Family Institute and the National Civil
Registry Office, in Ecuador.
110. As part of the plan being implemented
by the National Administrative Department for Statistics (DANE), to modernize
the civil
registry and vital statistics system, the National Civil Registry
Office, the Notary and Registration Monitoring Office and the Ministry
of Health
prepared new background information formats for live birth and death
certificates, the documents required for the registration
of births and deaths.
Efforts are thus being made to standardize medical certificates and halt
identity document forgery and falsification.
111. With regard to the
right of the child to know and be cared for by his parents, procedures have been
worked out for determining
paternity and maternity in cases where parents have
not assumed responsibility for their children. Genetic DNA paternity tests are
thus being used throughout the country, which has been divided into
macro-regions.
112. The Atlantic Coast region covers the departments of
Guajira, San Andrés, Atlántico, Bolívar, Cesar,
Córdoba
and Sucre, through a contract concluded by ICBF and laboratories
belonging to non-profit public sector entities, such as the University
of
Cartagena. Antioquia and Chocó are covered by the University of
Antioquia; the University del Valle laboratory covers
Valle del Cauca. The
University Sur Colombiana covers Huila, Tolima and Caquetá. The
departments of Boyacá, Norte
de Santander, Santander and Casanare are
covered by the Industrial University of Santander. The National Forensic
Medicine and Forensic
Sciences Institute covers the Capital District and the
department of Cundinamarca. Cauca, Nariño and Putumayo are covered
by
the University of Cauca and Pereira Technological University covers the
departments of Risaralda, Quindío and Caldas.
ICBF is updating,
monitoring and evaluating the scientific practices involved in such tests.
Articles 10, 11 and 22
Family reunification, illicit transfer and refugees
113. As indicated in
the preceding report, Colombian legislation adequately regulates permits issued
to allow minors aged under 18
to leave the country, in accordance with the
provisions of the Juvenile Code and, in particular, articles 337
and 338, which state
that the Family Ombudsman grants permits to leave the
country to children whose circumstances so require (Juvenile
Code, arts. 337
et seq.).
114. Colombia is a
party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction of 25 October 1980, which was
ratified by Act No. 173 of
1994 and entered into force in the country on 1 March 1996.
115. As
a party to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of
Refugees, Colombia is committed to guaranteeing
and safeguarding rights which
relate to the protection of refugees, including minors.
116. The Advisory
Committee for the Determination of Refugee Status was set up in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to handle asylum
and refugee status applications.
Since 1993, the Committee has granted asylum to 75 persons who are
nationals of various countries.
Articles 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16
Freedom of opinion, expression, thought, conscience, religion and association
117. The constitutional
and legal provisions which guarantee the rights to freedom of expression,
thought, conscience, religion and
association and the right to privacy are
referred to in the initial report of Colombia to the
Committee.
118. Colombia’s ninth and tenth periodic reports on
measures adopted for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination,
which contain further information in this regard, are also being made available
to the Committee.
119. With regard to the realization of the right of
children to freedom of thought, it was pointed out in the initial report that
this is one of the least recognized rights in the Colombian cultural context
because, in many cases, the child is regarded not as
someone capable of
interpreting the world and his experiences on his own knowledge, but, rather, as
being subject to the views and
approaches of his parents, relatives and the
other adults around him. Through its agencies, the Government has therefore
been waging
a broad media campaign to increase awareness of this problem, on the
basis of article 10 of the Juvenile Code, which is reproduced
in the
preceding report.
120. In accordance with the provisions of the General
Education Act, considerable emphasis has been placed on the democratization of
power structures and, consequently, on school
participation through the institutionalization of school government, student
representation and the collective preparation of the
School Coexistence Handbook
in 90 per cent of public and private primary and secondary schools in
the country (see annexes).
121. Programmes and campaigns are also being
implemented by the Ministry of National Education to create and increase
awareness of
the need to end the armed conflict in the country. The
“Peace of a Thousand Days” programme, the “Young Peace
Managers” campaign and the “Bolivarian Mobilization for Peace and
Life, against Violence, Starting in School” are
designed to make schools
genuine centres of peace in the remaining days of this century through the
promotion and achievement of
coexistence and acts of solidarity by the members
of the educational community. The acts of peace which are committed every day
in schools are simple demonstrations of coexistence, solidarity, love and
respect which are designed to awaken students to feelings,
virtues and values of
peaceful coexistence, democracy and human rights.
122. With regard to
the guarantees to which minors are entitled in any judicial and administrative
proceedings, we refer the Committee
to the initial report submitted by Colombia
and to the text on this question mentioned below.
123. Pursuant to the
programme on “Training in Values for Family Coexistence”, ICBF has
carried out the following activities
through the mass media and informal
educational processes in the 204 zonal centres:
Training of 2,500 outreach workers for the project entitled “The children of Colombia travel throughout Colombia”, which is designed to strengthen national identity and respect for the country’s ethnic diversity;
Training of 3,300 outreach workers in 33 cities in connection with the education course which is entitled “Love will flourish in Colombia” and is designed to encourage people to think about the principles of coexistence: respect, tolerance, comprehension, acceptance, freedom and love;
Making and broadcasting of a television series consisting of 16 30-minute programmes which are shown at peak times on a national television station and are designed to make families think about the commitment of being parents, the parent-children relationship, conflict management and the principles of coexistence. This material was distributed to the 204 zonal centres to be worked on in video-forums with community groups;
National mobilization entitled “Children for Peace”: civic activities carried out in 33 regions in October 1997 with Community Welfare Homes, kindergartens, family educators, etc.;
Establishment of the “Family educator”; at present, ICBF has 402 educators in 14 regions who deal with about 18,000 family groups; its function is to create educational processes for the peaceful coexistence of family groups, provide instruction for conflict management and make human rights a reality in everyday family life; Schools for parents: ICBF has 820 schools for parents throughout the country at the present time.
Articles 17, 29, 30 and 31
Access to information, personality development, respect for
human rights
and fundamental freedoms, rest, leisure and regard for
minorities
Youth policies
124. The
promulgation of Act No. 375 of 1997 was promoted by means of a broad movement of
cooperation not only between the Government
and the Congress, but also between
them and over 6,000 youth movements and groups which played an active role in
the drafting of
the text adopted.
125. In order to strengthen local
management in respect of young people, all mayors in the country were given
information about the
process of institutionalization, inter-agency coordination
and management to integrate local youth policy into development plans.
Twenty
youth municipal councils were established in this way.
126. The
following programmes are being carried out in connection with the objectives set
and for the purpose of meeting the needs
of this population group:
Productive development of minors
127. A work training programme was designed to
broaden and improve young peoples’ job opportunities and a training
strategy
was worked out for the benefit of 5,000 young people. Agreements were
also concluded and counselling services set up with national
training agencies,
the National Apprenticeship Service (SENA), the Ministry of Labour and Social
Security and private sector organizations.
Young people and drug prevention
128. In order to deal with the use of
psychoactive substances by broad sectors of the youth population of the country,
the programme
promoted activities to prevent such use in high risk areas,
particularly urban areas. Thus, 27 youth homes were set up in 14 cities
and
youth initiative projects were established in 10 cities for the benefit of
50,000 out-of-school young people. The project on
the educator training network
for the prevention of drug abuse and the inclusion of prevention in curricula
was also developed for
200,000 students, 5,000 teachers, 50,000 parents and 200
educational establishments. Funds amounting to Col$ 2,050 million were
invested in these projects.
129. The Ministry of Communications is
implementing the “link project” to set up lines of communication to
solve the drug
problem. As a result, it has been publishing the Network
Bulletin, which is intended for agencies working in this area and for young
people and adolescents. It describes ways of preventing drug dependency and
strategies to overcome the problem of drug addiction.
Youth tourism and environment
130. This project was consolidated as a training
strategy relating to harmonious coexistence, nature appreciation and the
appreciation
of Colombian culture and traditions. As a result of the investment
of Col$ 276 million, the service has seven tourist hostels in
the cities of
Cartagena, Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Popayán, San
Agustín and Villavicencio where 100,000
young people have stayed.
Youth card
131. The “Youth Card Programme” was
established to enable young people to obtain discounts, special offers and
advantages
when using and purchasing goods and services in connection with art,
culture, sports, business, tourism, health and education. It
was made available
to 300,000 young people, had Col$ 1,909 million in funding and was
definitively established by the Youth Act.
National sexual education project
132. For the purpose of contributing to the
growth and sexual development of children and young people at school and outside
school,
strategies were implemented for training and the strengthening of
self-esteem, autonomy, coexistence and health, thereby ensuring
that sexual
knowledge, attitudes and conduct are experienced in a more genuine, responsible,
gratifying and ethical way. This programme
was made available to 1 million
students, 2,000 teachers and 3,000 public schools. The Government invested
Col$ 1 million in its
design and development.
Youth organization and participation programme
133. The programme was
designed to strengthen various youth organization experiences and to promote the
mechanisms that the 1991 Constitution, the Youth Act and the Government have
established to provide for youth events and participation in civil society.
The programme
covered 150,000 young people throughout the country.
Youth information centres
134. This programme is being implemented in the
cities of Medellín, Cali, Cúcuta, Barranquilla, Pereira, Riohacha
and
Bucaramanga to give young people access to information enabling them to take
part in various sectors of society and to give them
further opportunities
for full development. These information centres have been designed to
benefit a population of 2 million young
people.
Integrated services projects for young people
135. In order to offer sectoral opportunities
for young people, a pilot project was carried out with 16 pre-selected cities
(Pasto,
Popayán, Cali, Palmira, Medellín, Manizales, Pereira,
Cúcuta, Bucaramanga, Barrancabermeja, Santa Marta, Cartagena,
Quibdó, Florencia, Ibagué and Sogamoso), of which 8 will be chosen
to establish a local integrated services model for
young people in urban and
rural areas.
Education for democracy and human rights
136. A number of programmes that intersect with
the formal curriculum have been established to ensure the full development of
children
and young people.
Education for democracy
137. Efforts are being made to help establish a
democratic culture in schools by creating critical thinking processes and
discussions
of values, knowledge, attitudes and day-to-day conduct in all areas
of school life; to promote the construction of ethical and political
elements of
analysis and thinking about a culture of democracy which will help train people
who are tolerant, willing to participate,
community minded, autonomous and
respectful of human rights; to promote and support the preparation, analysis and
revision of handbooks
on coexistence based on classroom covenants; and to design
teaching strategies for the understanding and peaceful settlement of disputes.
These efforts are also related to the Institutional Education Project (PEI) and,
within that project, to the machinery for participation
provided for in Act No.
115 of 1994.
138. In the past four years, activities have been carried
out in connection with technical assistance, research and the preparation
of
materials, including: the follow up and evaluation of the 12 pilot projects on
“democracy in schools” which were
implemented in the departments of
Boyacá, Santander, Cesar and the capital, Santa Fe de Bogotá, for
the benefit of
4,340 students, 4,932 parents and 178 teachers; research on
“guardianship and education” and “approaches to democracy
and
inclusion in school textbooks”; and the preparation of six documents on
the school press, the press, radio and technology,
teaching in the use of the
media, the preparation of four stories on peace and coexistence and the
production of a video film on
tolerance.
139. Work was done with the
National Civil Registry Office, as stated above, on the preparation of
registration cards for indigenous
minors and minors living in border areas.
Work was also done with the Office of the President of the Republic on the
rights of children
and young people in the context of the PEI. Workshops were
organized in 28 departments and “conferences” were held with
teachers, teachers’ committees and supervisors on the coexistence
handbook, classroom covenants and school representatives.
There was
participation in the organization and holding of the National Meeting of Student
Representatives at the Twentyfirst Century
Forum-Fair. Advice and support were
given for the holding of workshops for the care of displaced children, young
people and adults
in the communities of Pavarandó, Turbo and
Mutatá.
Teaching of values
140. General Education
Act No. 115 of 1994 added a new basic and compulsory subject to the curriculum:
ethics and human values. In order to teach this subject,
it was necessary to
hold a large meeting of national and foreign teachers and experts, whose
participation and cooperation led to
the drafting of the guidelines which will
serve as a basis for the regions and for schools in drawing up their curricula.
In the
next phase, the document will be taken to the regions for discussion and
the establishment of technical teams responsible for training
teachers in
classroom research and the preparation of support materials.
Teaching the Constitution and democracy
141. Teaching citizens about the country’s
Constitution (civics) is a component of the social sciences field of study which
has, because of its importance, become a cross-sectional part of the curriculum.
The preparation of guidelines has been completed
and their dissemination and
teacher training are beginning.
Environmental education
142. This programme, which began in 1991, has
focused on the design and establishment of strategies which take account of the
country’s
social, cultural and natural characteristics. It is intended to
have a direct impact on the training of persons and communities
in order to
promote an appropriate relationship with the environment in the context of
sustainable human development.
143. The programme is specifically
designed to support the participation of the educational community; to train
regional and local
lead educators; to train regional outreach workers; to
produce and distribute teaching materials; to form a team to provide technical
assistance to community agencies; to promote joint inter-agency and
intersectoral cooperation, planning and evaluation; to promote
the analysis and
management of regional and local environmental diagnoses; to organize systems to
be developed in the regions through
school environmental projects; and to
identify environmental training components that are easy to make more widely
available and
to determine which ones are strictly individual so that the
general guidelines of the national environmental education policy can
be
constantly reformulated.
144. Different projects have been established
so far, including: school environmental collectives; the experimental
environmental
education proposal for large cities; the UNESCO TSS1 project for
the definition of national environmental education policy guidelines;
the
proposal for the inclusion of environmental education in compulsory military
service; the project on the “incorporation
of the environmental dimension
in basic education in urban areas”; and the project on the
“incorporation of the environmental
dimension in basic education in rural
and small urban areas”.
145. The programme’s achievements
include: the drafting and discussion of Decree No. 1743 of 1994 on
environmental education;
training through seminars, workshops, lectures,
accompaniment and technical assistance for major projects and other local
activities;
follow-up of the school projects process through pilot projects to
observe major advances in environmental education; establishment
of a network of
national environmental education teachers and outreach workers; consolidation of
the project on the “incorporation
of the environmental dimension in basic
education in rural and small urban areas”; and the production and
publication of teaching
materials on environmental topics, such as “The
Scheme of Things”, “The Wounded Earth”, “Return to
Earth”, “The Environmental Dimension as a Challenge for Education in
the New Society”, “The Earth Workshop
(Gaia hypothesis)”,
“Penca de Sábila - An Alternative for Environmental
Education”, “Environmental
Education in Schools” (vols. I and
II), “History of and projections for environmental education in the
Ministry of Education”,
“Our City of Bogotá”,
“Our City of Cartagena”, “Our Medellín” and
“Time for
a humanizing education”.
Information and communications media
146. With a view to improving the quality of
education and affording broader access to information, the Colombia educational
system
has been incorporating new technologies and bilingualism in public
education.
147. The National Data Processing and Bilingualism Programme
of the Ministry of National Education (MEN) will enable official technical
baccalaureate students and professors to develop computer skills and know-how,
to improve their knowledge of English, to have broader
learning opportunities in
other areas and to have access to the most advanced scientific and technical
information in the world through
the “information superhighway”.
148. The programme involves the installation, in secondary schools, of a
computer room with the requisite furnishings and the latest
technology
consisting of 15 microcomputers with multimedia and a server that are connected
to the local network and the Internet.
Educational software is also installed,
including software in English.
149. In the first phase, the Ministry of
National Education allocated Col$ 37,103 million in two stages for 756
classrooms in the
same number of official technical high schools located in
about 430 municipalities in the country. There are over 500,000 low-income
students in these schools.
A new educational television
150. Also as a result of systematic efforts to
incorporate new technologies into education and to study television in order to
improve
its quality and broaden access to knowledge, the “Espacio
Maestro” programme was brought into service by Señal
Colombia, the
cultural channel of the National Radio and Television Institute. It broadcasts
30 hours a week of the best nationally
and internationally produced series for
children and young people, from pre-school to university.
151. The second
phase of the “Story Hour” series has also been completed; it is
designed to stimulate children’s
interest in reading and has been selected
to compete in the best children’s television contests in the
world.
152. The Ministry sponsored the making of the series entitled
“Tierra Posible”, which is designed to give teachers human
rights
training and is composed of 30 parts that have been presented at various
international television trade fairs.
153. Since 1977, Señal
Colombia has been showing the “Education Community”, a television
news programme which is
designed to enable Colombians to understand exactly what
is happening in the field of education. It involves everyone who takes
part in
the educational process: policy-makers, teachers, parents, students and trade
unions.
Communication project for children
154. The Ministry of Communications is
implementing the “Communication for Children” project with the
support of UNICEF
and the Colombian Cooperation Agency. Its main objective is
the design and implementation of communications strategies which will
benefit
Colombian children and encourage adults to respect their rights. The document
entitled “Communcation Programme for
Children” is annexed to this
report.
ICBF communication programmes
155. At present, the Colombian Family Welfare
Institute is carrying out the following media activities:
The Carlos Lleras Restrepo Family Welfare Prize for messages on values: recognizes written, visual, audio and audio-visual messages which promote values through the various communications media;
Publication of 10 collectible copies of the magazine Estimulación Adecuada in El Espectador, a national newspaper with a daily print run of 156,000 copies per issue. The magazine’s aim is to strengthen informal education processes based on a sound family environment;
Publication of 12 collectible copies of the magazine La Familia in El Espectador, the national newspaper with a daily print run of 156,000 copies per issue. The magazine covers a variety of topics relating to the family, values training and ways of thinking;
Broadcast of 10 programmes in the “Cuestión de Amor” series by a national television station. It focuses on topics such as encouragement, school, adolescence and conflict management;
Television lectures: broadcast of eight television lectures on topics of civic and educational interest, each one lasting one hour and a half; the potential audience is invited in advance to take part in the programme;
Protection agencies have been promoting the project entitled “Play
spaces: creative and cooperative play environments as a
window on the world for
children in the protection programme” with the cooperation of the
University of the Andes and the Rafael
Pombo Foundation; it is being carried out
at the Santa Fe de Bogotá ICBF regional office. The aim is to take it to
other
regional offices once the pilot phase has been completed.
156. At
present, ICBF is working on the design and implementation of educational
environments based on creative and cooperative mini
play worlds which creatively
rebuild the human potential of children and the members of organizations linked
to the protection programme.
157. With regard to the rights of
indigenous children to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their
own religion and to
use their own language, we refer the Committee to the eighth
and ninth periodic reports of Colombia on the implementation of the
Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which describe the
progress made in implementing these rights.
Article 28
Right to education
158. The Government recognizes the right of children to education so that it
may be exercised gradually under conditions guaranteeing
equal opportunities.
Article 27 of the Constitution provides that education is a fundamental right
and that the State guarantees freedom of instruction, learning, research and
teaching.
In accordance with this mandate, the Government has been implementing
programmes that focus on increasing coverage and improving
the quality of
secondary education. These programmes are being carried out at the national and
at the various regional levels.
159. The educational development plan for
this period, called “The leap in education: education as the key to the
country’s
development”, established four strategies for the
universalization of education:
1. Student-centred education as a basic
instrument for improving quality;
2. A new administrative organization
model focusing on school organization;
3. A result-oriented system for
the allocation of resources;
4. Broader coverage and greater
fairness.
