Colombia

2015: Attended the state consultations on the SSD in Geneva – led by Norway.

October 2015: Represented at Istanbul workshop. War Child planning research and campaign on military use. Stated in Dec 2014 that would not endorse the Guidelines because of ongoing peace process and because existing legal framework already seen as sufficient to adequately protect schools.

January 2017: Cristal (GCPEA) travelled to Colombia and had individual meetings with the Ministry of Education, People’s Ombudsman’s Office, a Colombian NGO COALICO, and NRC to discuss endorsement. GCPEA (Cristal) had a series of meetings with government and civil society in Bogota. She met with Ministry of Education reps – Jose Rafael Espinosa, Advisor to the Minister, and Iván Darío Aristizábal, Specialist in “Permanence”. The Minister, who started in her post in November 2016, actually has very little experience in education, but does have a strong career background in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, including time working in the Ministry of Defense. Jose Rafael also worked in peacebuilding and transitional justice research before starting at MinEd last year. The response to the possibility of Colombia endorsing was positive. Jose Rafael said that he can’t guarantee anything at this point, but he is interested and would see endorsement as a positive development, and he is willing to coordinate with other relevant ministries in this effort. The advocacy message was that Colombia: is already addressing a great deal of the content included in the Declaration and Guidelines; is at a critical point in terms of demonstrating international commitment to peace; and could be a regional leader and example in terms of motivating other countries in Latin America to endorse. Also stressed that the countries that have already endorsed are both at peace and in conflict, which is something that Colombia is always concerned about in terms of association. Cristal advised them about the Buenos Aires conference and explained that it would be an opportunity for Colombia to announce its endorsement and possibly form part of discussions on examples of implementation. Jose Rafael asked for a letter explaining: 1) the Declaration, what endorsement implies, etc., and 2) what kind of participation Colombia could have at the Buenos Aires conference. Jose Rafael was concerned about timing in terms of getting everything agreed before the end of March. They also said it would be helpful to have meetings with the Colombian mission in NY.

January 2017: Advocacy meeting with Geneva mission. Very positive meeting. He had lots of questions. He said that he’d made the MFA, MoD, and MoE in Bogota very aware of the upcoming conference—because he’d sent them all searching for the invitation from Argentina to no avail. But now everybody knows. He agreed that the “positively evolved” situation in Colombia meant there was an opportunity to review their position. Inter-ministerial discussions are ongoing.

February 2017: Norway’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Laila Bokhari had a bilateral in the margins of the Paris Principles conference with the Minister from Colombia.

March 2017: Colombia ambassador in New York delivered a statement at the Security Council requesting the conclusion of the MRM in Colombia. Conclusions from the Working Group on CAAC here.

March 2017: Norwegian Refugee Council issued a letter to the governments of Colombia, Ethiopia, and Venezuela, to encourage endorsement of the SSD. GCPEA published an op ed, calling on Colombia to endorse the SSD. Original in Spanish here. Norway’s Vice Minister on Foreign Affairs, Ms. Laila Bokhari, hosted a lunch in the margins of the Buenos Aires conference, which was attended by the representative of Colombia, María Juliana Tenorio.

April 2017: HRW had an advocacy meeting with the Geneva mission.

May 2017: GCPEA wrote to the Foreign Minister to encourage endorsement.

June 2017: Second Secretary Gustavo Andrés Gómez in the Oslo embassy attended a lunch hosted by Norway’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Laila Bokhari to mark the second anniversary of the Declaration. Human Rights Watch published a report on Colombia which detailed examples of attacks on and military use of schools.

