Colombia: Military service, including recruitment age, length of service, reasons for exemption and the possibility of performing a replacement service (2006-July 2012)

1. Law

Article 216 of the Constitution of Colombia, enacted in 1991, provides for mandatory military service for all male citizens when [translation] "public necessity" indicates that national independence and the state's institutions must be defended (Colombia 1991). According to law 48 of 1993, which governs military recruitment and mobilization, all Colombian males are obliged to [translation] "define their military situation" (definir su situación militar) when they reach the age of majority or, in the case of secondary school students, when they complete their secondary school studies (ibid. 1993, art. 10). To define their military situation, a Colombian male citizen must register with the authorities and undergo three psycho-physical examinations to determine their aptitude for military service (ibid., art. 14-18). Subsequently, a draw (sorteo) is carried out to select, among those who are capable, the conscripts to be recruited into active service (ibid., art. 19).

Military service is voluntary for women, except when the national government determines that [translation] "the situation in the country" requires mandatory service (ibid., art. 10). According to the law, mandatory military service for women includes logistics support; administrative, social or cultural work; the protection of the environment; and other activities that contribute to the modernization and development of the country (ibid.).

The law provides that Colombian males living abroad are required to define their military situation with the competent consular authorities (ibid., art. 23).

1.1 Length of service

According to law 48 of 1993, the length of mandatory service is 18 to 24 months for regular soldiers, 12 months for soldiers who have completed their secondary studies, and 12 to 18 months for [translation] "peasant soldiers" (soldado campesino) who perform their service in the geographic region in which they live (ibid., art. 13). Mandatory military service ends at the age of 50 (ibid., art. 10).

1.2 Recruitment

A report published in 2009 by War Resisters' International (WRI), an international network that promotes non-violent action to remove the causes of war, states that the recruitment methods differ from what is set out in the law (WRI Aug. 2009, 3, 5). Sources state that [translation] "checkpoints" [batidas, also called redadas] are set up, at which military officers gather young people in public places to verify whether they have defined their military situation (ibid., 5; ACOOC n.d.; El Colombiano 7 Feb. 2013). Those who do not have the required documents are driven by truck to military barracks, and those who have not performed their mandatory military service are conscripted (ibid.; WRI Aug. 2009, 5; ACOOC n.d.). According to the WRI, the use of checkpoints is [translation] "common, although illegal" (Aug. 2009, 5). In 2011, a Constitutional Court decision ruled that it was illegal to take a person who had not defined their military situation to a military barrack against their will (ACOOC n.d.; La Opinión 2 June 2013) and to detain them for long periods with the intention of conscripting them into the Armed Forces (ACOOC n.d.).

In June 2013, the Cúcuta daily La Opinión stated that the batidas occur [translation] "frequently" in the country, including in Cúcuta, and that the practice had recently "intensified" (2 June 2013). Cited in the La Opinión article, the commander of the military district of Cúcuta stated that his unit goes into the city every two or three months to verify the military situation of about 380 young people (2 June 2013). In February 2013, the daily El Colombiano stated that the batidas had been [translation] "frequent" in Medellín in the previous weeks (7 Feb. 2013). The newspaper gave the example of a group of 20 to 30 young people who were taken against their will to a military district of Medellín, and of other young men who were detained there for three days while their family gathered the necessary documents to regularize their status (El Colombiano 7 Feb. 2013).

2. Reasons for exemption andring service

The law provides that people who have a permanent [translation] "physical and sensory" disability, as well as natives who live on their land and retain [translation] "their cultural, social and economic integrity" are exempt from military service at all times and are not required to pay the military compensation fees (Colombia 1993, art. 27). According to the Internet site of the Recruitment Directorate of the National Army (Jefatura de Reclutamiento, Ejército Nacional), to benefit from the exemption, members of the native communities must provide a [translation] "written statement signed by the Ethnic Affairs Branch [Dirección de Etnias] of the Ministry of the Interior and of Justice [Ministerio del Interior y de Justicia] that certifies the existence of the native reserve and the registration of the individual in that reserve's registry" (ibid., 6 Sept. 2012).

According to the law, some people are exempt from military service in times of peace, in particular:

Priests and clerics, as well as their equivalents in other religions, if they devote themselves permanently to their religious duty;

People convicted of a crime and whose political rights have been suspended;

Single children of single parent families;

Orphans who are responsible for their brothers or sisters;

Children who support the needs of parents who are unable to work or who are older than 60 and whose economic livelihoods are insufficient;

Brothers or sons of a person who passed away or who became disabled during or because of their military service;

Married individuals;

People who have temporary or permanent disabilities; and

Children of officers, non-commissioned officers, agents or civilian members of the Armed Forces (Fuerza Pública) who were killed or who became disabled during or because of their military service (ibid. 1993, art. 28).

People who are exempted are, however, required to register with the authorities and pay military compensation fees, a [translation] "financial contribution to the National Treasury", the value of which is determined by the government (ibid., art. 28, 22).