160. The Ten-Year Education Plan (1996-2005) is the best means
of guaranteeing the continuity of educational policies and activities.
It has
created a culture of participation by all sectors of society and the educational
community.
161. In keeping with the Leap in Education, the Ten-Year Plan
establishes 10 major objectives relating basically to the improvement
of
educational quality and coverage.
162. In order to achieve the objectives
and targets of these plans, the following programmes have been formulated:
Institutional Education Project (PEI)
163. This is the
core of all the programmes for the improvement of educational quality. It takes
the form of an ongoing process of
human and institutional development that is
designed to create appropriate environments for “growing and being and
learning
and changing which combine intentions and actions in a lively and
dynamic organization that aims to improve the quality of life of
each and every
one of the members of the educational community”. It is a forum for
dialogue, construction, thought and discussion.
It is now being implemented
in 90 per cent of the country’s schools.
164. In
seeking to achieve these objectives, constant advice and support have been given
to the 36 education secretariats in the departments;
577 weak institutions
have been strengthened in the formulation of their projects; an incentive
of Col$ 5,800,000 was granted to
each of the 200 institutions with an
outstanding PEI; 200 very outstanding experiments were identified and presented
at the national
level as models; and 40,000 copies of the following documents
were published: “Consideration of Institutional Education Projects”
and “Guide for the Formulation of Operational Plans, PEI Guidelines, the
PEI Building Process and the PEI Evaluation Guide”.
Promotion of active education
165. In order to
promote this process, it was initially determined that textbooks had to be made
available in classrooms because they
play a very important role as far as the
poorest sectors of the population are concerned.
166. In 1996, 3,500,000
language notebooks were distributed in official schools and 15,200,000 sets
of natural and social science
text books worth Col$ 15,600,000 were distributed
in 1997. Seven million children have benefited from the distribution of these
materials.
167. Fifty thousand “learning packages” called
“jaibaná”, which means “learned” in the
Embera language,[19] costing
Col$ 9,598 million (unit cost: Col$ 191,960) have been distributed to 42,978
schools (35,909 in rural areas and 7,069 in
urban areas) in 1,072 municipalities
in the country. The packages contain educational support materials,
instructional games and
teaching materials, which will be the key to the
learning process for over 4 million children in official primary
education.
Education Resource Centres
In 1994, the Ministry of National Education
suggested that local authorities should include Educational Resource Centres
(CRE) in
School Educational Resource Centres (CREP) and Municipal Educational
Resource Centres (CREM) as a strategy enabling them to rationalize
investments
and optimize the use of educational materials.
In order to obtain financial resources to implement this strategy, local
authorities had to formulate investment projects which formed
part of the
National Co-financing System headed by the Social Investment Fund (SIF) and were
used to co-finance the purchase of materials
to set up 827 CRE at a cost of
Col$ 19,500 million, in addition to the cofinancing of resources.
Strengthening the pre-school system
168. This process began with the establishment
of “Grade 0” in public schools.
169. On the basis of a
comprehensive analysis of the situation at this level in 1997,
Decree No. 2247 was drafted and enacted to regulate
all aspects of
this grade.
170. This programme promotes and develops pre-service and
in-service training activities for departmental, municipal and district
pre-school teams and teachers and management staff involved in pre-school
education; concludes agreements with governmental and
nongovernmental organizations to promote the quality of life of pre-school
children; and encourages local authorities to promote and
support pre-school
education in their development plans.
171. As part of the technical
assistance and financial support activities carried out, the implementation of
the compulsory pre-school
grade, known as “grade 0 or the transition
grade”, was achieved through projects co-financed with FIS in 750
municipalities
in 32 departments and four special districts for the benefit of
221,531 students in 7,433 classrooms.
172. The process of building up
written and oral language skills was strengthened in 28 schools which
have a “grade 0”.
The process of creating PEI was strengthened in
12 schools and discussion groups were organized on experience of the
inclusion of
disabled children in regular classes from the transition grade to
grade 9.
173. The following documents were published: “A
curriculum proposal for grade 0: political, conceptual and pedagogical
frameworks”;
“Building written language and mathematical skills in
grade 0”; and “Understanding the pre-school educational level
from
the viewpoint of the General Education Act”.
Improvement of internal efficiency indicators
174. Internal
efficiency indicators have improved significantly, with an increase in
promotions and a decline in repeat and dropout
rates. At the national level,
the primary school promotion rate rose from 81.8 per cent to 83.5 per cent from
1993 to 1997 and the
secondary school rate went from 78.5 per cent to 84.2 per
cent during the same period. In 1997, the promotion rate in the official
and
unofficial sectors was 81.5 per cent and 91.4 per cent, i.e. an increase
of 1.8 points in the official sector and 1.5 points
in the unofficial
sector compared to 1993; the secondary school promotion rate increased by 3.2
points in the official sector, from
77.7 per cent to 80.9 per cent, and, in the
unofficial sector, by three points, from 82.2 per cent to 85.2 per
cent.
175. The national total dropout rate for the period 1993-1997 in
primary and secondary schools went from 7.4 per cent to 6.4 per cent
and from
7.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent, respectively. This analysis by sector showed
that, in primary schools, the drop was 1.1 per
cent in both the official and the
unofficial sectors, where it remained stable at rates of 7.4 per cent and
2.6 per cent, comparatively.
In secondary schools, the dropout rate
in the official sector went from 6.4 per cent to 5.2 per cent and, in the
unofficial sector,
from 5.2 per cent to 3.4 per cent.
176. The repeat
rate was similar to the dropout rate. At the national level in primary schools,
it fell from 10.8 per cent to 10.0
per cent and, in secondary schools, from 14.5
per cent to 12.8 per cent between 1993 and 1997; by sectors, the change was
similar
to that for the national total at the two educational levels.
Increased learning time
177. The length of the
school day in basic education institutions will be increased gradually and will
depend on what the school governing
body decides, based on PEI objectives. This
extension will be possible as a result of measures such as the gradual increase from 3.5 to 6 hours of class per day and educational activities during free periods in sports and cultural facilities, Municipal Educational Resource Centres and language and computer laboratories.
Improvement of the professional and social status of educators
178. In connection with
the policy of the improvement of the professional status of educators,
Decree No. 0709 of 1996 provided for
the establishment of the Local
Training Committees, one of whose functions is to design, implement and evaluate
periodic training
plans for teachers in accordance with regional, local and
institutional needs and national educational development policies and
programmes.
179. The Ten-Year Plan provided for the structuring of the
national training and comprehensive development system for educators, including
regulations on the conversion of normal schools to advanced normal schools; made
available an instrument for guaranteeing the quality
of teacher training through
the formulation of basic conditions for the establishment and functioning of the
academic pre-grade and
post-grade curriculum; created and consolidated a
financial fund to support the upgrading and professionalization of teachers in
the service of the State, which trained 20,420 basic primary teachers in
language and 4,800 basic secondary teachers in mathematics
and provided support
for the pre-grade training of 15,000 educators and the advanced training of
4,600; granted Col$ 19,600 million
in incentives to 32,667 teachers in the same
number of schools; started the programme for the construction of social,
recreational
and training premises with a view to helping improve the social
wellbeing and quality of life of teachers; and substantially improved
their
salaries to bring them into line with those of workers in professional
posts.
Institutionalization of educational evaluation
180. In accordance with
the constitutional obligation to guarantee the quality of education and in view
of the importance of evaluation
in a country in the process of decentralization,
the General Education Act provides for the establishment of a “national
evaluation system”, which serves as a basis for policies and plans to
improve
education.
181. The action carried out includes:
The design and application of a national sample of basic primary and
secondary schools and students. It involves the assessment of the learning
of children and adolescents from a sample of 240,000 third to fifth grade
primary and
seventh to ninth grade secondary students; institutional
self-evaluation; evaluation of teaching and teachers; and a competitive
examination for educators for entry into government service. Mathematics,
language and related subjects were evaluated in 1997 through
the use of these
tests of learning achievements. Prior to the use of these tests, it was
necessary to design a theoretical framework
and related-factor instruments for
principals and schools, teachers, students and parents. The tests were given to
100,000 third
to fifth grade children on shift A in basic primary school; 7,000
teachers of these grades; 3,000 schools, 3,000 principals and 100,000
parents.
Institutional evaluation. The “Self-Evaluation and
Institutional Improvement Guide” was prepared in 1997 and sent to all
educational establishments
in the country to provide guidelines for the school
management evaluation process.
Results. Documents for language and mathematics teachers and
documents on mathematics and language achievement-related factors in grades
3 to
5 were published and distributed to 50,000 schools in the country.
Institutionalization of continuous and flexible school promotion. The
achievements evaluation implies continuous and flexible promotion, i.e.
promotion which may take place within the same grade
or from one grade to
another at the end of the year and which can be “early” or
“late”, so that traditional
ideas of “losing a year”,
“passing” and “repeating” become meaningless. Promotion
is determined
only by the achievement of PEI objectives. It requires a greater
commitment by education officials (administrators, teachers, students
and
parents), who are responsible for guaranteeing the quality of education. It is
not a mechanically applied formula, but it does
have the advantage of reversing
the trend towards expelling students and of making use of various types of aids
and opportunities
for supplementary efforts.
182. In order to explain the
interpretation of the new evaluation approach to teachers, administrators and
students, the Ministry
of Education prepared and distributed 100,000 copies of
the book entitled “Evaluation in the classroom and beyond”, which
it
sent to Education Secretariats and all educational establishments in the country
in 1997.
Schools
183. As the key to educational reform,
schools need the support of local, regional and national educational
authorities. The project
on the strengthening of schools involved:
Incentives for schools. In 1996, the best school in each educational
core group was selected on the basis of an evaluation by the educational
communities
themselves. Each one received Col$ 10 million. In all, 1,928
establishments received a total amount of Col$ 1,280 million. The
resources were intended for infrastructure improvement, the establishment of
school grants and funding for teacher training courses.
Project to improve the classroom environment. In order to help
improve the quality of education by strengthening schools and implementing the
programmes provided for in El Salto Educativo, the Government began
to support all official urban primary schools in 1997 by contributing Col$
5,800,000 from the national budget;
such support from teaching services funds
will be used to purchase educational equipment and materials which will be
selected by
the School Board concerned from the “indicative list of
educational equipment and materials” prepared by the Ministry
of National
Education. The benefits of the project may be assessed in qualitative terms on
the basis of achievements by schools,
education departments and departmental
accounting units. In terms of quantity, 3,994 urban primary schools were
involved, with an
investment of Col$ 23,165.2 million, in April 1998.
Teaching services funds. In order to provide support for schools in
managing teaching services funds, budget and accounting handbooks have been
prepared
and made available to groups of administrators at five workshops that
have been held so far.
Formulation of technical standards for the design of school buildings, school furniture and textbook presentation. The Ministry of Education signed agreements with the Colombian Technical Standards Institute (ICONTEC) for the preparation of 10 standards on the production of furniture, 10 on school infrastructure and 3 on school textbook presentation.
Broadening educational coverage
184. Opportunities to
enter and stay in the school system have been broadened by creating places,
granting subsidies, applying policies
designed to prevent drop-outs, expanding
school infrastructure and concluding service contracts with non-profit
organizations for
the creation of places in schools.
185. In the past
four years, educational opportunities have been made available to
over 1,700,000 children and adolescents. Of these
places, about 1,120,000
are the result of action by the Government, the departments, districts and
municipalities, while slightly
more than 580,000 correspond to efforts by
private education, financed in part with State subsidies.
Increase in school enrolment by level and sector 1994-1998
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Increase
1994-1998 |
|
Total pre-school
|
613,459
|
779,923
|
919,680
|
1,021,056
|
1,116.063
|
502,604
|
Official
Unofficial Total primary Official Unofficial Total secondary Official Unofficial Total - three levels Official Unofficial |
283,295
330,164 4,808,414 3,821.442 986,972 3,485,938 2,287,029 1,198,909 8,907,811 6,391,766 2,516,045 |
384,859
395,064 4,908,918 3,880,664 1,028,254 3,668,666 2,423,540 1,245,126 9,357,507 6,689,063 2,668,444 |
453,862
465,818 5,011,767 3,941,037 1,070,730 3,861,055 2,568,123 1,292,932 9,792,502 6,963,022 2,829,480 |
503,891
517,165 5,117,023 4,002,590 1,114,433 4,063,621 2,721,254 1,342,367 10,201,700 7,227,735 2,973,965 |
564,975
551,088 5,224,747 4,065,350 1,159,397 4,276,904 2,883,433 1,393,471 10,617,714 7,513,758 3,103,956 |
281,680
220,924 416,333 243,908 172,425 790,966 596,404 194,562 1,709,903 1,121,992 587,911 |
186. In order to bolster the improvement of educational coverage and
quality, the Government has taken or is taking out loans from
the multilateral
bank.
Plan for the Universalization of Basic Primary Education (IBRD loan No.
3010-Co)
187. In keeping with the Government’s social policy,
the Ministry of National Education opted in 1997 for a second loan for
the
Universalization Plan from the World Bank. The programme will cost
$169.2 million, 59 per cent in the form of loans (Government,
34 per cent, departments, 1 per cent, and municipalities,
6 per cent). The Plan, which was signed in 1989, should have ended in
1995, but, because of circumstances, it was extended three times; the last
extension ended in March 1998.
188. With regard to the aim of
improving the quality of education, one of the most important direct results of
the evaluation of the
Plan is the positive impact of the distribution during the
implementation phase of some 25 million textbooks, desks for 1,286,000
students (25 per cent of the official education total), 570,000
packages of school supplies and bookshelves, filing cabinets and
instructional
games.
189. With regard to coverage, an annual weighted average growth
rate of 3.15 per cent was calculated for the period 19901994. On
the
basis of a similar performance by the sector in the following three years
(19951997), the total increase for 19901997 would be
22.0 per cent,
i.e. 2.02 points higher than the target proposed by the
Universalization Plan (ACR, 20 per cent).
190. Attention is
drawn to the increased use of the Escuela Nueva method in rural areas and to the
fact that depressed and isolated
areas have been reached with basic elements of
the improvement of educational quality.
191. About
80 per cent of the Plan’s investment was used to improve
students’ environmental and teaching conditions, which
have been
identified as one of the key factors in school dropout and repeat
rates.
192. The evaluation also confirms that the Plan achieved the
objective of focusing primarily on rural, urban slum and indigenous schools.
193. In referring to the Escuela Nueva programme, UNICEF stated
that it “is proof that flexible, nonconventional education can
get rural
children into school and keep them there” and described it as a model for
other
countries.[20]
Programme
to expand the coverage and improve the quality of secondary education (PACES).
IBRD loan No. 3683Co
194. The objective is to expand the coverage,
improve the quality and strengthen the administration of secondary and
intermediate
education and provide incentives for regional and municipal
governments in support of educational development objectives in 86
municipalities
and 4 districts which have been targeted. The programme is
being implemented with funding from Municipal Education Plans (PEM)
and
Institutional Education Projects (PEI).
195. The targeting of municipalities was decided when the programme was
designed (19921993) and was based on the criteria of greater
basic primary
education coverage and greater demand for secondary education, in line with the
situation in Colombia’s large
cities and surrounding municipalities.
196. The programme cost is $150 million, with World Bank
financing of $90 million and a matching amount of $60 million. The
loan
contract was signed on 9 August 1994 and entered into force on
28 March 1995. The completion date is
31 December 2000.
197. In the three years during which the
programme has been implemented, funding has been provided for 89 projects
to expand and build
physical plant, thereby adding 9,395 places to the number
the State can offer, and conditions in 285 schools have been improved for
the
benefit of 16, 686 students already enrolled.
198. Subsidies have
enabled 24,773 first-level and second-level students to gain access to secondary
and intermediate education in
private schools; 399 official educational
establishments have received funds to formulate the PEI for the purpose of
increasing the
quality of education through textbook purchases, educational
inputs, teacher training, the improvement of physical plant, the development
of
the educational community and the improvement of school administration; 10
universities and NGOs have also been working with local
authorities with a view
to the institutional strengthening of the provision of educational services at
the municipal and institutional
levels.
Programmes to strengthen
education management and formulation of a policy and a strategy for the
development of education in the rural
sector
199. The stage reached
is that of negotiations with the World Bank and the technical formulation of the
proposal.
Legislative advances relating to education
200. The higher education public service was
organized by Act No. 30 of 1992. A body of legislation was prepared with a view
to the
achievement of its objectives.
201. The General Education Act is
contained in Act No. 115 of 1994. With a view to making progress in the
implementation of this Act, 30 decrees and regulatory
decisions were adopted
during the period under review, including:
Decree No. 196 of 1995 on teachers’ membership of or affiliation with the National Teaching Profession Social Benefits Fund, which is designed to deal with local authorities’debts;
Decree No. 804 of 1995, which offers curriculum guidance on providing educational assistance for ethnic groups which is based on their cultural characteristics and designed to teach respect for their linguistic diversity; it defines requirements for the training of ethno-educators and their relationship with the public education service;
Decree No. 1719 of 1995, which lays down standards and procedures for the preparation and formulation of the Ten-Year Educational Development Plan;
Decree No. 114 of 1996, which contains general regulations for the provision of informal education through labour, academic, citizen participation and community programmes and programmes to prepare for the accreditation of formal education levels and grades;
Decree No. 2082 of 1996, which contains general rules for the education of persons with exceptional limitations or abilities, taking account of their particular characteristics;
Decision No. 2343 of 1996, which adopts general guidelines for curriculum processes of the public education service and establishes indicators of curriculum achievements for formal education according to subject area; it also defines training for each level and cycle of education;
Decree No. 2247 of 1997, which describes administrative and teaching mechanisms for the organization of the pre-school level; provides curriculum guidelines for the definition of lesson plans and learning evaluation; and prohibits the use of entry examinations for schools offering pre-school education;
Decree No. 2368 of 1997, which contains rules relating to the evaluation process that must be used in all private formal education establishments as a requirement for the authorization of registration and boarding rates.
Articles 19, 34, 35, 36 and 39
Protection against all forms of physical, mental and sexual abuse and
exploitation,
abduction, sales of or traffic in children, physical
and psychological recovery of
child victims and their social reintegration
202. The Juvenile Code, i.e. Decree No. 2733/89, establishes procedures
for providing protection for minors in the situations described
in articles 19,
34, 35, 36 and 39 of the Convention.
203. These rules authorize the
Family Ombudsman to take protective measures prior to the relevant
administrative proceedings and the
penalties laid down in the Penal Code (see
preceding report).
204. In the performance of its functions, ICBF
provides full care for children in family, open and institutional environments,
based
on the technical specifications referred to below.
Population
|
Action - result
|
---|---|
1. Children and adolescents
without family or in danger |
Protection agencies under contract until 1997
Residential = 5,814 places for 8,721 children Cost: Col$ 16,079,286,000 Semi-residential = 1,896 places for 2,844 children Cost: Col$ 2,887,364,000 Foster homes = 6,894 places for 13,788 children. Cost: Col$ 12,912,885,000 |
2. Children and adolescents
subjected to ill-treament |
Networks for the prevention of ill-treatment
220 networks in operation |
3. Sexually exploited
children and adolescents |
Services contracted at different stages in the project.
