Today’s guest author is Colombian Juan Pablo Patiño Arévalo, winner of the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge. You can read his entry in either Spanish or English, and you can watch his award-winning video, “Democracy is the right of life,” on the Democracy Video Challenge website.

Para construir memoria es necesario ser concientes de nuestra realidad. Este proyecto se puede entender como una crítica a la vinculación de niños al conflicto armado en el mundo, empezando por Colombia, país donde nace mi documental Osos Abandonados.

De otro lado, es importante que este proyecto se enmarque como un proceso artístico. De acuerdo con Susan Sontag, “el arte del presente ha de ser empleado como un nuevo instrumento –como un instrumento para la modificación de la conciencia y para el desarrollo de nuevas formas de sensibilidad” (SONTAG, 1980, p.288). Es decir, valerse del arte como un mecanismo de sensibilidad e instrumento modificador de la conciencia.

Debo mencionar la existencia de normativas legales y estatutos vigentes de protección, que son tenidos en cuenta por distintos gobiernos, como es el caso de Colombia. Sin embargo, se hace necesaria la presencia de diferentes mecanismos de observancia externos para garantizar su cumplimiento.

El 20 de noviembre de 1999 UNICEF realizó la convención por los derechos de los niños, en la que definió el concepto de niño de la siguiente manera: “La Convención define como “niño” o “niña” a toda persona menor de 18 años, a menos que las leyes de un determinado país reconozcan antes la mayoría de edad. En algunos casos, los Estados tienen que ser coherentes a la hora de definir las edades para trabajar y para hacer parte del sistema educativo. La Convención es estricta en casos como la condena a pena de muerte estableciendo la prohibición para menores de 18 años”. (Unicef, 1999)

Esta Convención presenta normas que contemplan que los niños son seres humanos, individuos miembros de una familia y una comunidad, con derechos y responsabilidades apropiados para su edad. Esto permite tenerlos en cuenta como seres integrarles cuyos derechos son fundamentales.

Pero estas normas parecen no ser conocidas por los actores del conflicto. Los problemas del manejo de la información han llevado también a que no existan cifras consolidadas sobre el tema en Colombia. Organizaciones como Crin y Human Rights Watch sostienen lo siguiente:

“En Colombia no existen cifras verificables sobre la cantidad de niños que hacen parte de los grupos armados que toman parte en las hostilidades; sin embargo, los datos más conservadores afirman que pueden estar entre 8.000 y 13.000. Se cree que al menos uno de cada cuatro combatientes es menor de 18 años y, en ocasiones, esta población puede llegar a ser más del 30% en ciertas unidades armadas. Sus edades de vinculación oscilan entre los 7 y los 17 años, con un promedio de edad de ingreso de los 13,8 años”. (ORGANIZACIÓN CRIN, 2007)

“En nuestra opinión, la cifra total de niños combatientes en Colombia supera probablemente los 11.000, siendo este un cálculo conservador que puede subestimar significativamente la cantidad real”. (HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, 2004)

Teniendo en cuenta esta breve introducción ¿por qué no trabajar por una niñez que está en peligro? Nosotros podemos cambiar el mundo y debemos actuar.

Citas:

• SONTAG, S. (1980). Die Enheit der Kultur und die neue Erlebnisweise. (One Culture and the new sensibility). En Kunst and Antikunst. Munchen, Alemania.
• UNICEF. (1999). Unicef. From Unicef: http://www.unicef.org.co/10-temas.htm
• ORGANIZACIÓN CRIN. (13 de Julio de 2007). Child Rights Information Network. Retrieved 2008 from CRIN: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=14012
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH. (2004). Aprenderás a no llorar. Bogotá, Colombia: Editorial Gente Nueva.

To build consciousness, we must first be aware of our reality. My work takes a critical look at the conscription of children into armed conflict worldwide, starting with Colombia, where my documentary, Osos Abandonados (Lost Innocence), was created.