The law also provides that certain people may their mandatory service, especially:

People who have a brother who is performing mandatory military service;

People detained or arrested by civilian authorities when they should be recruited;

People temporarily injured or disabled;

Students and people who were accepted to study in institutions recognized by the ecclesiastical authorities in preparation for religious life;

People who are studying in order to be admitted into a military college or a police academy;

Students in their last year of secondary school, including those who are repeating the year because of a failing grade (ibid. 1993, art. 29); and

Students who are preparing to enter university (ibid., 9 Aug. 2012).

3. Conscientious objection and replacement service

War Resisters' International states that Colombia does not recognize the right to conscientious objection to military service (Aug. 2009, 2). In its report, the organization recounts the situation of five people who were recruited into the Armed Forces between 2006 and 2008 despite their conscientious objection (WRI Aug. 2009, 9-11). An article that appeared in the Colombian magazine Semana states that, on October 14, 2009, the Constitutional Court recognized conscientious objection to mandatory military service as a fundamental right, but that it had previously maintained in several statements that this right did not exist in the country (29 Oct. 2009). Similarly, the Colombian daily El Espectador stated that the Constitutional court had created a significant precedent in 2009 by stating that conscientious objection to mandatory military service was legal in the context of freedom of religion and of cult (17 May 2012). The Court instructed the Congress of the Republic to develop a law that would regulate conscientious objection (Semana 29 Oct. 2009; Diario ADN 13 Nov. 2012). The Court also established that, in the meanwhile, the right to conscientious objection must be granted on a case by case basis, following development of jurisprudence (Semana 29 Oct. 2009).

In May 2012, the Constitutional Court concluded that the Armed Forces did not comply with the right to conscientious objection when they recruited a conscript belonging to the United Pentecostal Church of Colombia (El Espectador 17 May 2012; El Tiempo 17 May 2012). The Court also ordered the army to conduct an awareness campaign about conscientious objection in all of the military garrisons (ibid.; El Nuevo Dia 17 May 2012).

Colombian media state that, in November 2012, the bill that provides the right to refuse to perform military service for religious or ethnic reasons passed the first reading before the Congress of the Republic (Diario ADN 13 Nov. 2012; El Nuevo Siglo 14 Nov. 2012). The Bogotá daily El Nuevo Siglo stated that, according to the bill, the people who refused to perform their military service were required to perform an alternative social service (ibid.). In addition, in a July 2013 news release, a senator of the Alternative Democratic Pole (Polo Democrático Alternativo) party stated that he prepared a bill that aims to regulate the fundamental right to conscientious objection to mandatory military service and to create an alternative social service to meet the constitutional obligation to contribute to social solidarity (Colombia 9 July 2013). No further information on the status of the bill or on the replacement service could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Acción colectiva de objetores y objetoras de conciencia (ACOOC). N.d. "Ilegalidades en el proceso de reclutamiento". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

Colombia. 9 July 2013. Julieth Ochoa Jímenez. Congreso de la República de Colombia. "'Una legislatura en defensa de los derechos de los colombianos': Ospina". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

_____. 6 September 2012. Jefatura de Reclutamiento, Ejército Nacional. "Indígenas". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

_____. 9 August 2012. Jefatura de Reclutamiento, Ejército Nacional. "Causales de aplazamiento". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

_____. 1993. Ley 48 de 1993 (Marzo 3): Por la cual se reglamenta el servicio de reclutamiento y movilización. [Accessed 31 July 2013]

_____. 1991 (modified in 2005). Constitución política de la República de Colombia de 1991. [Accessed 31 July 2013]

El Colombiano [Bogotá]. 7 February 2013. Juan David Ortiz Franco. "Las batidas del Ejército continúan a pesar del debate sobre su legalidad". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

Diario ADN. 13 November 2012. "Proyecto de ley eliminaría obligatoriedad en el servicio militar". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

El Espectador [Bogotá]. 17 May 2012. "Soldado le ganó tutela al Ejército argumentando objeción de conciencia". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

El Nuevo Dia [Ibague]. 17 May 2012. "Corte ordena al Ejéercito hacer campaña sobre la objeción de conciencia". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

El Nuevo Siglo [Bogotá]. 14 November 2012. "Objeción de conciencia superó primer debate". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

La Opinión [Cúcuta]. 2 June 2013. "'Batidas' militares : mitos, legalidad y objeción". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

Semana [Bogotá]. 29 October 2009. Daniel Bonilla Maldonado. "¿Cuándo se puede usar la objeción de conciencia para no prestar servicio militar?" [Accessed 31 July 2013]

El Tiempo [Bogotá]. 17 May 2012. "Ejército deberá hacer campaña al derecho a la objeción de conciencia". [Accessed 31 July 2013]

War Resisters' International (WRI). August 2009. Military Recruitment and Conscientious Objection in Colombia: Report to the Human Rights Committee, 97th Session. [Accessed 31 July 2013]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral source: The Acción colectiva de objetores y objetoras de conciencia was unable to provide information within the time constraints.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Caracol Radio; Congreso Visible; Eje21.com.co; Freedom House; Grupo de derecho de interés publico; Maritza Martínez Aristizábal; United States - Department of State.