623 places for 13,293 children and adolescents. Cost: Col$ 1,124,782,000 |
4. Child and adolescent
victims of the armed conflict |
Discussions with authorities
Project design Formulation of the contingency plan for the separation of 2,000 children Care provided by protection agencies and homes and rehabilitation institutions |
5. Child and adolescent
victims of forced displacement |
Updating of regional diagnoses
Training of officials Expansion of coverage of prevention and protection programmes for children and families Food supplies Involvement of groups from the Psychosocial Intervention Project in Settlements Investment in 1996-1998: Col$ 3,410,300,000 |
6. Chile and adolescent
workers |
Care for 1,200 young persons in 8 homes for the promotion of social and
labour market integration;
165 units for care in an open environment for 19,128 children Total investment: Col$ 5,224,800,000 |
7. Street children
|
Care of 15,192 street children with an investment of
Col$ 768,796,000
|
8. Children and adolescents
who are disabled, abandoned and in danger |
Rehabilitation institutions
4,431 places in 108 institutions Cost: Col$ 11,646,758,000 Special foster homes 1,945 homes for 2,293 children Cost: Col$ 4,769,293,000 |
9. Child and adolescent
drug users |
16 drug treatment units, 513 places
Cost: Col$ 1,389,458,000 |
10. Minors in conflict with
the law |
Institutions for re-education and other types of care
26,034 minors Cost: Col$ 16,760,801,000 |
11. Pregnant teenagers
|
8 institutions for the care of 566 pregnant teenagers, 283 places
Cost: Col$ 772,407,000 |
205. In 1998, ICBF will conduct an investigation in cooperation with
the National Advisory Centre to carry out a qualitative and quantitative
measurement of the frequency of child illtreatment (in accordance with
recommendation No. 10 by the Committee).
206. Research has also been
carried out on the following topics: study of children and armed conflict;
study on family structure;
and study on recognition and protection of ethnic and
cultural diversity. A survey was also carried out on the situation of children
and adolescents in cooperation with the National Administrative Department for
Statistics (DANE), the Ministry of Health and the
Higher Education
Foundation.
207. The Plan of Action in favour of the Rights of Sexually
Exploited Children and against Child Sexual Exploitation was formulated
in
connection with the eradication of the scourge of child prostitution.
InterAgency Committee to Combat the Traffic in Women and Children
208. For the purpose of eradicating the traffic
and trade in human beings, the InterAgency Committee to Combat the Traffic in
Women
and Children was set up by Decree No. 1974 of
31 October 1996 and is chaired by the Minister or Deputy Minister of
Justice and Law
and composed of government and State agencies concerned with the
problem and the Director of INTERPOL in Colombia. The Juvenile
Judge attends
the meetings of this Committee as a permanent guest.
209. Following the
establishment of this Committee, an exploratory study was carried out to
describe the various types of offences
of this kind, which are difficult to
define universally. This study includes a legal analysis of Colombian
legislation on the traffic
in persons and the conventions, covenants, agreements
and other international instruments adopted by Colombia.
210. Since its
establishment, the Committee has set up international police support networks
through INTERPOL and has proposed a method
for systematically organizing the
database on the cases under investigation. It has taken on the task of making
public opinion and
the authorities aware of such offences and of
Act No. 360, which increases the applicable penalties. It has tried
to improve systems
of care for the victims and the institutions which take care
of persons who are victims of such offences have therefore set up direct
lines.
211. The Committee suggested the adoption of the Hemispheric
Action Plan proposed by Colombia at the Summit of the Americas held in
April 1998 in Chile. It also suggested that there should be a block vote
for the adoption of the International Convention against
the Smuggling of
Illegal Immigrants proposed by the delegation of Austria in Vienna at the eighth
session of the United Nations Commission
on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice in the first half of 1998.
212. Action by the Committee
helped to simplify legislative procedures for the adoption of the 1949
Convention for the Suppression
of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation
of the Prostitution of Others, and the 1994 InterAmerican Convention on
International
Traffic in Minors. It also led to the submission to Congress of
the explanatory introduction to draft Act No. 87 of 1997 approving
the
InterAmerican Convention on International Traffic in Minors.
213. As a
result of the Committee’s action, consideration is also being given to the
explanatory introductions to three draft
acts approving the 1989 InterAmerican
Convention on the International Return of Children, the 1949 United Nations
Convention for
the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation
of the Prostitution of Others and the 1980 Hague Convention on
the Civil Aspects
of International Child Abduction.
214. The Committee has encouraged the
holding of national workshops to increase the awareness of law enforcement
officials and, on
its recommendation, the Social Security Institute will hold
workshops to provide support for victims of sexual offences.
215. The
aim for 1998 is to prepare a third pamphlet on preventing, halting and punishing
the trafficking in persons.
Colombia without prostitution
216. The National Police is also implementing
the programme entitled “Colombia without prostitution”, whose main
objective
is the gradual elimination of child prostitution through family and
community educational activities to create processes of human
and social
development with minors involved in prostitution and with their families in
order to safeguard values, potential and rights
through comprehensive assistance
programmes.
217. This operation will be carried out at the national
level with the participation of the Office of the Juvenile and Family
Procurator,
ICBF, the Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences Institute and some
NGOs. It is being carried out in two stages: the prevention
and information
stage and the operational or implementation stage.
218. Excellent
results are being achieved and the programme has been well received by the
community. It monitors public establishments,
identifying minors and placing
them at the disposal of protection agencies; carries out social and community
education campaigns;
and strengthens and carries out activities to approach the
population which engages in prostitution through educational and training
programmes designed to improve their living conditions and refer them to
Staterun programmes.
219. In fulfilment of Act No. 360, ICBF has opened a
pilot centre for the treatment of child victims of sexual abuse which provides
comprehensive, short-term care through all State agencies having competence to
deal with cases of sexual abuse. The pilot centre
is located in the city of
Santa Fe de Bogotá. Similar centres are being planned in other
cities.
220. In schools throughout the country, the Ministry of National
Education implements projects on family planning (1992-1998) and
sex education
(since 1994), which have helped to inform and train children and young people on
subjects relating to sexual and reproductive
health (aimed especially at
preventing teenage pregnancies) and gender equality and sexual rights. During
this period, 300 training
workshops were held for young people and adults to
enable them to act as agents of change. Fifty thousand pamphlets on the
prevention
of teenage pregnancies and 150,000 handbooks on family planning for
parents, teachers and administrators were published and distributed
nationwide.
One-hundred and fifty subprojects on the prevention of teenage pregnancies were
organized in 150 educational establishments
to serve as a basis for further
experiments.
221. Through the Presidential Programme for the Defence of
Personal Liberty, an office was established to deal with the problem of
abduction. Since 1993, the office has been conducting psychosocial treatment
programmes for children who have been the victims of
abduction or whose
relatives have been abducted. This programme is being carried out in several
departmental capitals.
222. A plan for the prevention of child abduction
is also being designed and is to be carried out in coordination with the
psychological
treatment component.
Action to eradicate child prostitution
August
1996 - July 1997
Department |
Registered establishments
|
Measure applied to the establishment
|
Complaint against manager and/or owner
|
Minors found
|
Age range
|
Measure applied to minors
|
Repeat offenders - total
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Closure for 7 days
|
Closure for 30 days
|
Definitive closure
|
Boys
|
Girls
|
7 to 14
|
15 to 18
|
Placement at the disposal of ICBF
|
Return to family
|
||||
AMAZONAS
|
13
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
5
|
5
|
|
|
ANTIOQUIA
|
91
|
2
|
5
|
|
1
|
7
|
17
|
4
|
20
|
17
|
7
|
|
ARAUCA
|
45
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
6
|
|
|
ATLANTICO
|
109
|
25
|
3
|
1
|
|
43
|
76
|
32
|
87
|
53
|
66
|
31
|
BOLIVAR
|
56
|
8
|
3
|
|
|
3
|
17
|
3
|
17
|
10
|
10
|
|
BOYACA
|
39
|
14
|
|
|
1
|
30
|
42
|
14
|
58
|
48
|
24
|
48
|
CALDAS
|
76
|
8
|
1
|
|
6
|
2
|
21
|
4
|
19
|
5
|
18
|
|
CAQUETA
|
40
|
3
|
1
|
|
|
2
|
10
|
1
|
11
|
2
|
10
|
|
DECAS
|
10
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
CAUCA
|
33
|
2
|
1
|
|
|
|
8
|
4
|
4
|
6
|
2
|
|
CESAR
|
49
|
8
|
|
|
4
|
|
6
|
|
6
|
4
|
2
|
|
CORDOBA
|
36
|
11
|
|
1
|
|
18
|
7
|
|
25
|
9
|
16
|
|
CUNDINAMARCA
|
73
|
10
|
1
|
|
|
6
|
14
|
5
|
15
|
3
|
17
|
3
|
CHOCO
|
38
|
2
|
|
|
|
1
|
3
|
|
4
|
|
4
|
|
GUAJIRA
|
49
|
1
|
|
|
|
2
|
1
|
|
3
|
|
3
|
|
DEGUN
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
GUAVIARE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HUILA
|
370
|
142
|
21
|
1
|
1
|
187
|
192
|
10
|
339
|
90
|
259
|
76
|
MAGDALENA
|
74
|
7
|
4
|
|
1
|
6
|
17
|
2
|
21
|
9
|
14
|
|
META
|
49
|
5
|
3
|
|
|
3
|
20
|
2
|
21
|
11
|
12
|
|
NARIÑO
|
65
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
2
|
|
2
|
|
NORTE DE SANTANDER
|
64
|
16
|
1
|
|
3
|
5
|
37
|
7
|
35
|
23
|
19
|
|
PUTUMAYO
|
25
|
8
|
2
|
|
8
|
13
|
17
|
3
|
27
|
9
|
21
|
1
|
QUINDIO
|
77
|
42
|
|
|
|
50
|
54
|
45
|
59
|
5
|
99
|
4
|
RISARALDA
|
53
|
4
|
2
|
|
|
6
|
19
|
2
|
23
|
11
|
14
|
|
SANTANDER
|
57
|
14
|
2
|
|
1
|
3
|
40
|
2
|
41
|
31
|
12
|
|
SAN ANDRES Y PROV
|
35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SUCRE
|
39
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
17
|
17
|
|
|
TOLIMA
|
59
|
7
|
1
|
|
4
|
3
|
19
|
3
|
19
|
9
|
13
|
|
URABA
|
30
|
2
|
|
|
|
1
|
4
|
|
5
|
5
|
|
|
VALLE
|
153
|
13
|
4
|
|
|
18
|
41
|
6
|
53
|
23
|
36
|
|
VAUPES
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
VICHADA
|
16
|
5
|
|
|
20
|
11
|
10
|
|
21
|
|
21
|
21
|
BOGOTA
|
169
|
28
|
19
|
|
|
80
|
35
|
45
|
70
|
95
|
20
|
61
|
CALI
|
226
|
10
|
7
|
|
1
|
17
|
81
|
10
|
88
|
35
|
63
|
3
|
VALLE DE ABURRA
|
133
|
13
|
9
|
|
|
15
|
31
|
9
|
37
|
22
|
24
|
|
ESBOL
|
49
|
3
|
1
|
|
|
2
|
15
|
2
|
15
|
4
|
13
|
|
TOTAL
|
2 508
|
418
|
91
|
3
|
51
|
506
|
883
|
217
|
1 172
|
567
|
822
|
268
|
223. Another programme, covering investigations,
judicial proceedings and the rescue of abducted children, is being implemented
in
coordination with the national police, the Office of the Attorney-General,
the Administrative Department for National Security and
the national
army.
224. Act No. 40 of 19 January, known as the National Statute on
Abduction, was adopted in 1993. It sets forth rules defining abduction,
the powers of the security bodies and the changes which have been made to the
Penal Code concerning the length of sentences for the
offence of abduction. Act
No. 173 of 22 December, issued in 1994, approved the Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International
Child Abduction, which was signed in The Hague in 1989
and provides for the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained
in any contracting State. Act No. 282 of 6 June, which was adopted in 1996
in order to “eradicate certain offences against
personal liberty,
especially abduction and extortion”, established the National Council for
Action to Combat Abduction and
Other Attacks against Personal Liberty, the
Groupos de Acción Unificada por la Libertad Personal (GAULA), the
National Fund
for the Defence of Personal Liberty and special provisions for the
effective punishment of this offence.
Articles 20, 25 and 27
Protection and assistance by the State to children deprived of
a family environment,
care, protection and treatment of the child’s
physical or mental health and right to a
standard of living adequate for the
child’s development
225. As
mentioned above, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) is the agency in
charge of the care and protection of children
whose parents are unable to fulfil
their obligations satisfactorily or who are at risk. The characteristics and
coverage levels
of ICBF’s preventive treatment programmes are described
below.
Children aged 0-6
226. Comprehensive care for pre-school-age
children is designed to be a strategy of preparation for life, aimed at
developing children’s
full potential as human beings: love,
understanding, solidarity, mutual respect, freedom and independence. The
Community Education
Project, prepared with the participation of educators,
children, families and the community, was designed to achieve these objectives.
The following investment projects are conducted by ICBF under this
programme:
Community Welfare Homes;
Children’s
Homes;
Rural pre-school voucher;
Production and distribution of
“Bienestarina” food products.
Community Welfare Homes, 0-6 years
227. The Homes are established through
fellowships granted by ICBF to families, so that, working jointly with their
neighbours and
using local resources to a large extent, they will meet the basic
nutrition, health, protection and individual and social development
needs of
children from low-income sectors. They are designed to strengthen
parents’ responsibilities in training and caring
for their children and
community participation in self-management and problem solving by channelling
resources and working together
for the benefit of children.
228. This
programme is being implemented by the families of the beneficiary children, who
form parents’ associations and other
types of community organization and,
after obtaining legal capacity, conclude funding contracts with ICBF for
administering the resources
allocated by the Government together with funds
provided by the group.
229. The Homes are meant to operate primarily in
the most economically and socially depressed sectors, defined by the System for
the
Selection of Beneficiaries of Social Investment Projects (SISBEN) as being
at levels 1 and 2.
230. The programme is carried out using national
resources supplied through ICBF, resources allocated by the local authorities,
contributions
from families and the community and contributions from public and
private natural and legal persons and international
organizations.
231. Resources provided by the Government are used to
finance the initial endowment, training, fellowships, supervision and
evaluation.
The fellowship funds are given to community mothers for
replenishing the endowment, maintenance and fuel, food rations, teaching
materials for the long and short term and support for payment of public
services.
232. There are several types of homes: the family homes,
multiple homes and company-based homes. The first are under the care of
a
community mother, while the other two under the responsibility of several
mothers chosen by the Parents’ Association or the
group
itself.
233. The Food Support Programme was introduced in 1994 for
pre-school-age children receiving care in community welfare homes as a
subcomponent of the Programme in its traditional form.
234. The living
conditions of all the beneficiaries were improved, to the point where all
children receiving assistance in community
homes were provided with an average
calorie intake of 73 per cent of daily requirements, micronutrient intake of 96
per cent and
protein intake of 100 per cent. In addition,
“Bienestarina” food products, which supply 7 per cent of daily
calorie
requirements and 28 per cent of daily protein requirements, are provided
at the week-ends; for vacation days a food ration is provided
which covers 35
per cent of calorie requirements and 63 per cent of protein
requirements.
Community Welfare Homes - Family, women, children
(FAMI)
235. This programme consists of activities aimed at prevention
in the health area, protection, socialization, nutrition and the strengthening
of the emotional bond between mothers, fathers and children. It was established
to support families and the community in identifying
and meeting needs in
rearing children under two years of age.
236. The FAMI module of the
Community Welfare Homes cares for children under two years of age from pregnancy
onwards and is aimed
at fostering their development as human beings and
improving their quality of life. Accordingly, the same module services both
families
with pregnant mothers, breastfeeding mothers, and families in
development, the latter defined as family units which participate in
and
accompany the development process of their members from pregnancy
onwards.
237. The Homes are made up of 15 families in development,
comprising pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children under two
for each
household. Care is thus provided for 30 users consisting of children and
adults through a Community Education Group composed
of the 15 families in
development.
238. This module operates under the responsibility of a
Community Mother in her home, on community-provided premises and in the home
of
the user family, when home visits are made.
239. Under the health system,
the care of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers is coordinated in an effort to
prevent and control diseases
related to their physiological condition and to
monitor pre-natal checkups, care during pregnancy and post-partum check-ups,
family
planning and comprehensive health care for children under two in the
growth and development programme.
240. The Community Welfare Homes
project 0-6 years has increased its coverage every year since its establishment,
as shown in the
table below.
Coverage, Community Welfare, Homes
Year |
0-7 Years
|
FAMI
|
Total
|
|||
Number of homes
|
Coverage
|
Number of homes
|
Coverage
|
Number of homes
|
Coverage
|
|
1987
|
8 247
|
123 705
|
|
|
8 247
|
123 705
|
1988
|
23 552
|
353 280
|
|
|
23 552
|
353 280
|
1989
|
46 450
|
696 750
|
|
|
46 450
|
696 750
|
1990
|
49 098
|
736 470
|
|
|
49 098
|
736 470
|
1991
|
55 249
|
828 735
|
7 197
|
215 910
|
62 446
|
1 044 645
|
1992
|
57 238
|
858 570
|
11 283
|
338 490
|
68 521
|
1 197 060
|
1993
|
59 638
|
894 570
|
13 280
|
398 400
|
72 918
|
1 292 970
|
1994
|
59 150
|
887 250
|
13 398
|
401 940
|
72 548
|
1 289 190
|
1995
|
59 353
|
890 295
|
13 377
|
401 310
|
72 730
|
1 291 605
|
1996
|
59 068
|
886 020
|
14 561
|
436 830
|
73 629
|
1 322 850
|
1997
|
61 714
|
921 870
|
16 261
|
492 510
|
77 975
|
1 418 220
|
1998
|
65 848
|
987 720
|
16 261
|
492 510
|
82 109
|
1 480 230
|
241. One of the objectives of the Community Welfare Homes project is to
improve the quality of life of the participating families.
Accordingly, a
system of housing loans was established for dwellings where the community homes
system is in operation. The loans
have been granted since 1987 and 61,093 of
them have been made available to date, as shown below.
Improvements under Community Welfare Homes
Housing loans
Number of loans
|
Amount
|
|
1988
|
7 456
|
1 039 091 935.80
|
1989
|
7 007
|
1 140 413 107.80
|
1990
|
6 092
|
1 220 246 372.80
|
1991
|
12 006
|
3 453 385 393.00
|
1992
|
5 398
|
1 759 829 000.00
|
1993
|
8 857
|
3 874 000 970.00
|
1994
|
3 103
|
1 455 744 080.00
|
1995
|
5 903
|
4 885 463 478.00
|
1996
|
4 646
|
4 960 083 934.00
|
1997
|
625
|
649 288 286.00
|
1998
|
5 310
|
8 658 528 480.00
|
TOTAL
|
66 403
|
33 096 075 037.00
|
Training of community mothers
242. In an effort to upgrade the training of
community mothers in order to bring about a steady improvement in the quality of
their
work with children and parents, their training has been strengthened in
three core areas: early childhood stimulation, promotion
and prevention in the
health area and physical activities and body awareness.
