Colombia

Mon

Apr

2016

Statement in solidarity with the conscientious objectors of Bolivia for ANOOC, Colombia

New translation available

Submitted by hannah

This year on the 22nd of March, the Bolivian Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (PCT) rejected the right of conscientious objection as an alternative to its obligatory military service. This has occurred in spite of the generally agreed-upon...

Mon

Sep

Colombia army admits recruitment ‘raids’ are illegal

Submitted by hannah on Mon, 29/09/2014 - 16:16

Photo: Vanguardia

Colombia’s army has acknowledged that forcing youths into trucks on the pretext of checking their military status is against the law, newspaper El Espectador reported on Thursday.

In late August, after allegations made in the media about arbitrary raids for recruitment purposes by the Army, better known as “batidas”, the then Head of Army Recruiting General Felix Ivan Muñoz was relieved of his duties. Colonel Mauricio Martinez was confirmed as the replacement and now has the role of promoting “the improvement of processes for defining the military situation of Colombian men.”

This is a recurring issue. The Colombian military has in the past been accused of forced and irregular recruitment of young people and citizens exempt from military service.

These “illegal raids” are carried out in cities where army trucks illegally and forcibly pick up young men on the pretext of checking their military status.

Tue

Aug

On militarisation in Colombia

Submitted by hannah on Tue, 12/08/2014 - 10:53

The most recent manifestations of the conflict in Colombia date back to 1948, when the presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitán was assassinated, cutting off the possibility that socialist-leaning ideas might have a place of decision and power in the Colombian state.

Fri

Mar

Quotes from WRI's Countering the Militarisation of Youth conference: Gender and sexuality

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 07/03/2014 - 14:31

The image of masculinity...the model men that go to war, that compete. - Jorge Veléz, Colombia

The Ministry of Women, for example, was created in 2006 and since then one of the main goals that the Minister for Women has proposed is to provide two million female members to the militia. She has already set in motion a first stage where she promised 150,000... - Rafael Uzcategui, Venezuela

We do also have women in the military, but comparatively the ratio is low. – Samuel Koduh, Ghana

Fri

Mar

Quotes from WRI's Countering the Militarisation of Youth conference: Recruitment, and The military in public and private space

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 07/03/2014 - 14:28

Recruitment

The way that I ended up joining the military was that when I was a senior in high school I intended to go to college but I didn't have any way to pay for it...I talked to an army recruiter [about an army scholarship] and he made it sound really good...Any time between signing the contract and going to basic training, you can change your mind and there won't be any consequences. Of course, the recruiters won't tell you that – they'll threaten legal consequences etc... - Kelly Dougherty, USA

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Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.