August 2017: Watchlist had a really good introductory meeting with Ms. Natalia Arboleda, who covers CAC at the Colombian Mission and has worked at the President’s Office in Bogota during the peace process with the FARC, so while still learning the file, she is knowledgeable already and very open to engaging. They brought up the Safe Schools Declaration in the meeting and expressed support for Colombia signing, which would make it the tenth Latin American state to do so and would be an important gesture for the protection of schools and children’s right to education. Overall, the message was received positively, with the expert asking for some more information, including about the potential timing for their endorsement if it were to happen (they shared the list of all endorsing states). They explained that while there is no deadline or fixed date, September could be a good opportunity, coinciding with Colombia’s review by the CESCR in Geneva, or GCPEA’s conference in Panama in November on this issue. They offered to put Natalia directly in touch with GCPEA for more information about the conference and will write an introduction. This would be a good time for re-engagement. GCPEA advised Watchlist that the Open Debate on CAAC in October could also be a good opportunity for Colombia to announce their endorsement.

August 2017: Colombian MoE focal points put Cristal in touch with their successor in order to ensure that conversations about the Declaration can continue and that GCPEA has the right focal point there. Cristal responded, highlighting the Panama workshop and asking if GCPEA can provide any support to endorsement before then. HRW issued a submission to the CESCR in advance of its review of Colombia, requesting the Committee to encourage Colombia to endorse the Declaration. Colombia (Juan Manuel Morales from the MFA) invited Cristal to speak about attacks on education at an IHL conference in Colombia in October. He advised that the decision-makers are still considering the government’s position on endorsement.

August 2017: GCPEA met with the MoE and MFA in Bogota to discuss the Declaration. They advised that the internal discussions are progressing slowly but surely, but that the MoD continues to have some reservations. Endorsement is foreseen, but unlikely to happen before the Open Debate in October. Watchlist met with the CAAC expert of the Mission of Colombia in New York, briefed her on the Declaration, and introduced her to GCPEA for follow up. Watchlist encouraged Colombia to announce endorsement during its review by the CESCR in Geneva in September or during the UNSC Open Debate in New York in October. Save the Children Spain will carry out advocacy towards the embassy of Colombia in Madrid. GCPEA met with the MoE and MFA in Bogota to discuss the Declaration. They advised that the internal discussions are progressing slowly but surely, but that the MoD continues to have some reservations.

September 2017: GCPEA and Save the Children met with Juan Carlos Moreno Guitiérrez, Second Secretary at the Colombian Mission in Geneva, and a very constructive meeting. Gisela presented the concept of the Panama workshop and schedule. She highlighted the toolkit and the framework for action. It will be challenging to get Colombia endorsed before December, but there are some positive steps: -Bogota is checking now the ‘compatibility’ of the Declaration with Colombia’s existing HR and IHL obligations and flagging any possible contradiction. – MoD has just completed a review of their doctrine/manual of engagement with a stronger focus on HR and IHL. – Juan Carlos advised to reach out to capital through various channels to increase ‘pressure’: – Reaching out to the MoD: he advised to bring the ICRC (Bogota delegation) into the discussions, as the links between the ICRC into the discussions, as the links between the ICRC and the MoD are very strong, MoD will listen to them. He offered to coordinate a meeting between the relevant Ministries and the ICRC delegation in the country. Gisela will reach out to Monique (ICRC Geneva) to flag this possibility. Juan Carlos will contact the Colombian mission in New York to flag the open debate on CAAC on the 31st of October as a key moment for new endorsements.

January 2018: Evidence of apparent military use of a school by ELN: https://twitter.com/BedeOnKidRights/status/951526602130821120

February 2018: In advance of OPAC turns 18 event, GCPEA issued letter highlighting that Colombia has signed OPAC, Paris, and Vancouver, but not the Declaration, and calling for endorsement.

April 2018: Norwegian Prime Minister Solberg encouraged endorsement on several occasions during her trip to Colombia. Save the Children Norway placed the issue of attacks on schools on the agenda of the Norwegian Ombudsman for his visit to Colombia. A call for endorsement was included in the Alliance for Colombian Children’s report for Universal Periodic Review of Colombia by the Human Rights Council. Save the Children Colombia issued a call for endorsement in their oral statement during the pre-session for the UPR. GCPEA met with Save Colombia in Geneva to discuss next steps for advocacy in light of the elections. Norwegian Refugee Council Colombia issued a release on the impact of the conflict on education in Colombia, encouraging the government to endorse the Declaration.