Early childhood stimulation
243. In order to provide community mothers with
theoretical and practical tools to use in their work with families in
development,
early childhood stimulation is being implemented throughout the
country as a framework for introducing the topics of “Comprehensive
care
for families-to-be” and “Child development from birth to age
two”. In 1996, 4,004 educational agents were
trained and, in 1997, 14,600
FAMI community mothers introduced “early childhood stimulation” to
225,400 families in development.
The training was also given to 580 community
mothers in the 0-7 module and to 190 surrogate mothers.
Promotion and prevention in the health area
244. To meet its obligation under Act No. 100
of 1993, ICBF conducted a training programme in prevention and promotion in the
health
area for community mothers in the FAMI and 07 modules throughout the
country. To date, 73,342 community mothers have been trained
to:
Recognize the importance of health promotion in enhancing the quality of life;
Identify and correct risk factors in the family environment and in Community Welfare Homes;
Consult the instruction manual for appropriate advice on how to deal with specific problems;
Act as agents of change for introducing the appropriate methods of prevention
and promotion in the health area to the Community Home’s
user
families.
In addition, 10,746 parents from the Bolívar,
Quindío and Nariño regions were trained directly in the areas
mentioned
above.
Physical education and body awareness
245. In order to train community mothers in
leading physical activities to help children from two to six years of age learn
body awareness
and thus strengthen their self-image, 167 educational agents were
trained in 1996 in coordination with the Social Solidarity Network’s
Recreation Programme; the agents then gave such training to 26,480 community
mothers in 1997.
Rural voucher for pre-school-age children not covered by the Community Welfare Homes
246. Under this programme, a monthly food
supplement in-kind is provided for children from one to seven years of age from
extremely
poor rural families and the children are brought into supplementary
health and education programmes.
247. The programme is designed to
improve the nutritional status and health of children under seven years of age
living in rural areas
and not covered by Community Welfare Homes; priority is
given to children of female heads of household and to disabled children.
The
criteria used for targeting the programme are: highest indices of pre-school
morbidity, highest malnutrition rates and commitment
by the local
Government to carry out health and education activities. A network of families
is also being formed to carry out educational
activities under the
responsibility of an education agent. Nutrition: the food covered by the
voucher provides 72 per cent of daily
protein requirements and 58
per cent of daily calorie requirements.
Children’s Covenant
248. ICBF also helped prepare the Children’s Covenant, whose
three basic components are:
Children’s rights: to guarantee the best conditions for full development, advocacy work being done with a view to creating a child-friendly culture;
Plan of Action for Children (PAFI), established to give effect to the commitment made by Colombia at the World Summit for Children in 1990;
Office of the Juvenile Judge, established by the Government for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of all agreements signed on behalf of children.
249. The Colombian Family Welfare Institute is also participating in the
process of decentralizing the Children’s Covenant in
various territorial
entities. More than 20 covenants have been signed and implemented so
far.
250. In 1997, ICBF took part in a training plan in the framework of
the Children’s Covenant organized by the Office of the Presidential
Adviser for Social Policy. Workshops are also planned for all departments
participating in the Children’s Covenant.
Children's Homes
251. The Children's Home is a learning place designed to enhance
relations between adults and children, providing an atmosphere which
enables
children to achieve self-actualization and is conducive to participation in
decision-making, the formation of ethical values
and the development of their
full potential.
252. The Homes carry out activities for children from
three months to six years of age, giving priority to the children of working
mothers and fathers who are heads of household and belong to the population
group with unmet basic needs. Their objective is to
foster children's full
development, with organized participation by parents, by improving their lives
through the enhancement of
the quality of their relationships with their
families and the other groups making up their social circle, strengthen the
family
and guarantee children’s right to a childhood.
253. In
accordance with the comprehensive care approach and current legislation,
agencies, local authorities and non-governmental
organizations are also
involved, as components of the Programme, in the planning and implementation of
action on behalf of children
and families.
254. Coverage in 1998 is
expected to be increased to 163,083 children under seven years of age, with an
investment of Col$ 82,989,666.
Five -to-18-year age
group
255. ICBF conducts the following projects for children from 5
to 18 years of age:
Supplementary care for schoolchildren and
adolescents
256. This programme is a set of activities for the
maintenance and improvement of the situation with regard to the food, nutrition
and education of school-age children and adolescents with unmet basic needs,
both in and out of school in urban, rural and indigenous
areas. It targets
kindergarten children 5 and 6 years of age, children from 6 to 14 whether or not
attending primary school and
adolescents from 15 to 18 years old with unmet
basic needs.
257. The following services are provided through this project:
Lunch: Food supplement providing a minimum of 30 per cent of recommended daily calories and nutrients;
Fortified supplementary snack: food supplement providing a minimum of 20 per cent of daily calories and nutrients;
Glass of milk: Provision of one glass of milk per day and promotion of health care for beneficiaries in the areas of oral hygiene, visual and auditory care, immunization and elimination of parasites;
Rural school food voucher: Food supplement providing a minimum of 38 per cent of recommended daily calories and nutrients.
The following project activities are being carried out:
Nutritional education;
Assessment of physical growth;
Nutritional assessment;
Food supplements;
High-quality food preparation and supply service;
Health and hygiene;
Industrial safety;
Organization, operation and administration of the food service.
The project’s main achievements have been:
Expansion of coverage;
Linkage with private industry for the operation and management of the programme;
Conversion of the simple supplementary snack to a fortified supplementary snack;
Assistance to indigenous children with the lunch module only.
Year
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|||
Coverage
|
2 111 103
|
|
2 062 897
|
|
2 582 183
|
|
Budget (millions of pesos)
|
28 189
|
|
42 012
|
|
73 859.1
|
|
Comprehensive care for young people through youth
clubs
258. This programme involves creating places where young people
can meet, work together on projects and socialize according to their
interests,
needs, aspirations and values and is designed to enhance the development of
individual and collective youth projects by
strengthening forms of interaction
and dialogue which foster peaceful coexistence, respect, solidarity and
tolerance.
259. This project is composed of two modules:
Pre-teen clubs: Clubs made up of children from seven to 12 years of age, both attending and not attending school, who are at levels 1 and 2 and in a situation of high psychosocial risk. Special emphasis is placed on children who have been in Community Welfare Homes in order to guarantee continuity of development;
Teen clubs: Clubs made up of children from 13 to 18 years of age, both attending and not attending school. Activities are designed to strengthen participation by young people in social, political and cultural activities in the community, school and municipal contexts.
The activities of the project are the following:
Personal development: discussion groups and projects concerning young people's lives and their relations with family, peer group and milieu;
Youth participation and activities: strengthening, promoting and enhancing the participation of young people at the group, school, community and municipal levels, through the creation of new styles of leadership within communities and the full exercise of democracy;
Communication: promoting the preparation of teaching materials, audiovisual materials, journalistic and literary writings, murals, review of the club’s history and proposal of methodologies for youth activities that will support and enhance the work being done;
Strengthening of school performance and socio-labour training: inter-agency coordination activities aimed at enabling members of youth clubs to obtain their primary or secondary diploma, vacation classes in applied arts and crafts to enable them to improve their future quality of life, training in technical subjects, creation of small businesses, encouragement of reinsertion into the school system and devising of mechanisms for keeping young people in school;
Creation and recreation: guiding and encouraging young people’s creativity and talent through recreational, musical, athletic and arts-and-crafts activities.
The following have been the project’s achievements:
Diagnosis of the project at the national level;
Updating of technical and administrative guidelines in accordance with the situation in each region of the country;
Upgrading of the skills profile of 2,700 youth leaders through two training
courses: one on sex education and the other on physical
preparation and human
values.
Year
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|||
Coverage
|
12 675
|
|
35 455
|
|
41 295
|
|
Budget (millions of pesos)
|
449.0
|
|
3 590.0
|
|
5 500.0
|
|
Indigenous communities
260. As mentioned above, indigenous
communities in Colombia receive care through the following programmes:
Supplementary care for schoolchildren and adolescents; lunch module;
Care for children under seven years of age through the Community Welfare Homes in indigenous communities.
261. The project is currently undergoing an institutional adjustment
process geared to the sociocultural characteristics of the 82
indigenous ethnic
groups living in the national territory.
Comprehensive care for
indigenous families
262. The project focuses on finding resources to
foster indigenous production and the culture of indigenous people as an
autonomous
social group in order to strengthen their economic, social, political
and ideological structures. The goal is to pave the way for
balanced relations
with the local, regional and national environment in the framework of
self-management processes which meet their
own aspirations, using an approach
based on intercultural understanding.
263. The project targets the
country’s entire indigenous population of approximately 600,000
people and includes the following
three components:
Self-sufficiency and
food security;
Endogenous socialization;
Recognition of the communities’ own forms of internal social control.
It is being implemented through social units, i.e. population groups with a common history and territory which share a system of social, cultural, political, economic and ideological relations and have a common life project. The following activities are being carried out:
Research activities: an organized, rational and systematized process by which knowledge is obtained about the particular features of each indigenous people;
Support for and strengthening of the communities' internal management; ongoing activities for the management and development of ethnic projects favourable to development, self-recognition and cultural self-validation;
Implementation: support by ICBF and other agencies for the preparation and implementation of ethnic projects decided on by the communities and reflecting a planning process;
Evaluation: activities designed to provide communities with feedback on their management and cultural effectiveness and proposal of alternatives and decisions.
The project’s achievements have been:
Research on the sociocultural characteristics of certain ethnic peoples making it possible to gear activities to the usages, customs, traditions and forms of social and political organization of the indigenous peoples living in the departments of Meta, Nariño, Cesar, Santander, Cauca and Amazonas;
Assessment study, “Indians of the plain, forest and mountains”;
Nation-wide dissemination of support materials for work with indigenous peoples: “Building Intercultural Understanding”;
Advisory assistance for the protection of indigenous children;
Process of adapting projects to the needs of indigenous communities.
Year
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|||
Coverage
|
121 298
|
|
134 542
|
|
142 720
|
|
Budget (millions of pesos)
|
548.0
|
|
1 271.0
|
|
1 827.0
|
|
Article 21
Adoption of children
264. In
accordance with the legal provisions contained in Decree No. 2737/89, the
Juvenile Code, ICBF ensures that the administrative
protection process for
defining the legal status of children who are potential candidates for adoption
by declaring them to have
been abandoned takes place in a timely and appropriate
manner.
265. The children are generally prepared, in accordance with their
age, for integration into their new family environment in order
to avoid painful
failures for both the children and their adoptive families.
266. Prior to
the start of the judicial process, ICBF, through its Adoption Division, sees to
it that the adoptive parents provide
all the documents listed in articles 105
and 106 of the Juvenile Code in order to facilitate proceedings before the
family judge
attached to the place where the child is living or the agency
responsible for the child’s personal care.
267. Following the
adoption and pursuant to the provisions of article 106 (a) of the Juvenile Code,
ICBF monitors, discreetly and
on a temporary basis, the child’s
development in his new family through the international adoption agency
authorized in each
country to process international
adoptions.
268. Through other protection programmes, ICBF controls and
prevents abandonment, illtreatment and abuse of children and seeks to
ensure
that those who are in need of adoption promptly find the best family environment
for their full development.
269. ICBF systematizes all data on children
and families in order to maintain up-to-date and available information on
adoption to
back up proposals for action or prevention. In so doing, it has
identified the characteristics which make a child a difficult candidate
for
adoption and devised alternative solutions.
Articles 23, 24 and 26
Conditions ensuring dignity, special care and assistance for
physically or mentally disabled
children, right to enjoy the highest
attainable standard of health, social security
270. In
order to give effect to the health policy relating to children, a range of
activities and programmes have been developed,
some of the most important
achievements of which are the following:
Drop in the national infant mortality rate from 123.2 per 1,000 live births in 1950 to 30 in 1990 and 28 for the five-year period 1990-1995;
Reduction of the mortality rate among children under 5 from 132 deaths per 1,000 children under 5 in 1960 to 36 per 1,000 in 1995;
The national average for exclusive breastfeeding through the age of six months was 11 per cent for 1995. According to a study conducted by ICBF, exclusive breastfeeding through the age of six months for the children of community mothers was 39 per cent in 1997;
The average duration of breastfeeding in Colombia rose from 5.9 months in 1991 to 11 months in 1995;
Drop in prevalence of overall malnutrition in children under five years of age from 21 per cent in 1965 to 8 per cent in 1995 and decrease in chronic malnutrition from 32 per cent to 15 per cent during the same period;
Elimination of neonatal tetanus as a public health problem, with an 87 per cent reduction in cases between 1989 and 1996. The current incidence rate is less than under 0.1 per 1,000 live births;
Increase in social security coverage from 20 per cent in 1994 to 53 per cent in 1998 under the General Health Insurance Scheme, which services family units and gives priority to pregnant women, female heads of families and children under one year of age;
Reduction of 29 per cent in perinatal mortality, 50 per cent in low birth
weight and more than 50 per cent in the incidence of premature
births and
increase in average birth weight - in one-quarter of the territorial
entities - through the introduction of a preventive
action model.
271. An
expanded immunization programme is also being conducted to eradicate various
diseases such as poliomyelitis, measles and neonatal
tetanus and to control
hepatitis B, rubella, bacterial meningitis and morbidity and mortality due to
diphtheria and yellow fever.
The tables below describe the programme’s
objectives and the results achieved.
Plan for the eradication of poliomyelitis
Result
|
|
Consolidate the eradication of polio in Colombia
|
Colombia was certified free from poliomyelitis in 1994 and, from that date
onwards, the indicators supporting certification have remained
above 80 per cent
(minimum required). There have been no confirmed cases of polio since 1991,
i.e. not a single case for the last
seven years.
|
|
In addition, an annual large-scale immunization programme has been planned
and conducted for every child under five years of age,
with an additional dose
of oral polio vaccine.
|
|
Cases of acute flaccid paralysis, at all levels, are strictly monitored.
Cases are analysed weekly at the central level.
|
Plan for the elimination and eradication of measles by the year 2000
Result
|
|
Curb virus transmission, decrease morbidity and mortality and maintain
coverage levels of over 95 per cent
|
Introduction of the triple viral vaccine for children under 5 years of
age and booster dose at 10 years. In 1995, approximately 2,700,000
children
under three years old were vaccinated with this new vaccine.
|
|
Viral transmission was curbed and a decrease of 90 per cent in annual
reported cases was achieved.
|
|
The 1997 attack rates were the lowest reported in Colombia in this century;
only nine cases were confirmed by laboratory tests.
|
|
From 1996 to 1998, no deaths from measles were reported.
|
|
Reports of suspected cases are evaluated on a weekly basis.
|
|
The laboratory network was strengthened throughout the country.
|
Neonatal tetanus elimination plan
Result
|
|
Elimination of neonatal tetanus. Achieve rates of less than
1 per 1,000 live births.
|
Municipalities classified as being in the maintenance phase have succeeded
in protecting more than 90 per cent of WCBA and the risk
of cases arising is
less than one per 1,000 live births.
|
|
At the moment, 482 municipalities are classified as risk areas, 136 of
which have been reported as silent areas. In the 1997 evaluation,
the
proportion of municipalities in the attack phase decreased to 38 per cent.
|
|
As of 1997, Colombia had achieved an accumulated tetanus toxoid
immunization coverage rate of 77 per cent and reduced the frequency
of cases of
neonatal tetanus by 90 per cent in comparison with 1985.
|
|
The PAHO recommendation was adopted and tetanus toxoid was replaced by
tetanus-diphtheria toxoid.
|
Hepatitis B control plan
Result
|
|
Begin control of hepatitis B and hepatitis delta in Colombia
|
Introduction of hepatitis B vaccine, for children under 5 throughout the
country and for children under 10 in endemic areas.
|
|
Examination and vaccination of health workers.
|
|
Studies showing vaccination to be over 70 per cent effective in decreasing
infection and 100 per cent effective in reducing carrier
states.
|
Control plan for rubella and congenital rubella syndrome
Result
|
|
Begin control of rubella and congenital rubella
|
In 1995, the triple viral vaccine (measles, rubella and mumps) was
introduced in Colombia. The vaccine was administered to 90 per
cent of children
from 1 to 3 years of age, i.e. 2,700,000 children.
|
|
In addition, a mass immunization campaign was held for the 10 to
15-year age group, 90 per cent of whom (approximately 3,700,000 children)
have
now been vaccinated.
|
|
Vaccines are being administered to women after childbirth or abortion and
women of childbearing age, who are considered to be a group
at risk already
included in the vaccination scheme.
|
|
A rubella and congenital rubella syndrome monitoring system is being
implemented.
|
Control plan for bacterial meningitis
Result
|
|
Begin control of meningococcal meningitis and Haemophilus influenzae
|
Introduction of meningococcal meningitis vaccines for endemic areas and for
the 5 to14-year age group and introduction of Haemophilus
vaccine for children
under 1 throughout the country.
|
|
In under two months, 700,000 children under 1 were vaccinated against
meningitis and pneumonia due to Haemophilus.
|
|
A system of epidemiological monitoring of diseases produced by these
bacteria is being implemented.
|
Other control plans
Result
|
|
Decrease morbidity and mortality due to diphtheria
|
During 1997 and 1998, only eight suspected cases of diphtheria were
reported, of which two were confirmed in 1997, while, in 1998,
three of the
five cases were ruled out.
Tetanus-diphtheria toxoid has replaced tetanus toxoid for use with women of child-bearing age, covering two pathologies. |
Decrease morbidity and mortality due to pertussis
|
Cases of pertussis have tended to decline, by more than
70 per cent of expected cases.
|
Decrease morbidity and mortality due to yellow fever
|
Areas where yellow fever is endemic have been defined and 40 per cent
of the population at risk has been vaccinated.
|
272. The Ministry of Health also implements institutional support plans for
agencies carrying out projects relating to children’s
health and
educational support plans relating to preventive aspects and awarenessraising in
the areas of responsible sexuality and
the use of psychoactive substances. The
following are worth mentioning:
Inclusion of the promotion and protection of children’s and
adolescents’ health as an item on the national, departmental
and municipal
political agenda, with the participation of social sectors and civil
society;
Breastfeeding and childcare programmes:
Development of information, education and communication strategies through
the press, radio and television, on healthy mothers and
children, protection of
the mother-child nucleus, encouragement of breastfeeding and prevention of
maternal and child mortality;
Reformulation of the plan for the promotion, protection and support of
breastfeeding and training of Ministry of Health staff and
teachers from
university health sciences and social sciences departments in the General Health
Insurance Scheme’s promotion
and prevention policies, breastfeeding
courses and information on the strategy adopted by the Woman- and Child-Friendly
Institutions
(IAMIs);
Training and technical assistance for 20 regions in the promotion of
breastfeeding and accreditation of 55 institutions as Woman-
and Child-Friendly
Institutions. As of July 1998, the IAMI initiative was being used in over 300
institutions nation-wide;
Involvement of the Social Security Institute and the Office of the District
Health Secretary in Bogotá in the implementation
of the IAMI strategy;
both institutions are following this initiative in 100 per cent of their
agencies;
Training programmes in:
Responsible sexuality and prevention of pharmacological dependence;
Preparation and dissemination of the sexual and reproductive health policy,
granting priority to adolescents as a group and emphasizing
activities promoting
factors conducive to healthy, complete, autonomous, safe and responsible
sexuality and the prevention of unplanned
pregnancies and abortions among young
people; educational and preventive activities on exposure to tobacco, alcohol
and drug addiction;
Training in children’s rights:
(i) Promotion of proper treatment of children, an integral part of the national mental health policy; the policy guidelines of this campaign include this aspect as a priority mental health area and define strategies conducive to promoting the mental health and well-being of children and the detection and timely treatment of the different mental pathologies and disturbances;
(ii) A preliminary document called “A strategy for Healthy Schools” was prepared, aimed at schoolchildren’s human and social development;
(iii) Awareness-raising and motivation to strengthen protection and prevention and to control risk factors leading to violence, ill-treatment and abuse against children and adolescents.