This project is also an artistic process. According to Susan Sontag, “Art today must be used as a new instrument, an instrument for modifying consciousness and developing new forms of sensitivity” (Sontag, 1980, p.288). That is to say, we should use art as a sensitizing mechanism and awareness-raising tool.

I should mention that legal regulations and statutes have been established to protect children during times of conflict, and these laws are acknowledged by governments, as is the case in Colombia. However, these regulations require external monitoring in order to ensure compliance.

On November 20, 1999, UNICEF held the convention for the rights of children, which defined the notion of children as follows: “The Convention defines “boy” or “girl” as any person under the age of 18, unless the laws of a specific country recognize adulthood at an earlier age. In some cases, states must be consistent in defining the age to work and become part of the education system. The Convention is stricter in cases such as the death penalty, prohibiting its infliction on anyone under 18″. (UNICEF, 1999)

This Convention affirms that children are human beings, individual members of a family and community, with rights and responsibilities appropriate to their age. This allows them to be counted as integral beings with fundamental rights.

But these rules seem to be unknown to the actors of the conflict. Problems with information management mean there are no firm data about the situation in Colombia. However, organizations like Crin and Human Rights Watch contend that,

“In Colombia there are no verifiable figures on the number of children who are part of armed groups taking part in hostilities, however, the most conservative data suggest that it could be between 8,000 and 13,000. It is believed that at least one in every four combatants is under 18 and that at times this percentage may grow to more than 30% in certain armed units. Their conscription ages range from 7 to 17, with an average conscription age of 13.8.” (CRIN ORGANIZATION, 2007)

“In our opinion, the total number of child combatants in Colombia likely exceeds 11,000, this being a conservative estimate that may significantly underestimate the actual amount”. (HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, 2004)

Given this brief introduction, why not work for children at risk? We can change the world and we must act.

Bibliography:

• SONTAG, S. (1980). Die Enheit der Kultur und die neue Erlebnisweise. (One Culture and the new sensibility). En Kunst and Antikunst. Munchen, Alemania.
• UNICEF. (1999). Unicef. From Unicef: http://www.unicef.org.co/10-temas.htm
• ORGANIZACIÓN CRIN. (13 de Julio de 2007). Child Rights Information Network. Retrieved 2008 from CRIN: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?id=14012
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH. (2004). Aprenderás a no llorar. Bogotá, Colombia: Editorial Gente Nueva.

The use of children as soldiers is most prevalent in countries torn by conflict in Africa, as well as in Afghanistan, Burma and Colombia, according to the United Nations, but it’s a human rights violation that affects all of us, as I learned while researching a series of stories I did on the topic.

The children themselves – and there are hundreds of thousands of them, by some estimates – are, of course, a primary concern.  Forced into service most frequently by militias, they are frequently killed or injured during combat and universally brutalized by their leaders.

Even after the conflict is over, they have a hard time being reintegrated into their home communities.  The special needs of child soldiers, who usually represent the poorest of the poor, are a real burden to the families and communities to which they return. Girl soldiers — and there are a surprising high number of them — have an especially hard time adjusting to normal life, especially if they have children by the men who conscripted them.

But the issue of child soldiers is a global security concern as well, according to Peter Warren Singer, who has written a book about the topic.  According to Singer, the use of child soldiers makes conflicts easier to start, harder to end and peace agreements more difficult to maintain.

Nations need to have a “hard interest” in stopping the use of child soldiers, Singer told me in an interview, because doing so provides the mechanism to shrink the pool of failed states and areas terrorists can exploit.

Democracy Video Challenge winner Juan Pablo has provided his personal take on child soldiers.  What are your thoughts on how the issue affects you?

This week on By the People we will be featuring blog entries and information related to the issue of child soldiers.  Check back tomorrow for a guest entry from Democracy Video Challenge winner Juan Pablo on this topic.  It will be available in English and in Spanish.