A Bogota court imposed strict conditions on Colombia’s military authorities if they want to carry out air strikes on illegal armed groups in places where victims of forced recruitment are present.
The ruling of Bogota’s 34th Family Court lifted a suspension on the strikes that had been imposed earlier this month in response to a lawsuit.
The court imposed the following conditions on air strikes to evade violating International Humanitarian Law, which prioritizes the rights of child victims of forced recruitment over the success of military operations.
- Don’t assume minors are legitimate targets because they form part of an illegal armed group
- Intensify the verification and cross-checking of available information on the possible presence of minors at potential targets
- Explicitly include this assessment to the legal and operational assessment of the attack
- Assess the foreseeable risk of an attack on the lives and integrity of the minors
- Examine the existence of less harmful means, methods, timing or operational alternatives that would allow the achievement of a comparable military advantage
- Rigorously apply the principles of distinction, precaution, and proportionality before authorizing and executing the operation
- Integrate
The court additionally ordered family welfare institute ICBF to be integrated into military operations and strengthen the pathways for disengagement, restoration of rights, comprehensive care, and reintegration of children and adolescents who are victims of recruitment, with a differentiated and territorial approach.
The court asked the Ombudsman and the Inspector General’s Office to monitor compliance of the orders issue to maximize the protection of children’s rights.
The lawsuit had been filed in a successful attempt to protect children against the violence President Abelardo de la Espriella sought to unleash on illegal armed groups that refused to demobilize.
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