Child abuse
Since 1996, resources from the munitions and
explosives tax have been earmarked for the prevention of domestic violence and
the treatment
of child abuse;
Establishment of community and institutional networks to provide for a timely
response and public health monitoring as part of the
national system to combat
child abuse and sexual abuse, a project coordinated by the Office of the
Presidential Adviser for Social
Policy.
Vaccination coverage levels and goals sought from 1994
through
1998 [21]
Vaccine
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
|||||
goal
|
met
% |
goal
|
met
% |
goal
|
met
% |
goal
|
met
% |
goal
|
met
% |
|
Polio
|
90
|
92
|
90
|
95
|
95
|
95
|
95
|
85
|
95
|
70
|
DPT
|
90
|
88
|
90
|
94
|
95
|
95
|
95
|
84
|
95
|
70
|
Measles
|
90
|
84
|
95
|
80
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Triple viral
|
-
|
-
|
95
|
97
|
95
|
98
|
95
|
89
|
95
|
80
|
BCG
|
90
|
96
|
90
|
99
|
95
|
99
|
95
|
99
|
95
|
70
|
Hepatitis B
|
-
|
-
|
90
|
74
|
95
|
95
|
95
|
85
|
95
|
72
|
Action in the framework of the HIV/AIDS programme to decrease the
vertical
transmission of HIV
273. Decree No. 1543
states that, because the number of cases of HIV/AIDS in this population group is
on the rise, the programme’s
prevention policies give this group priority
in its strategies for the next year, the objective of which is to reduce the
vertical
transmission rate to a minimum level. They are based on the treatment
schemes contained in protocol No. 076 of 1994, which has shown
optimal
results in decreasing vertical transmission throughout the world, including
third world countries, with rates varying between
2 and 5 per cent, i.e. an 80
to 90 per cent decrease in transmission.
274. The second edition of the manual Perinatal and paediatric AIDS
was published in 1996; the manual was originally edited and published in 1994
for firsthand use by the basic health team at primary
health care levels and in
specialized centres. This document is the result of joint work by health
professionals with experience
in the clinical care of pregnant women and
children living with HIV infection, with the coordination of the National
Programme for
STDHIV/AIDS Prevention and Control.
275. The papers
Basic Handling of HIV-AIDS Infection (February 1997) and Perinatal and
Paediatric AIDS (January 1996) contain technical information on strategies
for the prevention and control of the HIV-AIDS epidemic and of vertical
transmission from mother to child.
276. These plans contain specific
activities aimed at a substantial short-term reduction in cases of HIV among
children; these include
the Comprehensive Care Guides and the preparation and
implementation of a National Plan for the Prevention of Vertical
Transmission.
Plan for the elimination of congenital syphilis
277. The plan for the elimination of congenital
syphilis in Colombia, which was introduced in 1995, is aimed at eliminating
syphilis
by the end of the year 2000 (reducing the incidence rate of congenital
syphilis to 1 case per 2,000 live births over a five-year
period); to achieve
this goal, gradual measures were introduced as follows:
Guarantee the early detection and appropriate and timely treatment of
pregnant women with the disease;
Guarantee the treatment and follow-up of children fitting the definition of congenital syphilis;
Guarantee the treatment of sexual partners of infected mothers;
Strengthen epidemiological surveillance of congenital syphilis in order to monitor the activities’ impact.
278. To implement the foregoing, a manual of technicaladministrative and
technicalscientific norms was prepared and distributed and
has been adapted
according to developments in the General Health Insurance Scheme.
279. As
of 1996, total investment in reagents was Col$ 214,962,550 and, in medicines,
Col$ 170,535,221, distributed in 36 departments
and four district capitals,
according to the concentration of cases.
280. Efforts to implement the
health policy relating to children and meet the objectives of the World Summit
for Children produced
the results indicated below in 1995. The expected rate
for 2000 is also given for each objective:
Progress achieved in meeting the goals of the World Summit for Children[22]
Goal year
2000 |
Rates observed in 1990
|
Expected rate year
2000 according to 1995 goal |
Result obtained
1995 |
---|---|---|---|
Reduction of mortality due to diarrhoeal diseases by 50 per cent
by the year 2000 in comparison with 1990
|
47.2 per 100,000 children under 5
|
35.4 per 100,000
|
31.7 per 100,000
Goal achieved 112 per cent latest data according to DANE |
Reduction of mortality due to diarrhoeal diseases by 25 per cent
by the year 2000 in comparison with 1990
|
113.5 per 100,000 children under 5
|
Expected rate according to 1997 goal
93.63 per 1,000 |
Result obtained 1997 87.8 per 1,000
Goal achieved 107 per cent |
Reduction of mortality due to acute respiratory infection by
30 per cent by the year 2000 in comparison with 1990
|
48.3 per 100,000 children under 5
|
Expected rate according to 1995 goal
41.1 per 100,000 |
40.0 per 100,000
Goal achieved 103 per cent latest data according to DANE |
Social security
281. Regarding the protection of children,
article 44 of the Constitution of Colombia stipulates that the right to social
security is one of the basic rights of children.
282. Article 50 of the
Constitution guarantees free medical care to children under a year old in all
health institutions that receive State subsidies, if such treatment
is not
covered by any type of protection or social security.
283. Article 376,
paragraph 3, of the Constitution relating to the transfer of taxes from the
Central Government to the provinces for health and education services states
that these
resources will be allocated to health, with special attention to
children at the preschool, primary and secondary levels.
284. It should
be noted that a priority goal of the National Development and Investment
Plan 1995-1998, contained in Act No. 188 of
1998, is the gradual
affiliation of the people to social security through a system of subsidies for
the poorest and most vulnerable
sectors of the population.
285. Through
the introduction of the Annual Mother and Child Plan (PAMI), the State is thus
trying to implement a strategy of accelerated
incorporation of vulnerable groups
into the subsidized system, especially pregnant women and children under one
year of age, selected
on the basis of previously determined
criteria.
286. Pursuant to the Constitution, article 163 of the Social
Security Act (Act No. 100 of 1993) relating to family coverage stipulates
that family coverage will be
part of the mandatory health plan, whose
beneficiaries will also include children under 18 of either of the spouses who
are
part of the family unit and economically dependent on it; the plan also
covers children over 18 with permanent disabilities and children
under 25
provided that they are full-time students and economically dependent on the plan
member.
287. The remaining aspects relating to social security for minors
are also contained in Act No. 100 of 1993.
288. Between 1994
and 1998, there was an increase in social security coverage, which rose from
20 per cent in 1994 to 53 per cent
in 1998 under the General
Health Insurance Scheme, as mentioned above, the beneficiary being the family
nucleus, with priority to
pregnant women, women heads of household and children
under one year of age.
289. With regard to the right of disabled children
to receive special care and have access to training, preparation for employment
and rehabilitation, the following activities are being carried out:
Interagency work has been done through the National Committee for the
Protection of Mentally Retarded Children. In conducting the
bidding process for
the contracting of agencies, ICBF received support from the Ministries of Health
and Education, INCI and INSOR.
ICBF is expected to participate next year in the
strengthening of the interagency support networks for the training and
rehabilitation
of persons with disabilities, sponsored by the Ministry of
Health, in order to coordinate efforts;
Progress has been made in designing technical guidelines for the treatment of
children with disabilities;
During this year, support was provided for training events sponsored by
NGOs;
The training of contract supervisors in evaluation and comprehensive
diagnosis and the follow-up and evaluation of action plans is
scheduled for next
year;
Efforts focus on enhancing the follow-up of services for children with
disabilities, in particular institutional services for the
most vulnerable
children with multiple disabilities;
The national educational system provides for the specific problems of educating children with physical, sensory and psychological limitations;
Decree No. 2082 of 1996 contains the principles and guidelines for
special education in Colombia;
The activities of the Ministry of Education include technical and financial support for 36 departments of education, awarenessraising workshops for the educational community, training for 1,800 teacher’s aides and interdisciplinary teams, training for teachers in 220 schools, the provision of specialized teaching materials and equipment for another 220 schools, research aimed at enhancing the delivery of education, support for lowincome families through education subsidies and a target study of population groups in 70 municipalities providing organized data for policy formulation.
Article 32
Protection from economic
exploitation and work likely to be
hazardous or to interfere with
education or to be harmful
290. Colombia is committed to the gradual elimination of child labour and
the protection of young workers. Various sectors of society
have agreed upon
joint objectives and goals and specific programmes are currently being developed
to prevent early entry into the
labour force and to rescue and protect working
children aged under 14 and young people aged between 14 and 18 engaged in
harmful
and dangerous activities.
291. In this campaign, Colombia is
cooperating with various United Nations agencies, particularly the United
Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organization
(ILO). The latter, through the International Programme on the Elimination
of
Child Labour (IPEC), has been providing technical and financial assistance for
the development of national policy on the issue
since May 1996.
292. The
various initiatives that different sectors of society have been putting forward
for some time are now being thoroughly consolidated
and mechanisms are now being
established to ensure that they will be sustainable in the future.
Achievements in the campaign to eliminate child labour in Colombia
293. First, we will present the statistical
analysis of the situation contained in the document “Child and youth
labour: main
trends between 1992 and 1996 - preliminary report”,
sponsored by IPEC, ILO, the Inter-Agency Committee for the Elimination
of Child
Labour and the Protection of Young Workers and the University of the
Andes.
294. Secondly, we will give a brief account of government policies
on the subject and of the processes of institution-building, social
action
programmes, recent legislative developments and some cases of direct
action.
Child and youth labour: main trends between 1992 and 1996
Labour-force participation of young people aged between 14 and 17
295. In 1996, one out
of every four young people aged between 14 and 17 was economically active, i.e.
exercising or seeking to exercise
a paid occupation (or unpaid in the case of
domestic help) in the production of goods and services for the market.
Nevertheless,
as compared with the situation in 1992, Colombia is witnessing a
downward trend in the employment of young workers. The specific
labourforce
participation rate of young people aged between 14 and 17 fell by
17 per cent, from 31.2 per cent to
25.9 per cent.
296. Labour-force participation rates in 1996
are much higher in rural areas than in urban areas - one out of every three
young people
in rural areas, compared with one out of five in urban areas.
Nevertheless, the rates have fallen in both urban and rural areas.
The
participation rate
for young people aged between 14 and 17 fell from
21.3 per cent to 18.4 per cent in urban areas and from
43.1 per cent to 36.9 per
cent in rural areas, a decrease of
13.6 per cent and 14.4 per cent, respectively, between
1992 and 1996.
297. Traditional gender-based work patterns indicate that,
in both urban and rural areas, males have a higher level of participation
in the labour market than females. In 1996, for example,
23.5 per cent of adolescent urban males aged between 14 and 17 were
working,
as compared with only 13.8 per cent of urban females of the same age.
In other words, urban males’ participation in the labour
force is almost
double that of urban females. In rural areas, the differences are even greater:
55.2 per cent of males as opposed
to 16.7 per cent of females of the same age
were economically active.
298. Nevertheless, gender-based differences in
labour-force participation are significantly lower when household activities are
included.
299. Traditionally, girls do more in the way of cleaning the
house, taking care of brothers and sisters, preparing food and, generally,
any
other household chores, and the data clearly bear this out. The adjusted
participation rates show that, in 1996, 30.4 per cent
of girls aged
between 14 and 17 were economically active, as compared with
38 per cent of boys. In urban areas, the difference between
male and
female labourforce participation is also less great: the participation rate for
females is 21.8 per cent and for males
24.4 per cent. In
rural areas, the gap is further reduced: 44.2 per cent of females and
56.2 per cent of males participate in the
labour market.
300. It is not only gender differences that are affected if the
definition of child and youth labour is changed. Clearly, the adjusted
labourforce participation rates are higher than the traditional labourforce
participation rates because domestic tasks are included
as “work”.
Which is the most appropriate definition? The answer to this complex question
depends on the assessment
and judgement of the person using the figures.
Labour-force participation of children aged between 12 and 13
301. The younger the children, the less likely
they are to be working. The traditional labourforce participation rate for
children
aged between 12 and 13 was 9.9 per cent in 1996, although it
was considerably higher in rural areas (17 per cent) than in urban
areas
(3.9 per cent) and was higher for males
(14.6 per cent) than for females
(4.7 per cent).
302. As in the 14 to 17yearold age group, the
traditional labourforce participation of children aged between 12 and 13
fell between
1992 and 1996, particularly in urban areas. The traditional
labourforce participation rate for children aged between 12 and 13 fell
from 12.8 per cent in 1992 to 9.9 per cent in 1996, a
decrease of 22.7 per cent over this period. In urban areas, the
participation
rate fell from 5.7 per cent to 3.9 per cent
and, in rural areas, from 20.7 per cent to 17 per cent,
decreases of 31 per cent and
18 per cent,
respectively.
303. If household tasks are considered as work,
the participation of children aged between 12 and 13 rises; it reached
25 per cent
in rural areas in 1996. However, even using this broader
definition of work, the participation of children aged between 12 and 13
in
the labour force fell after 1992, when it was as high as 31 per cent
in rural areas.
Labourforce participation of children aged between 7 and 11
304. For the purposes of the national household
survey of the National Administrative Department for Statistics (DANE),
information
was collected on the economic activity of the population aged 12 and
over, but no information was collected on the working conditions
of children
aged under 12. In order to go more deeply into the question of child
labour by minors under 12 years old, DANE carried
out a survey on childhood
and adolescence (ENA1) in October 1996 in eight Colombian cities and
metropolitan areas, as a special module
of EH93 6. The ENA-1 Survey makes
it possible to identify children who work for a business or manufacturer at home
or outside or
who consider themselves “independent” and also to
identify children working in the home. In both cases, the number of
hours
devoted to each activity was ascertained. On the basis of this information, two
complementary definitions of child labour
were given. The first definition
includes all children performing any kind of work for a business or manufacturer
or independently,
with no restrictions on the number of hours worked per week.
The second definition considers any child who spends more than 20 hours
a week
working on household tasks as a child labourer.
305. The specific
employment rate of children aged between 7 and 11 in 1996
was 1.8 per cent, that is, 1 out of 55 children aged between
7 and 11 was working. According to the second definition of work, the
percentage was estimated at 2.8 per cent, that is, 1 out
of
36 children was working.
306. It is not possible to make
comparisons over time, but, by way of illustration, it may be recalled that the
actual labour-force
participation rate (according to the traditional definition)
for children aged between 6 and 9 in the 10 biggest Colombian cities
was 1.8 per
cent and that for the 10 to 11-year-old age group was 3.6 per cent in June 1992.
Education and work
307. In Colombia, as in the majority of Latin
American countries, the school attendance rate decreases with age. In
1996, 87 per
cent of children aged between 12 and 13 and
only 70 per cent of young people aged between 14 and 17 attended
a formal educational
establishment (at the pre-school, primary, secondary or
university level).
308. Given the reduced educational opportunities and
the higher drop-out rate in rural areas, enrolment rates for children in rural
areas are lower than in urban areas: 70.7 per cent in rural areas as opposed to
92.4 per cent in urban areas for children aged between
12 and 13,
and 55.5 per cent in rural areas as opposed to 79.9 per cent in urban
areas for the 14 to 17yearold age group.
309. Despite these
relatively low rates, especially in rural areas, school attendance is higher
than it was in 1992. Enrolment rates
for 14 to 17-year-olds climbed from 63.7
per cent to 70 per cent between 1992 and 1996, an increase of 9.9
per cent, and that of
the 12 to 13yearolds from 82.2 per cent to 87 per
cent, a slight increase of 5.8 per cent. This increase in school attendance is
consistent with the decreases observed in the labour-force participation rates
for children and young people.
310. Differences in school attendance by
boys and girls show that girls participate more in the educational system
than their male
contemporaries, especially in rural areas. Thus,
whereas 59 per cent of girls aged between 14 and 17 in rural areas
attended school,
only 52 per cent of boys aged between 14 and 17
in rural areas did so. This partly explains the higher participation of male
youths
in rural areas in the above-mentioned labour market.
311. In
Colombia’s case, school activities and work appear to be mutually
exclusive rather than complementary. The figures
for a combination of
activities (studies, work and household tasks) indicate that the majority of
young people engage only in study
activities, while very few combine activities.
This situation was far more apparent in 1996 than in 1992 and applies
to all groups,
regardless of age, gender or area: the proportion of young
people who devote their time entirely to their studies is increasing,
while the
proportion devoting their time entirely to working is decreasing. This
behaviour is evidence of a low complementarity
between study and work and is
consistent with the evidence showing an increase in schoolenrolment rates and a
decrease in labourforce
participation rates between 1992 and 1996 for
children and young people.
Employment characteristics
Occupation
312. A breakdown of
the jobs performed by working children and young people in 1996 shows a
predominance of farming activities for
males (60 per cent) and service
activities for females (50 per cent). This picture did not change
significantly between 1992 and
1996, although a slight increase could
be observed in the number of boys aged 12 to 13 working as traders or
sellers.
313. The breakdown by occupation varies by area. Farm workers
predominate among rural males, whereas manual workers are in the majority
among
urban males. This was the case in both 1992 and 1996. Urban females
mostly work in services, whereas, in rural areas, girls
work not only in
services, but also as farm workers. The proportion of females aged
between 14 and 17 in rural areas working in
service jobs increased
between 1992 and 1996, at the expense of farm work. This situation
differs from that observed for 12 to 13yearold
girls working in rural areas. It
appears that, in 1996, girls were more likely to start working in farming
activities and then move
on to activities in the service sector.
Working day
314. Under Colombian law, children aged
between 12 and 13 may work only up to four hours a day
(24 hours a week). Nevertheless, it
was observed that, in 1996, boys
of this age were working on average 32 hours a week and girls 36 hours a
week. In accordance with
the law on child labour, the length of the working day
increases with age. Thus, young males aged
between 14 and 15
worked on average 40.2 hours a week in 1996 and females worked
39.8 hours a week. In the 16 to 17yearold age group,
males
worked 43.9 hours a week and females 44.5 hours a
week.
315. In almost all age groups, females generally worked longer than
males.
