The Ombudsman of Colombia, Carlos Camargo, considered it a priority to address the violation of the human rights of children and adolescents in the reestablishment of relations between Colombia and Venezuela.
“As a Colombian State, it is necessary to be vigilant about what happens ‘underneath’ the border bridges and to avoid violations of human rights, particularly human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents,” says one Press release of the Colombian Ombudsman.
During a humanitarian visit to the border crossing with Venezuela in the city of Cúcuta Camargo, he expressed: “The difficult economic and social conditions, the institutional indifference in some regions, the lack of protective environments and the armed conflict generate different violations of the rights of minors. For this reason, children and adolescents must be the priority in reestablishing relations between Colombia and Venezuela.”
He recalled that, according to the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), there is a registry of 1,200 Venezuelan children and adolescents who are in Colombia under protection and in the framework of an administrative process for the reestablishment of rights.
“It is urgent to find an institutional solution so that minors do not remain indefinitely in foster homes or protection institutions and the corresponding family reunification can be advanced, previously verifying that the appropriate conditions are met in terms of children’s rights,” he added.
Current Alerts
“The dynamics of irregular migration are often intervened by illegal armed actors, hence the importance of emphasizing the non-use of these alternate and illegal routes to enter the country,” recalled Camargo.
The Colombian Ombudsman maintains the Early Warnings in force for 16 municipalities and four non-municipalized areas in the border area with Venezuela.
Among the 16 municipalities are: Convención, El Carmen, Puerto Santander, Cúcuta, Teorama, Tibú, Toledo and Villa del Rosario (Norte de Santander); Maicao (La Guajira); Curumani (Cesar); Arauca, Arauquita, Cravo Norte, Saravena (Arauca); Puerto Carreño (Vichada), and Inírida (Guainía).
The four non-municipalized areas warned are Cacahual, La Guadalupe, Puerto Colombia and San Felipe (Guainía).
All of them related to the risk of violations of the human rights of the communities due to the actions of illegal armed groups and criminal organizations in the border areas, says the Ombudsman.
Finally, in addition to the situation of unaccompanied Venezuelan migrant children, the Ombudsman took advantage of the visit to call the attention of the health authorities so that the necessary protocols are established to protect the population against new outbreaks of covid-19 or of any other disease.