May 2018: During a visit to Colombia, SRSG Gamba made a recommendation to endorse to the Vice President. GCPEA received information that the government of Colombia was making requests for additional information on the Declaration and the implications of endorsement.

June 2018: Gisela met with Mr. Francisco Gonzalez, Deputy Permanent Representative, and Natalia Arboleda, Counsellor. They had been instructed to urgently meet with GCPEA by the Ambassador. They highlighted their positive practice on reintegration of former child soldiers and mentioned that SRSG Gamba had participated in a workshop on this in May, noting that she had advocated to the Vice President for Colombia to endorse the Declaration. However, the DPR advised that there would be little progress while the new government is being appointed and recommended picking up the advocacy after the summer. He said they were waiting to see whether the candidates’ position critical of the peace process was a question of posture that would dissipate once the government is up and running. He noted the ICRC’s position and said their advice would be important. Gisela followed up in writing, sharing a letter for the Foreign Minister.

July 2018: In her statement to the open debate, Jenny Londoño, Grupo de Jóvenes Consultores, Colombia, said that civil society was advocating for the Colombian government to endorse the Declaration, which was pending since 2015, and that Colombia was not alone in this regard. She had been supported by Save Colombia.

July 2018: An article by Save Colombia was published in one of the main newspapers in the country. https://colombia2020.elespectador.com/pais/organizaciones-de-ninos-le-piden-ivan-duque-escuelas-mas-seguras The article says: Colombia2020 contacted the Foreign Ministry, who responded that the Government cannot sign the Declaration without a “technical conceptualization” from the Ministry of Education. The ministry of education said that, together with the Ministry of Defense and the International Committee of the Red Cross, they are developing “technical guidelines on safe schools” that is under review by the legal offices of both ministries. However, that does not imply the signing of the Safe Schools Declaration.”

July 2018: STC provded trainings on the SSD and SC’s work on the protection of schools in conflict. Both in Colombia, with programmes colleagues, the “border team” working on the humanitarian crisis at the border the Venezuela and the field staff in Arauca. And with other LAC colleagues – among them people from Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.The SZOP programme in Arauca, with the support of SC Norway has just started. On the advocacy side, Luz alredy started to move the issue ahead of the beginng of the new governments’ mandate. She is thinking at the advocacy strategy with the new government keeping in mind the difficulties in relation to the peace process that it could bring.

August 2018: Colombia SZOP team is reaching out to the key advocacy partners and keeping them updated: Geneva Call, ICRC, NRC, Cluster, MoE and embassies. The team is linking Safe Schools advocacy work to other advocacy campaigns to help it integrate into the wider children’s rights agenda and live beyond the SZOP pilot: Cualico, Every Last Child, campaigning on migration crisis. For national level advocacy, Luz encourages a two-tier approach: One-on-one meetings with high-level/influential stakeholders  here, it would be ideal to link this to Zama Neff’s visit (of GCPEA); General event to raise awareness on Safe Schools Declaration and hopefully set it on new government’s agenda  mid-November to time with Zama’s visit; Linking advocacy and programs is a winning strategy: for example, Luz presented the SSD for 10 minutes at a cluster meeting in Arauca, and the government officials there were so interested they invited her back to do a full event on the SSD on 19 September. Their interest was already piqued because program staff (Karen and Maria Ines) had been dialoging with them on Safe Schools because of the SZOP pilot. ; SC Colombia sees that there is great interest and potential for expanding SZOP after the pilot ends, in particular in Norte de Santander and Arauca; what ideas do we have for future SZOP programming? Elyse brought up SC’s Innovation Accelerator (deadline to apply: September 7).

September 2018: Ahead of the UN WPS open debate, GCPEA a letter addressed to Foreign Minister sent to the Mission in New York. The letter encourages the government to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration and advocate for continued access to quality, conflict-sensitive education for women and girls.