316. Nevertheless, the long working days of both boys and girls
appear to have become shorter in recent years, as the trend between
1992
and 1996 shows some changes for the better, particularly in the 12 to
13yearold age group: down from 38 hours a week for boys
in this age group
in 1992 to 32 hours a week in 1996 and down from 39 to
36 hours a week for girls in the same age group. Even in
the case of older
working children, a shortening of the working day can be observed. For example,
the number of hours a week worked
by 14 to 15yearold girls fell from 44.6
to 39.8.
317. The length of the working day differs by area and sex.
On the one hand, males in rural areas work longer hours than those in
cities.
Thus, in 1996, whereas a 12 to 13-year-old boy in a rural area worked on average
33.8 hours a week, a boy of the same age
in an urban area worked 26 hours a
week (fig. 24). In the case of girls, those in urban areas worked longer days:
a 12 to 13-year-old
girl in an urban area worked on average 42 hours a week,
whereas her counterpart in the country worked 34 hours a week.
318. On
the other hand, in urban areas, girls work longer days than boys: a 12 to
13-year-old girl in an urban area works on average
42 hours a week (fig. 25) and
a boy of the same age in the same area works on average 26 hours. These
gender-based differences between
areas are closely linked to the type of job
done by each sex in each area. It will be recalled that males in rural areas
work mainly
in agricultural jobs and females in urban areas are basically
performing jobs in the service sector, predominantly in domestic service.
Clearly, these two types of job have no fixed hours and therefore young people
end up working long days.
319. The length of the working day for
children should be within the limits laid down by law for that purpose.
However, in 1996,
a significant proportion of young people were working days
longer than those provided for by law. In 1996, 59.4 per cent of boys
aged
between 12 and 13 and 67 per cent of girls aged between 12 and 13 worked an
average number of hours that was higher than the
legal limit. The proportion of
children working longer days than those allowed by law decreases with age,
partly because the law
increases the permitted length of the working day with
age.
320. Despite the unsatisfactory situation observed in 1996 with
respect to the proportion of young people working days longer than
the legal
limit, the situation was even worse in 1992. The proportion of 12 to
13-year-old boys working days longer than the legal
limit fell
from 70.1 per cent in 1992 to 59.4 per cent in 1996, while the same
proportion for the 16 to 17yearold age group fell
from 46 per
cent to 35 per cent in the same period. In the case of girls, only in the 12 to
13-year-old age group was a slight increase
observed in the proportion of girls
working days longer than the legal limit, going from 64.5 per cent in 1992
to 66.9 per cent in
1996. In the other age groups, one finds, as in the
case of boys, a decrease in the proportion working days longer than those
provided
for by law (figs. 28 and 29).
Access to social security
321. The law in Colombia provides that:
“In no circumstances may the social security and other guarantees
granted to workers over the age of 18 be reduced in the case
of younger workers.
Every employer making use of children below the age of 18 is under an obligation
to register them with the Social
Security Institute or the relevant welfare body
as from the date on which the employment contract or working relationship is
established.”
322. Nevertheless, only 4.3 per cent of
male workers between the age of 14 and 17 are registered with a social security
and health
scheme and 2.1 per cent with a pension fund. The proportion of
girls of the same age registered for health purposes is 7 per cent
and, for
pensions, 3.3 per cent. Social security and pension coverage for working
children in Colombia is thus almost non-existent.
New government policies to eliminate child labour
323. Significant progress has been made during
the current decade on policymaking, institution-building, the development of
analytical
tools, mobilizing society with regard to the issue, taking direct
action in critical situations, improving legislation and subscribing
to and
actively supporting the worldwide movement to eliminate child
labour.
324. In December 1995, the InterAgency Committee for the
Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers, with the
support of ILO, completed its work on the National Plan of Action for the
Gradual Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection
of Young Workers, which
coordinates the work of agencies in pursuit of this objective.
325. The
plan was the result of a detailed analysis of the trends, extent and
characteristics of child labour in Colombia and of the
institutional resources
available at the time for preventing early entry into the labour market,
rescuing children from it and improving
working conditions for
children.
326. The plan’s main objectives are related to:
Strengthening the educational system in such a way as to keep children in
school at least until they have completed their basic education
and also to
develop work training programmes for young people over the age of 14;
Ensuring that all children enjoy the right to health within their household and ensuring that workers over the age of 14 have access to a comprehensive social security scheme (covering health, pensions and occupational hazards);
Supporting the poorest families in their economically productive activities and in caring for their children;
Seeking out children working in harmful and dangerous jobs and providing them with comprehensive protection;
Strengthening domestic legislation and the mechanisms to ensure its implementation;
Constantly bearing in mind the issue of child labour at the national and local levels;
Establishing and strengthening the bodies responsible for developing the policy to eliminate child labour.
327. In May 1996, the ILO and the Government of Colombia agreed on how to
implement the International Programme on the Elimination
of Child Labour (IPEC)
at the national level. IPEC’s overall objective is to support the various
sectors of society in developing
the agreed national policy on the issue. Its
specific objectives are: to encourage constant analysis of the situation; to
strengthen
sectoral and cross-sectoral bodies and policies dealing with the
elimination of child labour; to come up with models for action that
include ways
to prevent early entry into the labour market, to remove children from the
labour force, protect them and improve children’s
working conditions; and
to mobilize the various sectors of society so that they become aware of the
problem and commit themselves
to the elimination of child labour and to
supporting the worldwide movement to eliminate child labour.
Institution-building
328. Inter-Agency Committee for the
Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers.
Presidential Decree No. 859 was issued in May 1995 and established the
committee responsible for formulating and developing policies
and programmes to
prevent and eliminate the participation of children in the workforce and to
regulate and improve children’s
working conditions.
329. Since
then, the Committee has designed and evaluated the operational plans for each
year. One of the strategies agreed upon
to keep the national committee active
was the establishment of an executive committee consisting of specialists
representing agencies
with expertise in the appropriate field to deal with
policies for the elimination of child labour.
330. In addition to
preparing the operational plans for submission to the Inter-Agency Committee for
its consideration, the executive
committee establishes machinery to follow up
the commitments made by agencies and strategies to promote their active
involvement.
331. Decentralization of the National Plan. Through
the strategy of the Children’s Covenant, analytical work and the
formulation of action plans for children were promoted
for the specific purpose
of eliminating child labour in the country’s 32 departments and a
national network was set up, consisting
of over 6,000 people working
continuously to guarantee the implementation of children’s
rights.
332. In order to facilitate the organization of
action to eliminate child labour, a methodological approach was drawn up for
departmental
and municipal authorities. It includes procedures for speeding up
the local assessment process, drafting and executing a local plan
with
strategies for prevention and action and ensuring that the plan is followed
up.
333. The status of regional action is shown in the following
table.
Key
1. Workshop to raise public officials’ awareness of child labour.
2. Establishment of the Departmental Committee for the Elimination of Child
Labour and the Protection of Young Workers.
3. Establishment and implementation of municipal plans and a departmental plan for
the gradual elimination of child labour and the protection of young workers, to be included as one of the priorities of the relevant local development plan. At the very least, these plans should propose actions corresponding to each of the action lines laid down in the National Plan.
4. Holding of events to mobilize key sectors of society and provide them with
training on the issue and on different ways to tackle it.
5. Training on the Active Search and Comprehensive Care Programme for the
regional director of the Ministry of Labour, the regional director of the Colombian
Family Welfare Institute and the departmental coordinator of the Children’s Covenant.
6. Introduction of the Active Search and Comprehensive Care Programme.
7. Introduction of the Citizens’ Watch Child Labour Programme.
8. Implementation of the Programme for the Gradual Elimination of Child Labour in
districts or in areas or with specific groups.
Department
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
Antioquia
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
Atlántico
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Boyacá
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
Bolívar
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
Caldas
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
Caquetá
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Cauca
|
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Cundinamarca
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Chocó
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Huila
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Magdalena
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Meta
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Nariño
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Norte de Santander
|
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Putumayo
|
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Quindío
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Risaralda
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Santander
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
Tolima
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Valle del Cauca
|
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
Guajira
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
César
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Sucre
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Córdoba
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
San Andrés
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Bogotá
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
X
|
|
Amazonas
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
|
Vaupés
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Guaviare
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Vichada
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Casanare
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Arauca
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
Guainia
|
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
|
334. Establishment of a publicprivate corporation for the elimination
of child labour and the protection of young workers. Representatives from
various sectors of society recently drew up a blueprint for a publicprivate
corporation for the elimination
of child labour, a mixed composition body with
private status working full time on the specialized task of implementing the
national
policy on the elimination of child labour. Once its objectives, tasks
and organizational and operational form had been decided upon,
the appropriate
bill was prepared for submission to Congress.
335. Strengthening
the educational sector. In addition to developing a policy to broaden the
coverage and improve the quality of education, which contributes directly to
the
elimination of child labour, the Ministry of Education provides technical
assistance to seven departments on the role of schools
in preventing
the exploitation of children at work and in providing comprehensive care for
young people.
336. Trade union plan of action for the elimination of
child labour. As a result of the agreement between the three general trade
unions in Colombia the Amalgamated Workers’ Union, the General
Confederation of Workers and the Workers’ Confederation of Colombia and
the action that some of them have been taking for
some time, a joint plan of
action was drawn up in 1997 for the elimination of child labour and the
protection of young workers.
337. Codes of conduct. In 1996,
the National Manufacturers’ Association (ANDI) adopted a resolution
establishing codes of conduct for its members
with the aim of preventing and
eliminating participation by children and young people in the labour
force.
338. Meanwhile, the Colombian Association of FlowerGrowers
included guidelines in the codes of conduct of the Florverde
project[23] to prohibit the
hiring of minors under the age of 14 and to regulate the hiring of young
people aged between 15 and 17.
Some cases of direct action
339. The objective of this line of action is to
stimulate the design, management, implementation and assessment of programmes
and
projects to prevent child labour and to rescue and protect working children.
For this purpose, the following activities, among others,
have been
undertaken.
340. Elimination of child labour in coal mining. In
1995, the Colombian Coal Company (Ecocarbon) initiated a programme of action to
eliminate child labour from coal mining. This
programme, which was carried out
in the departments of Antioquia, Boyacá and Cundinamarca, comprises the
following elements:
Tracing and identification of the children (in 1996, the year in which
the survey of children working in mines was completed, it was
established that
1,124 children were engaged in activities related to coal extraction in the
three
departments);[24]
The construction and equipping of care centres for former mining children
(training, recreation, production);
Development of social programmes relating, inter alia, to
assistance for families, business training, recreation and sports, nutrition,
psychological assistance and speech therapy;
Design and development of joint productive projects; creation of alternative
forms of production for young people and their families,
skills training, the
allocation of loans and project followup.
341. So far, Ecocarbon has
managed to get over 70 per cent of the children working in coalmining activities
to stop this work altogether.
It is estimated that, in a yearandahalf the
target of 100 per cent will be reached.
342. Plans for direct action put
forward by nongovernmental organizations. Numerous national nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) are currently putting forward specific programmes for
working children and
young people. In general, the activities carried out by
each of these organizations relate to support at school, workshops on personal
development, recreational activities and sports, basic health care, skills
training, business training, savings and loans, production
units for partners,
including family members, psychological assessment and employment assistance
workshops.
343. A significant percentage of these organizations have been
hired by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), which provides
child
protection services by paying for places in NGOs.
344. The following are
some of the plans for specific action that have been carried out by various NGOs
in the last two years:
Establishment and implementation of the Active Search and Comprehensive
Care Programme for Working Children. To get this project off the ground, a
team was set up consisting of representatives of ICBF, the Ministries of
Education and Labour,
the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Social Policy,
UNICEF and the IPEC programme of ILO, which was responsible for establishing
the
procedures for the development of the programme. One of the priorities was to
consult with the various national NGOs developing
programmes for child workers
in order to find out what search and action strategies they used. For this
purpose, a national workshop
was convened on active searching, which was
attended by 13 NGOs and the various national agencies. Several meetings were
held with
the executive body and with the national agencies promoting the
project in order to review project development and suggest relevant
adjustments.
Once the design phase was completed, a workshop was held with regional
representatives of ICBF, the Ministry of Labour
and Social Security and the
Children’s Covenant to give them instructions on managing the Active
Search and Comprehensive Care
Programme and machinery was devised to set it up
in each region.
Searching for working minors. Executing agency: Colombian
Confederation of NonGovernmental Organizations. Beneficiaries:
120 working children from the city
of Bogotá and the rural area of
the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. Seventeen national
organizations that
are members of the InterAgency Committee for the Elimination
of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers and 13 NGOs took
part.
Design of a productive educational model based on environmental
education as a way to discourage child labour in the municipality of Cerrito,
department of Santander. Executing
agency: Agua Viva National Centre for
Health, the Environment and Work (CENSAT). Beneficiaries: 30 families of
working children
and young people under the age of 18 working in hazardous
conditions on farms or in mines and all of the educational institutions
in the
municipality of Cerrito.
Design of a personal development module for girl prostitutes.
Executing agency: Antonio Restrepo Barco Foundation (FRB). Beneficiaries: 220
girls, boys and adolescents who have been sexually
exploited and who are in the
care of protection agencies. Members of protection agencies and of agencies
linked to local support
networks for the prevention of prostitution (ICBF,
national police, Social Solidarity Network, local health services and
NGOs).
Municipal approaches to tackling the problem of child labour in 14
municipalities in the departments of Boyacá, Cundinamarca
and Tolima.
Executing agency: Colombian Pedagogical Society (SOCOLPE). Beneficiaries:
children and young people who might or who already
work and their families,
local authorities and public and private agencies with direct responsibility for
preventing child labour
and providing comprehensive care to working children and
young people, municipal councils for rural development and other community
bodies.
Education project to raise people’s awareness of the issue of working minors. Executing agency: Occupational Health Unit of the Ministry of Health. Beneficiaries: 20 per cent of working children exposed to occupational hazards in the economic activities indicated below, 10 per cent of employers, 1,100 members of the community, 275 government officials and 30 per cent of the general public (through the awarenessraising activities).
Urban sector:
Construction industry: Santafé de Bogotá, Medellín, Santa Marta, Pereira and Bucaramanga;
Informal economy: Santafé de Bogotá, Barranquilla and Cúcuta.
Rural sector:
Mining: Cundinamarca, Antioquia and Valle;
Agriculture: Tolima.
345. Establishment of a “bank”
for projects to eliminate child labour. In order to facilitate the
functioning of the Executive Committee, a call for the submission of projects
was issued, the purpose
of which is to serve as a common basis for identifying
the programmes of action that will be included in the project bank. A checklist
was also developed to assist members of the Executive Committee in analysing the
projects submitted. In 1997, 23 projects were registered.
346. Steps
have also been taken at the National Investment Programme and Project Bank and
the Bank Network to strengthen the system
for identifying, evaluating and
financing projects. The critical path to be followed by public agencies at the
departmental and
municipal levels was established: this enables them to have
access to a steady supply of State resources to fund projects for the
prevention
and elimination of child labour.
Legislative developments
347. Ratification of ILO Conventions.
Colombia has already ratified ILO Conventions Nos. 5, 6, 7, 10, 15 and
16, concerning minimum age, working conditions and the compulsory
medical
examination for minors.
348. With the backing of other government
agencies, employers’ organizations, workers’ organizations and
IPEC/ILO, the
Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs are currently working on the ratification of the 1973
ILO Convention
(No. 138) concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment. Bill No. 10 of
1997 was submitted to Congress together
with an explanation of the reasoning
behind it. On 3 December 1997, it was approved by a Senate committee and is now
pending approval
in plenary and transmission to the Committee of the House of
Representatives.
349. The various national agencies consider that the
spirit of ILO Convention No. 138 has in fact been broadly incorporated into
domestic
legislation, which prohibits minors under the age of 14 from
working and regulates the working days, salaries and other labour rights
of
young people aged between 14 and 18.
350. In addition, the Government has
clearly spelt out its intention to eliminate the participation of children in
the labour force,
particularly in harmful and dangerous work. Consequently, the
conditions are in place for Convention No. 138 to be ratified, and
this will in
turn help to consolidate the progress made so far.
351. Presidential
Decree No. 859 of May 1995, cited earlier, set up the InterAgency Committee
for the Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers, which
is
responsible for devising and developing policies and programmes to eliminate
the participation of children in the labour force and
for regulating and
improving the working conditions of young people.
352. The 1996
resolution of the National Manufacturers’ Association (ANDI), cited
above, lays down guidelines for its members to prevent and eliminate the
participation of children and young people in the
labour
force.
353. Strengthening the monitoring, inspection and penalties
systems. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has traditionally
granted the relevant permits for 14 to 18yearolds to work in safe
and decent
jobs. Regional inspectors from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security carry
out periodic checks on the children,
visit workplaces and inspect conditions of
work.
354. In order to broaden the coverage of monitoring and inspections
and to increase the effectiveness of action to protect children
and penalize
employers, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security also designed and set up
citizens’ watch programmes that
offer a way to detect, report and follow
up on cases of child labour.
Support for the international movement to eliminate child labour
355. Colombia hosted the First Tripartite
Ibero-American Ministerial Meeting on the Elimination of Child Labour, which
adopted the
relevant Ibero-American policies contained in the Cartagena
Declaration on the Elimination of Child Labour.
356. Colombia
participated actively in the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Consultation
on Child Labour (Brazil, July 1997)
and in the Oslo Conference on Child Labour
in October 1997 and adopted the recommendations made and agreements
reached.
357. The Colombian part of the Global March against Child Labour
is in the process of being organized; it has been taken as an opportunity
to
involve a larger number of social agents in the cause of eliminating child
labour and to promote strategic action, as defined
in the National Plan of
Action for the Elimination of Child Labour.
Main advances in action to eliminate child labour
358. Although the problem of child and young
workers is a complex one in terms of measurement and implications, Colombia has
tried
various approaches to improve knowledge of the issue to be able to use it
as a basis for policies and programmes to eliminate child
labour and improve
conditions for young workers.
359. Estimates based mainly on the National
Household Survey of the National Administrative Department for Statistics
(DANE) show
the following trends between 1992 and 1996:
(a) Labour
participation rates of children and young people (between the ages of 12 and 17)
have been dropping, while school enrolment
rates have risen. This has been the
case by age, sex and area;
(b) Participation rates are higher in rural
areas and are higher among males than among females. However, the length of the
working
day is significantly higher among urban females and rural
males;
(c) School attendance by children is constantly increasing.
Enrolment rates have gone up, while studying as the only activity is
becoming
increasingly important;
(d) The occupational structure has not changed.
Agricultural activities predominate among rural males, while a predominant
number
of young urban males are manual workers and urban females are employed
primarily in the services sector;
(e) The length of the working day has
decreased. However, the working day is still very long for children and young
workers, particularly
urban girls and rural boys. This is linked to the
occupational structure by sex and area;
(f) The reduction of the working
day has led to a reduction in the proportion of children and young people whose
working day is longer
than the legal limit;
(g) Social and institutional
awareness of the magnitude and severity of the problem of child labour has
increased;
(h) There is greater political commitment, both nationally
and regionally, to the prevention and elimination of child
labour;
(i) The network of agencies with jurisdiction to prevent and
eliminate child labour has been strengthened and this is reflected in
the
formulation of better policies, strategies and programmes and improvements in
their implementation;
(j) There is closer coordination between the
Ministry of Labour and Social Security, project No. Col. 1951003 and the
International
Labour Organization’s International Programme on the
Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC);
(k) The participation of
employers’ and workers’ organizations in combating child labour has
become more active;
(l) Specific strategies and instruments have been
designed to develop the national policy defined in this regard;
(m) The
decentralization of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child
Labour and the Protection of Young Workers has
begun;
(n) Priorities for
action have been drawn up and a start has been made on planning four action
models for prevention and elimination;
(o) The Active Search and
Comprehensive Care Programme for children and young workers is in
operation;
(p) An inter-agency body with the necessary authority and
tools to define and approve programmes of action in accordance with the
procedures laid down by IPEC already exists;
(q) National data on child
labour have been upgraded in terms of statistics, programmes and documentation.
A periodic quantitative
measurement tool exists on the child labour situation
and new data-collection instruments have been developed;
(r) A start has
been made on improving legislation on the prevention, elimination and monitoring
of child labour;
(s) A body responsible for defining social mobilization
policies relating to the elimination of child labour already
exists;
(t) The mass media have been made aware of the
issue;
(u) The number of outreach workers trained in the promotion and
protection of children’s rights and, in particular, in the
elimination of
child labour has been increased;
(v) A joint work plan was defined by the
Ministers of Labour and employers’ and workers’ representatives in
the Ibero-American
region;
(w) Activities were carried out to promote
the Colombian part of the Global March against Child Labour.
Article 33
Protection against the use of narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances
Background to treatment for the prevention of drug addiction
360. For
a long time, understanding of the drug problem was limited to an analysis of the
forms consumption takes and the pathological
and individual characteristics of
the addict’s behaviour, which could be dealt with in two ways: through
rehabilitation or
through punishment.
361. Consumption is now considered
from a more comprehensive point of view, which has made it possible to move
towards a holistic
understanding of the problem, the analysis of which covers,
inter alia, inter-personal relationships, the environment, quality of
life and culture. Within this frame of reference, consumption is assumed
to be
the result of inter-personal relationships and it must therefore be approached
as a problem with multiple causes in connection
with which account must be taken
of the social structure and social conflicts.
362. In Colombia, efforts
to draw attention to the drug problem were first made in the 1980s and were part
of an approach to drug
addiction or narcotics dependency that ranged from the
rejection of drug use based on fear to the strengthening of the family,
recreational
activities, etc.
363. Most campaigns were aimed at potential
users, i.e. young people, and monitoring bodies, including parents and
teachers.
364. With the 1989 “Drugs are violence” campaign,
it was admitted for the first time that the problem takes various forms
and has
different social consequences, including the violence in
Colombia.
365. The experience of European and American countries showed
that the effectiveness of initiatives against drug abuse lay not in
large
quantities of messages with intimidating slogans about the harmful effects of
drugs, but in the mobilization of emotions and
the solidarity which can be
achieved with such messages by using simple statements in a more informative
than educational propositional
structure (problem-proposal), designed to change
attitudes and perceptions.
366. The messages were supposed to stress the
strengthening of the potential of individuals and groups in order to make them
less
vulnerable and increase their independent response capacity. Action was to
be taken at the root of the problem, i.e. in the context
in which individuals
live. This approach can be implemented only on the basis of decentralization
and community participation.
367. From this point of view, prevention is
understood as the promotion of personal and social conditions to deal adequately
with
situations that are inevitable and to create solutions for overcoming
problems relating to drug addiction.
368. These requirements lead to the
concept of comprehensive prevention, which refers to action to influence the
social context through
community participation in preventive activities, with
expert advice and assistance. This concept is designed to explain the
interdependence,
potential and possibilities available to individuals, to change
their role as “actors standing by passively as problems arise”
and
to focus on their strengths.
369. In institutional terms, comprehensive
prevention means joint management, i.e. collective and mutually responsible
action by specialized
professionals, officials, leaders and the community in
general. In this way, community participation and joint management will ensure
continuous and repeated action and the consolidation of its
effects.
370. Preventive action aims to provide citizens with training in
day-to-day situations and to cover all the activities in which they
may be
involved. To this end, inter-personal and group communication must be promoted,
experience, interests and know-how encouraged
on a collective basis, discussion,
joint activity, organization and participation groups established,
agency-community joint management
given impetus and inter-agency coordination
promoted.
Colombia’s commitment vis-à-vis the international drugs problem: the National Plan
371. The plan started in 1995 and is the policy
framework for a comprehensive approach to the production, distribution and
consumption
aspects of the problem. Its objective is to tackle and gradually
and systematically reduce the causes and manifestations of the
drug problem by
using community participation machinery to involve civil society in the solution
of the problem.
372. Five courses of action are proposed:
Strengthening justice, including enforcement and prosecution policies and
changes in the administration of justice;
Control and prohibition, including policies to eradicate illegal crops,
destroy systems for the domestic distribution and export of
drugs, trace the
proceeds from drug trafficking, characterize money laundering as an offence and
prosecute the drug cartels;
Alternative development: implementation through the National Alternative
Development Plan (PLANTE);
Prevention and rehabilitation: State action to prevent drug use,
rehabilitate drug addicts, provide special attention for vulnerable
groups and
carry out large-scale educational activities, particularly for young
people;
International cooperation, involving a policy of international responsibility
whereby the international community approaches the drug
problem as a
transnational phenomenon with multiple causes.
373. The plan provides for the
following strategies to implement these policies:
Democratization and strengthening of civil society: by reinforcing areas of
participation to guarantee collective action and mutual
responsibility;
Decentralization: by determining the limits of national and regional
jurisdiction. In the context of the National Plan, the Sectional
Narcotic Drugs
Councils define departmental policy in accordance with the policy defined
nationally and ensure that it is reproduced
at the municipal and local
levels;
Research: in this context, means follow-up to developments in the different
aspects of the problem;
Inter-agency consultation and coordination: propose the rationalization of
available resources, the identification of situations
in each individual context
and the clarification of the responsibility of each person involved;
Communication: seeks to inform and educate both the public in general and
agencies about the study and development of the problem,
thus encouraging the
participation of the various sectors;
Multilateralization: aims to reconcile, harmonize and implement the policies
of all States in the international community. It will
promote the introduction
of programmes to monitor drug trafficking at points of origin and destination,
the strengthening of the
administration of justice, the adoption of efficient
means of reducing demand and the creation of multilateral channels of
communication.
374. The National Narcotic Drugs Council is in charge of
implementing the National Plan through the National Narcotic Drugs Department
as
the body responsible for implementing the policies drawn up by the
Government.
375. The models for action will be the regional, departmental
and local plans and programmes and projects provided for in the political
guidelines of the National Plan.
Prevention and rehabilitation
376. The National Narcotic Drugs
Department[25] has planned
coordination strategies for the decentralization of policies, the participation
of organized civil society and the strengthening
of government jurisdiction in
respect of prevention and treatment:
Coordination for the decentralization of policies: is taking place in 14 departments, selected in view of the complexity and the serious nature of the problem and the political will of the actors involved in carrying out these activities. Coordination activities are implemented by organizing bodies and social actors, such as the Sectional Narcotic Drugs Councils, the Technical and Administrative Units for Comprehensive Prevention and the Committees for Prevention and Treatment, whose role commits them to taking action to deal with the problem;
Participation of organized civil society: the Colombian network for a
comprehensive approach to the unlawful use of psychoactive
substances was
established in November 1996 and is composed of 26 governmental and
non-governmental organizations. The network’s
purpose is to strengthen
these agencies and will involve at least 100 by next year.
Strengthening
of government jurisdiction, including the following types of action:
Community preventive care, which operates through the Colombian Family
Welfare Institute, with the family and the community and prevention
and
treatment programmes for children and the family;
Encouragement to young people and comprehensive prevention through the
ViceMinistry of Youth of the Ministry of Education. The training
of teachers
who are aware of the issue is encouraged in education;
Promoting preventive strategies for young people at risk of becoming involved
in the drug problem, in coordination with the Vice-Ministry
of Youth of the
Ministry of Education. Preventive activities are carried out among young people
not enrolled in school;.
Comprehensive prevention among the prison population, in coordination with
the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC).
The programme being
implemented covers education and prevention of consumption, as well as
rehabilitation.
Institutional prevention programmes
377. Institutional prevention plans are in
operation within the political and administrative framework proposed by the
National Plan
and in coordination with the National Narcotic Drugs Department.
Their common feature is the idea of comprehensive prevention and
interinstitutionality or joint management. This means that their main target is
the context in which people live and in which there
is a possibility of
interaction with drugs. These projects are therefore coordinated and, at
various stages, have had the collaboration
of the United Nations International
Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) and the National Planning Department.
Coordinated Unit for Comprehensive Prevention (UCPI)
378. UCPI, a programme of the Office of the
Mayor of Santa Fe de Bogotá, acts as a special unit for prevention
problems and
as an administrative office for the coordination of links with
other bodies concerned with prevention activities.
379. In view of the
cultural and social nature of drug use, UCPI concentrates on localities as the
scenario for harmonizing and managing
preventive action in the context of the
decentralization and citizen participation policies proposed in the
Constitution.
380. UCPI’s activities focus on the areas referred
to below.
381. The education sector. Training is offered in the
psycho-physiological and neurological aspects of psychoactive substances,
toxicity, addiction and vulnerability
caused by use and abuse. Emphasis is
placed on sociocultural aspects of the consumption of psychoactive substances
among young people
(propitious environments, user characteristics, etc). With
regard to drugrelated problems, the topics discussed with young people
and
teachers include: problems of urban youth (particularly in low-income sectors),
dealing responsibly with sexuality, family communication
for the prevention of
consumption, authoritarianism, etc.
382. The community sector. In
Bogotá’s slum areas, UCPI opts for a more comprehensive picture of
young people and calls on government bodies
to develop preventive programmes in
full consultation with organized and informal youth groups in slum areas.
Preventive projects
are developed on the basis of community potential, which
acts as a protective barrier against drug use.
383. Youth clubs.
Young club members are given training in the management of their projects and in
drafting plans and programmes to submit to the
different bodies as part of the
institutionalization process.
384. The most vulnerable population
groups: street people, street children (“gamines”),
refuse pickers, female sex workers, prisoners, youth gangs and groups in the
process of social rehabilitation and reintegration:
educational projects for
work and production, workshops for the comprehensive prevention of drug
dependence and related factors,
training in specific areas for developing
alternative forms of prevention, such as artistic expression, self-esteem and
good neighbourliness.
385. Education for work and production.
This is being done through consultation and training in technical aspects of
production in order to train outreach workers who
will continue to carry out
preventive and productive activities which may improve the income of family and
community groups.
386. Information and guidance for citizens.
Mobile information kiosks are used wherever there are large numbers of people,
particularly young people, and relocated once the
user public has been covered.
UCPI headquarters receives community leaders, university students and
schoolchildren and the population
in general. Printed material is also
distributed to organizations and NGOs and support and reference services are
provided to rehabilitation
agencies.
387. Large-scale
awareness-raising and sensitization campaigns. Different communications
resources are used, such as public events (fairs, forums, district and local
meetings), dissemination
in the mass media and community media (press, radio and
television) and distribution of printed material (banners, stickers, posters
and
calendars).
388. Production of educational material. Printed and
audiovisual material is distributed on conceptual and methodological aspects
regularly used in preventive projects.
This includes the “Prevenir es
construir futuro” (Prevention means building a future)
series,[26] which describes
progress on ongoing activities and reports on UCPI’s work..
Liaison Project (Ministry of Communication)[2] [28]
389. The aim of the project is communication to solve the drug problem.
This is an attempt to facilitate and promote participation
by all in working out
social development and monitoring alternatives which will close off
possibilities for the drug problem to grow
and multiply.
390. From this
point of view, prevention campaigns should not stress the negative elements
which make the issue a matter of concern
for Colombians, but should, rather,
propose positive alternatives to break through general indifference in this
regard. Efforts
should also be made to ensure that citizens, young people and
children know about machinery and forums for participation where possible
solutions to the problem may be discussed and devised.
391. The areas of
work are:
Production of messages in the mass media (radio, television,
press and printed material in general)
Distribution of personalized newsletters, games and posters nationally and internationally, to cover the mass media, NGOs, schools, universities, ministries, governors’ offices, mayors’ offices, embassies and community projects and officials;
A series of documentaries is being produced on specific experiences of efforts to solve the drug problem for broadcasting on national and regional television channels and in the video libraries of documentation centres;
Mass campaigns, including advertising on radio, television and in the press
and other media, covering various aspects of the problem
and their multiple
causes.
Advisory services in planning and implementing communications
strategies: this project involves efforts to make the best possible use of
communications as a process of exchanging know-how with executive
and technical
teams and users of plans relating to work on solving the drug problem; advisory
services begin with a diagnosis of
the context, needs and existing
communications resources; they go on to plan the strategy proper and then
proceed to the implementation
phase.
Project for the comprehensive prevention of drug addiction (National
Penitentiary and Prison Institute)
(INPEC)[29]
392. This
project is designed to reduce and prevent the consumption of psychoactive
substances in the Colombian prison system by means
of preventive action carried
out at three levels with the voluntary participation of prisoners:
Primary prevention: to reduce risk factors which encourage non-consumers of psychoactive substances in prisons to start using them. Strategies planned:
Personal development groups: to increase prisoners’ ability to resist offers of drugs through participation in experience-sharing workshops, encounter groups, etc.;
Induction: to reduce anxiety levels by providing information on the prevention programme in order to make room for the expression of feelings and allow timely intervention;
Education and training groups: to provide objective information on risk
factors leading to the process of addiction, on its consequences
and on how to
avoid drug-consumption.
Secondary prevention: aims to stop the deterioration of drug-using
prisoners with problems and offers the following alternatives:
Support groups: meetings of prisoners who are drug abusers to draw up shortterm goals, to identify personal, institutional, family and group features relating to their addiction;
Early reception: aimed at addicts and drug abusers among prisoners with a high risk of becoming addicts, to prepare, educate and train them to accept treatment in therapeutic communities.
Tertiary prevention: to provide prisoners who are addicted to psychoactive substances with a sequential therapeutic process so as to prepare them for social integration once they are released. This level has three phases:
Reception: a transition between early reception and therapeutic treatment with the aim of getting the imprisoned addict and his family to identify possible causes;
Therapeutic community: the aim is that, through ongoing occupational therapy, the resident should build up trust, respect, interest, responsibility, honesty and openness towards others;
Social reintegration: is designed to bring the resident face to face with his family and social nucleus, thus facilitating his reintegration.
393. The INPEC project for the comprehensive prevention of drug addiction
is currently in operation in 21 prisons in 17 Colombian
cities.
Interdisciplinary teams, including custodial and surveillance personnel, are
involved. The project implemented the third
level of prevention in the Centre
for the Treatment of Drug Addict Convicted Prisoners in Oriente Prison,
Acacías, Meta.
394. The project also includes the half-yearly
publication of the Revista
Compromiso,[30] the
quarterly publication of the Periódico Vox Populi and four radio
stations.
National Narcotic Drugs Fund (Ministry of
Health)
395. The Ministry of Health provides advisory services to
hospital and therapeutic centres and, through the National Narcotic Drugs
Fund,
periodically puts out specialized publications on the rational handling of
drugs, the use and abuse of psychoactive substances
and quality in the
prescription of specially controlled drugs.
396. Through the Human
Behaviour Programme and in collaboration with the Inter-American Children's
Institute of the Organization of
American States, the Ministry also published
the Regional Manual of Participatory Preventive Education for Young People and
Parents
in 1996;[31] its
purpose is to hold participatory educational encounters for the prevention of
drug dependency, which are informal and attended
by young people, children and
parents in their home communities, including secondary schools, primary schools
and community groups.
397. In order to achieve this objective, the Manual
contains all the theoretical, methodological and technical elements required to
carry out the main activity and for the follow-up and assessment of outreach
activities. Such activities include prevention meetings
with clearly defined
thematic content and weekly outreach and extension course workshops, on the
basis of proposals by participants.
Programme on young people and drug
prevention (Vice-Ministry of Youth, Ministry of
Education)[32]
398. The frame of reference for this programme is the National Youth
Policy, which is based on recognition of children and young people
as subjects
of rights and duties for the purpose of creating appropriate conditions for
young people to take part in and exercise
full citizenship.
399. Another
policy element that puts the programme into perspective is the General Education
Act, or Act No. 115, of 8 February 1994, which lists training for the
promotion and preservation of health and hygiene, the comprehensive
prevention
of problems relevant to society and the appropriate use of leisure time as the
basic aims of education. Chapter III,
article 12, of Decree
No. 1108 of 31 May 1994 provides that all State and private educational
establishments must include processes
of comprehensive prevention in their
Institutional Education Projects (PEI), based on Ministry of Education
guidelines.
400. The key issue is drug abuse in schools and the resulting
drug-related problem situations. The programme’s overall target
group is
composed of three subgroups: students (of both sexes, aged 10 to 20), teachers
and parents.
401. In the school environment, the programme’s
objective is to find means of preventing drug abuse by creating permanent
structures
for the analysis, discussion and handling of the problem and the
“network for the training of educators for the prevention
of drug
abuse” was established for this purpose in four geographical areas:
Atlántica, Andina Oriental, Andina Occidental
and Territorios
Nacionales.
402. The work is being done in educational
establishments through the use of methodologies for inter-group, inter-agency
and interdisciplinary
activities on prevention in the school environment and for
the identification of high-risk groups and populations with a view to
the
formulation of proposals.
403. In order to guarantee the continuity of
the programme, teachers, pupils and parents are being trained to prevent drug
abuse as
an educational strategy and a response to the problem.
Articles 37 and 40
Protection against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment
and unlawful
or arbitrary detention, legal assistance to children deprived
of their liberty
and legality of legal procedures for their defence
404. The
Juvenile Code contains specific provisions for separating the treatment of
minors who have infringed the penal law from that
applied to adults and ICBF
therefore took steps to have all juvenile annexes in Colombian prisons closed.
The last of the annexes,
which was part of the Bogotá National Model
Prison, was closed in January 1993. In order to defend minors who have
committed
or are accessories to criminal offences, a family ombudsman is
appointed to watch over the interests of the young offender and ensure
his
proper treatment in the reeducation programme to which he is
assigned.
405. ICBF has also been encouraging open-type programmes so as
to reduce closed institution admissions, which both the Convention
and the
Juvenile Code propose as a last resort when no other measure can be
recommended. For 1997, 2,845 places were booked in the
”assisted
freedom programmes” for approximately 5,690 juvenile offenders, as well as
approximately 2,000 handled directly
in zonal centres.
406. The
Constitution and the Juvenile Code take account of the provisions of article 40
of the Convention, which govern procedures involving the competent
authorities
(see preceding report) and according to which every minor is assisted by a
family ombudsman.
407. ICBF pays for care for juvenile offenders in the
various specialized institutional and open programmes used in re-education;
it
requires compliance with guarantees of the minors’ rights and
comprehensive protection while they are being cared for.