July 2019: Human Rights Watch released the report “The War in Catatumbo: Abuses by Armed Groups Against Civilians Including Venezuelan Exiles in Northeastern Colombia” which documents abuses —including disappearances, killings, child recruitment, and sexual violence — committed by these groups in Catatumbo, a border area in Northeastern Colombia. The report includes instances of attempted recruitment of children from school, and the placement of landmines near a school. It also calls on the government of Colombia to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration.

November 2019: Save the Children hosted a regional workshop on 26-28 November in Bogota, with participants from Save the Children and civil society from Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia and El Salvador. The Safe Schools Declaration with its Safe Schools Common Approach links was presented.

December 2019: The Norwegian Refugee Council issued a statement reporting that more than 10,800 children in Colombia don’t have access to education due to the conflict. In their statement, they encourage the Colombian government to endorse Safe Schools Declaration and to ensure that schools are protected.

December 2020: Save the Children Colombia and GCPEA (Nevena) discussed a common strategy on endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration by the government. A proposal of organising a virtual Inter-Ministerial meeting/round table to discuss endorsement of the Declaration was discussed. The meeting will gather representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Education and the embassies of Argentina, Spain, and Norway. Save the Children will prepare a short concept note for this meeting and will reach out to the embassies and the ICRC in Bogota to seek their support.

August 2021: Yatasha, Apolline and Jerome met with representatives of the Colombia mission in Geneva, following up on the GRULAC informal briefing which took place in June. GCPEA provided updates on the state led implementation network, examples of good practice and the upcoming Abuja conference. The Research team briefed the representatives on the global trends for 2022 and focused on the case of Colombia, noting the kinds of attacks that GCPEA monitors but also highlighting the good practice that has been observed at the national level despite non-endorsement. Ambassador Alvaro Ayala Melendez explained that his country supports the SSD in principle and that internal consultations are still on-going, particularly within the MoD. He inquired about the endorsement process and asked for more information regarding how other states, particularly in similar situations, had implemented the declaration. GCPEA shared examples of implementation, including Ukraine’s recent adoption of an action plan and Mexico’s endorsement. GCPEA reiterated its availability for technical support to help the country endorse. The representatives said that they would inform the MFA of this meeting and would keep in contact with GCPEA for the next steps. We followed up by email sharing further information, including the ICRC’s contact for a briefing on IHL implications to alleviate some of the MoD’s concerns.

May 2022: GCPEA participated in an informal technical briefing on the SSD with the Second Secretary from the Colombian Mission hosted by the Argentinian Mission, in collaboration with Norway. GCPEA provided an overview of the SSD and highlighted the legal and policy protections for schools that Colombia already has and can serve as examples of good practice for other countries to follow and emulate. Norway briefed on the UN SC Resolution 2601 and the Implementation Network, and Argentina highlighted why Colombia should endorse. The Second Secretary explained that the MoD has issues with the Guideline 4. Specifically, the MoD believes that warning the enemy in advance would give opposing armed groups a military advantage. As such, they are opposed to endorsing. In light of the current Presidential elections in Colombia, we agreed to organise a follow-up virtual meeting later this year with the relevant Ministries in Bogota, Argentina, GCPEA, Norway, and Spain.

September 2022: On 1 September, Nevena and Apolline met with Rodrigo Mendez and Rodrigo Maya at the New York Mission. They both seemed very supportive, and reassured us that they were trying to mobilise the different departments within MoFA, the MoE, and MoD on the SSD. They highlighted how Colombia is very strong on human rights issues (including education), and that they agree with the principles of the SSD. They advised that we can request a meeting with the new Permanent Representative who could be a potential ally.

November 2022: Endorsed the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA) on 18 November during an International Conference hosted by Ireland, the leader and penholder behind the Declaration.

November 2022: on 18 November, Colombia endorsed the SSD.

March 2023: During ID with SRSG CAAC, Colombia delivered national statement:
– Conflict has big impact on schools and children deprived of education
– Recently Colombia has endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration and drafted a plan of action to implement it in order to bring to the ground protective measures for schools