408. The only
provision of article 40 of the Convention not in force in our legislation is the
right to the double-hearing principle,
which is to be included in the Juvenile
Code reform bill, discussed earlier in this
report.
Article 38
Respect for international humanitarian law relevant
to the
child and armed conflicts
409. On
26 January 1990, Colombia signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which was adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly on 20 November 1989 and
incorporated into Colombian legislation under Act No. 12 of January
1991.
410. Article 38, paragraphs 2 and 3, stipulate that States Parties
shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have
not attained
the age of 15 years do not take a direct part in hostilities and that they shall
refrain from recruiting them into their
armed forces. In recruiting among those
persons who have attained the age of 15 years, but who have not attained the age
of 18 years,
States Parties shall endeavour to give priority to those who are
oldest.
411. On signing the Convention, the Government of Colombia made a
declaration in which it considered that “while the minimum
age of 15 years
for taking part in armed conflicts, set forth in article 38 of the Convention,
is the outcome of serious negotiations
which reflect various legal, political
and cultural systems in the world, it would have been preferable to fix that age
at 18 years
in accordance with the principles and norms prevailing in various
regions and countries, including Colombia, for which reason the
Government of
Colombia, for the purposes of article 38 of the Convention, shall construe
the age in question to be 18 years”.
It will be noted that the
declaration refers only to “taking part in armed conflict”, but does
not mention recruitment.
412. In depositing its instrument of
ratification of the Convention in January 1991, the Government of Colombia
entered a reservation
to the provisions of these paragraphs, stating that the
age referred to should be understood to be 18 years.
413. Paragraph 2
expressly prohibits minors from taking a direct part in hostilities and
paragraph 3 prohibits recruiting them. The
latter provision is, however, not
formulated generally, but only as a prohibition on recruiting children for the
purpose of taking
a direct part in hostilities.
414. When it withdrew its
reservation on 26 June 1996, the Government of Colombia issued a political
declaration stating that it would
refrain from recruiting young people under 18
years of age into its armed forces or police for the purpose of taking a direct
part
in hostilities.
415. With regard to paragraph 3, the Government
stated that in accordance with the legislation in force, all Colombian males
have
the obligation to clarify their military situation as soon as they reach
the age of majority, except for school leaving certificate
students who do so on
obtaining their certificate. If they are under age at that time they will be
recruited into the armed forces
or police only to provide support services or as
logistics, administrative or social service auxiliaries, unless they express a
deliberate
wish to serve in another area and it is considered appropriate to
assign them to that service because they have the required
qualifications.
416. On 26 October 1997, elections were held for town
councils, departmental assemblies, mayors and governors. The “Mandate
for
peace, life and freedom” campaign was organized on the same day, and more
than 8 million Colombians voted for the items
on the agenda it contained, such
as the non-involvement of minors in Colombia’s conflict, the elimination
of abductions and
enforced disappearances and the commitment to combating
displacement, thus saying “no” to violence.
417. This mass
action created fresh impetus for the movement to deal with the armed conflict
and, at the same time, reflected the
desire for prompt and effective measures to
keep minors away from the conflict and from taking part in it.
418. In
view of the declaration made when the reservation to the Convention was
withdrawn, and in order to respond to the “Mandate
for peace”,
articles 13 and 14 were added to Act No. 418 on coexistence and
public order, approved by the President of the
Republic on 26 December
1997. These articles provide that minors who complete their studies may choose
whether they will perform
their compulsory military service immediately, with
their parents’ consent and in areas not involved in the armed conflict,
or
whether they will perform it later once they have reached the age of majority.
They read:
“Chapter 2: Provisions to protect minors from the effects of armed conflict
Article 13. Minors under 18 years of age shall not be called up for military service. Students in eleventh grade who are under age and are selected for military service under Act No. 48 of 1993 shall have their call-up postponed until they reach the age of majority, unless they voluntarily choose to fulfil their constitutional obligation immediately with the express written consent of their parents. In such cases, under-age recruits may not be assigned to areas where war operations are taking place or employed in armed conflict operations.
If, on reaching the age of majority, a young person who has postponed his military service is enrolled in an undergraduate programme in a higher education institution, he shall have the option of serving immediately or of postponing his service until he has completed his studies.
Should he choose to serve immediately, the educational institution shall reserve his place for him under the same conditions; should he choose to postpone his service, his degree may be awarded only once he has completed his military service as the law requires. The interruption of higher studies shall make the obligation to perform military service enforceable. Any civil or military authority failing to apply this provision shall be charged with misconduct punishable by dismissal.
Article 14. Any person who recruits minors as members of rebel or self-defence groups, forces them to join such groups or receives them into such groups and any persons who give them military training for that purpose shall be liable to three to five years’ imprisonment.
Paragraph. Members of outlaw armed organizations who recruit young persons
under eighteen (18) years of age into said organizations
shall not be entitled
to the legal benefits for which this Act provides.”
419. Colombia
acceded to Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions
of 12 August 1949 relating to the Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts, which entered into force on 1 March 1994. It
also deposited its instrument of accession to Protocol
Additional II to the
Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on 14 August 1995, without reservations of
any kind. This Protocol, relating
to the Protection of Victims of
NonInternational Armed Conflicts, entered into force on 15 February 1996. Its
provisions are thus
applicable throughout the national territory, as is
understood by government officials and by the members of the armed forces, in
particular.
420. ICBF has played an active role in the inter-agency
process to ensure the implementation of international humanitarian law,
particularly
with regard to the non-involvement of minors in armed
conflict.
Care of children and adolescents who have been detached from
the armed conflict
421. Different ICBF programmes are currently
taking care of some 250 children who have been detached from subversive
groups.
422. Various bodies involved in the issue drew up an
“Agreement on wishes” on behalf of children affected by
Colombia’s
violence, the main objectives of which are to work for children
so that they can become a sector of the civilian population that
is free from
conflict; to protect them fully from the war; and to give them access to basic
services to guarantee their survival,
well-being and development. Such bodies
are also trying to launch specific programmes with a view to better care for
children as
a vulnerable sector of the population.
423. In order to
implement this agreement, the care and work or vocational training programme has
been established for children and
under-18s who have been detached from the
conflict.
424. An education fund has also been set up by the Ministry of
Education, which has authorized a special national programme of basic
and
intermediate education.
425. The bodies working to fulfil their
commitment to protect minors affected by the conflict include the Colombian
Family Welfare
Institute, which takes in young people who have been detached
from the conflict and tries to include them in prevention and protection
programmes, and the Social Solidarity Network, which cares for victims of
violence and, through its rehabilitation programme, enables
children and
under-18s who have been detached from the conflict to obtain access to
established programmes and benefits and supports
their admission to the formal
educational alternatives identified jointly with the Ministry of
Education.
426. The magnitude of the problem also showed that there was a
need for an investigation of the family structure of young people involved
in
the conflict.
427. To meet this concern, the Office of the High
Commissioner for Peace has been sponsoring international humanitarian law
seminars,
with the participation of the Colombian Red Cross, for various sectors
of the community. The seminars are based on the provisions
of the Additional
Protocols to the four Geneva Conventions, with special emphasis on internal
armed conflict. They provide materials
and teach children how to use them. The
purpose is to teach the civilian population about its rights so that it can
assert those
rights vis-à-vis persons taking part in the armed
conflict.
428. In order to give this problem the institutional focus it
needs, the Ministry of Justice and Law has been working with the Colombian
Family Welfare Institute to remove children from the conflict. Specifically,
contact has been made with outlaw groups in order to
speed up the implementation
of the humanitarian agreements and give effect to article 38 of the Convention,
but there have been no
results apart from the release of a few children in the
case of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
Child victims of anti-personnel mines
429. All children can obtain humanitarian
assistance as a result of the agreement between the Social Solidarity Network
and the Colombian
Red Cross. They also have the possibility of receiving
educational assistance under Decree No. 2231 of 1989, Decree No. 48 of 1990
and
Act No. 241 of 1995. The Government took out a personal accident insurance
policy through the Social Solidarity Network in order
to protect members of the
civilian population who have experienced loss or injury as a result of acts of
violence provided for in
Act No. 241 of 1995.
Displaced children
430. The State is trying to deal with the
problem comprehensively, in the context of the National Development Plan, which
is part
of the National Programme of Comprehensive Care for the Population
Displaced by Violence. The objectives of the Programme include
prevention,
immediate care with legal protection measures, socio-economic consolidation and
stabilization and research on the problem.
431. The Programme is being
implemented by a number of agencies according to need. The Ministry of
Education is thus working on education
for children affected by the armed
conflict since 1989.
Abduction
432. The Presidential Programme for the Defence
of Personal Freedom was established to put an end to the problem of abduction.
Since
1993, it has been implementing psychosocial care programmes for children
who are the victims of abduction or who have experienced
the abduction of
relatives in the capitals of some of the country’s departments. It is
also working on a plan to prevent the
abduction of children, to be implemented
in connection with psychological care.
433. It should be noted that the
General Prevention and Conciliation Department in the Ministry of Justice and
Law is implementing
the projects entitled “Peace at school”,
“Crime survey” and “Juvenile protection policies”, by
means of which it supports teachers’ work in handling conflicts at school
and provides realistic information on the risks faced
by young people. The aim
is to draw up public prevention policies.
Article 42
Making the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known
434. The Office of
the Presidential Adviser for Social Policy prepared a training plan on
“The rights of children”, which
was implemented by various national
bodies (Ministry of Justice and Law, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education,
Ministry of Labour,
Colombian Family Welfare Institute, Office of the Ombudsman,
Office of the Presidential Adviser for Social Policy and the International
Red
Cross).
435. The plan provided information on and publicized the rights
of children, as well as ways of protecting those rights and guaranteeing
their
full exercise. As at 31 December 1997, workshop-seminars had been held in 27 of
the country’s 32 departments and a network
of more than 600 outreach
workers had been set up to publicize children’s rights.
436. This
year, workshop-seminars will be held in the five remaining departments and the
network will have 850 outreach workers.
Ten thousand copies of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child were distributed to “target groups”, such
as educators,
parents, community mothers, doctors, health officials, juvenile
magistrates, juvenile police, family ombudsmen, family commissioners
and the
community in general. This target population was invited to the
workshop-seminars and makes up the network of outreach workers.
437. A
teaching booklet was prepared to assist these workers in their task of
publicizing children’s rights and in their role
as an active group
watching over children’s rights. The booklet contained Act No. 294 of
1996 on violence within the family
and Act No. 311 of 1996, which established
the National Family Protection Register. It is important to note the Act No.
294 of 1996
classifies violence within the family as an offence.
438. The
Colombian Government has drawn up a broad inter-State cooperation agenda in
order to implement the provisions of the Convention.
Mention may be made of the
Second American Meeting on Children and Social Policy - Agenda 2000: Children
Now, which took place
in Santa Fe de Bogotá in April 1994. During this
meeting, the representatives of the Governments attending signed the
Nariño
Accord, thereby reaffirming their obligations under the agreements
signed at the 1990 World Summit for Children.
439. During the meeting, it
was stated that social and economic policy should focus on human development and
that action must be taken
at the stage of childhood in order to guarantee fair
and sustainable development; measures were proposed to deal with the structural
factors of poverty and ensure the efficiency and productivity of the
economy.
The Accord thus reiterates the goals of the Summit
in relation to:
(a) Health and nutrition;
(b) Drinking water and
environmental sanitation;
(c) Education;
(d) Civic
rights;
(e) Follow-up and assessment.
Its contribution is that it
sets some of these goals specifically for the Americas, particularly in respect
of education and civic
rights.
440. With a view to the achievement of
these goals, especially the last one, and in the light of the offer by
Guatemala, the pro tempore America-Colombia Secretariat, and the UNICEF
Interagency Coordination Secretariat, supported the holding of the technical
meeting
on children and social policy as the follow-up to the Nariño
Accord and in preparation for the Fifth IberoAmerican Summit,
held in
Antigua, Guatemala, in August 1995. The main objective was to work together to
build up information systems for the follow-up
of regional and national goals to
ensure that all children in the Americas may live a full life.
441. Other purposes of the event were: to encourage countries to
strengthen information and follow-up machinery for regional goals;
to analyse
the methodologies, information sources, variables and indicators that countries
are using to measure progress in achieving
goals; and to foster an exchange of
experiences and information by countries and identify areas in which countries
require more support
from cooperation agencies.
442. The Technical
Secretariat designed a questionnaire as the main instrument for assessing the
state of national systems of information
and indicators for the follow-up of the
goals of the Nariño Accord, and collecting information from the various
American countries
on their experience in the monitoring and follow-up of the
indicators in question.
443. In order to meet the commitment made by
Colombia at the World Summit for Children in 1990, a cross-sectoral plan
was formulated
for its implementation within 10 years. Its main objective was
to improve conditions for children in terms of health, nutrition,
drinking water
and basic sanitation, education and special protection through joint efforts by
the State and civil society. A diagnosis
of the situation of children and
adolescents was made on the basis of PAFI, plans, programmes and projects were
defined for the comprehensive
development of this population group and goals
were set for 1998 and 2000.
Notes
[1] In 1996, vaccination programmes for children under five achieved coverage of 83.58 per cent for polio, 83.05 per cent for DTP, 93.65 per cent for measles and 93.87 per cent for BCG.
[2] For Latin America as a whole, the mortality rates for 1992 were 20 and 39 per thousand for children under five and infants under one year of age, respectively. Colombia comes behind Cuba, Costa Rica and Chile where child mortality is concerned, but slightly ahead of Argentina and well ahead of Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic.
[3] Lucero Zamudio. Las familias de hoy en Colombia (Present-day families in Colombia). Office of the President of the Republic, Office of the Presidential Adviser for Social Policy, Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), 1994.
[4] In 1991, the child mortality rate was estimated at 30 per thousand live births. The health services have not achieved the desirable level of universality, solidarity, effectiveness and efficiency, the worse affected being children in rural areas, the Pacific and Atlantic regions, the new departments and the poverty belts around the major cities.
[5] The average breastfeeding period fell from 11 months in 1976 to 8 months in 1998. DRIPAN meeting, 1976; Study on prevalence, demography and health, 1990. Profamilia.
[6] National survey of
health knowledge, attitudes and practices, 1986-1990.
7
Some studies have found a prevalence of endemic goitre greater than 25 per cent
in areas such as Yopal, Chámeza and Santafé
de Bogotá.
[8] ICBF, Community Homes Survey, 1994.
[9] El Salto Educativo (The leap in education), CONPES document No. 2738, October 1994.
[10] Ill-treatment,
homicide and accidents, ibid.
11 Felicia Knaul, Survey
of children and young people in especially difficult circumstances. High risk,
National Planning Department,
1992.
12 Ministry of
Health, Survey on Mental Health and Consumption of Psychoactive
Substances, 1993.
[13] Carmen Elisa Flórez et al., Quantitative analysis of child and youth labour in Colombia, 1994.
[14] Study by the Colombian Episcopate, Bogotá, 1995.
[15] ICBF Management 1992-1994. Plan of Action “Children First”. Office of the Ombudsman, Studies on disability, 1993.
[16] Until 1992, children between the ages of 12 and 16 experiencing behavioural problems were cared for by ICBF and offenders between the ages of 16 to 18 by the Ministry of Justice in prison annexes.
[17] Recent study by the Office of the Juvenile and Family Procurator covering all children’s courts and family courts of combined jurisdiction in the country.
[18] CONPES document No. 2787, Ministry of Health, ICBF, DNP: UDS-PAFI, Santa Fe de Bogotá D.C., 7 June 1995.
[19] The language of the Embera indigenous community, which lives in the north-west, in the department of Chocó, especially in the Urabá region on the border with Panama.
[20] UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 1997, pp. 52, 5657.
[21] The coverage level for 1998 is a projected figure based on data from the first quarter. Coverage levels are for children one year old and under.
[22] Department of Promotion and Prevention, Infectious Pathologies Programme, Ministry of Health, 1998.
[23] An environmental and social “clean production” programme, currently involving 77 companies.
[24] According to official data, children take part in the mining of coal for domestic use, which accounts for 16 per cent of the total amount of coal mined in Colombia. Of this 16 per cent, 83 per cent comes from mines operating legally which do not use child labour; children are found working in the remaining 17 per cent of mines which operate illegally. The coal mined with the use of child labour accounts for 0.67 per cent of the total amount of coal produced by Colombia; this is the area targeted by the Ecocarbon programme for the elimination of child labour.
[25] Prevention and rehabilitation activities of the National Narcotic Drugs Department, report by the Planning Office of the National Narcotic Drugs Department, Santa Fe de Bogotá, 1997.
[26]
“Prevención Integral en Santa Fe de Bogotá”
(Comprehensive prevention in Santa Fe de Bogotá), Prevenir es Construir
Futuro series No. 12, Office of the Mayor of
Santa Fe de Bogotá and the
Comprehensive Prevention and Coordination Unit, Santa Fe de Bogotá, 1996.
27 “Claves de Comunicación para la
Superación del Problema de la Droga” (Keys to communication for
solving the drug problem), Ministry of Communication and Liaison Project, Santa
Fe de Bogotá,
1996.
[28] “RED: Comunicación de Doble Via” (Network: two-way communication), Liaison Project bulletin, Nos. 16-23, 1995-1997.
[29] “Por una Libertad sin Drogas” (For freedom without drugs), National Penitentiary and Prison Institute, Santa Fe de Bogotá, 1996.
[30] Revista Compromiso, National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC), No. 3, November 1996 and special edition of December 1996.
[31] Regional Manual of Participatory Preventive Education for Young People and Parents, programme for the prevention of drug dependency, Inter-American Children’s Institute; Human Behaviour Programme, Ministry of Health, Santa Fe de Bogotá, December 1996.
[32] Programme on
Young People and Drug Prevention, Report of the Vice-Ministry of Youth,
Ministry of Education, Bogotá,
1997.
List of annexes*
El Salto Social (The Social Leap)
CONPES document No.
2787 of 7 June 1995
Survey of children and
adolescents
Children’s Covenant
Management report of the
Inter-Agency Committee to Combat the Traffic in Women
and
Children
Document on the follow-up to the goals of the
Nariño Accord
Report by the National Police
Report by the
Ministry of Education on the implementation of the Convention on the
Rights
of the Child
Youth Act No. 375 of 1997
Act No. 418 of
1997
Act No. 115 of 1994
Act No. 30 of 1992
Act No. 311
of 1996
Act No. 294 of 1996
Juvenile Code bill
Follow-up
to the commitments of the 1990 Summit
Displaced persons - the Colombia
we cannot ignore
Memorandum of the Regional Summit for
Children
Guide for Colombians abroad by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
* The annexes may be consulted in the
Secretariat files.
Sexual offences pamphlet
Child protection
campaign - DAS
“Children’s Covenant”
magazine
Family Welfare Community Homes pamphlet
Pamphlet on the
rural food voucher
Handbook on the registration and identity card
campaign for indigenous communities
Binational civil registry and
identification campaign pamphlet for the border region
Pamphlet on the
sexual abuse of children
Leaflet on Anti-abduction security
measures
_ _ _ _ _
WorldLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/UNCRCSPR/2000/1.html