CRC/C/COL/CO/3 page 8 41. The Committee urges the State party to take, as a matter of priority, effective measures and action to protect the civilian population from all forms of violations, especially those affecting children, and reminds the State party that failure to act and prevent such violations may incur responsibility. Furthermore, the Committee urges the State party to put an end to links between public officials and members of illegal armed groups, in particular the paramilitaries, as these still exist. 42. The Committee notes that despite setting up an early warning system to prevent serious human rights violations, the State party has failed to take effective preventive action, resulting in the loss of life of civilians, including children. 43. The Committee urges the State party to take effective preventive measures, following the identification of risk situations in the early warning system, in order to prevent the loss of life due to omission by the authorities to act. 44. The Committee is concerned over numerous instances of violence by the regular military forces whereby children have been killed, including cases where children have been falsely reported as killed in combat by the army. Finally, the Committee notes with concern the unbroken pattern of impunity and the continuous tendency to refer serious violation of human rights to the military justice system. 45. The Committee urges the State party to break the legacy of impunity and urgently conduct criminal investigations of human rights violations in cases whereby children have lost their lives and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice as a matter of the highest priority. Furthermore, the Committee requests that the State party respect its international legal obligations in relation to fair trials and ensure that all investigations are carried out independently and impartially. Respect for the views of the child 46. The Committee notes that the views of children are inadequately taken into account in the family, schools and other institutions. 47. The Committee recommends that the State party promote, facilitate and implement in practice, within the family, schools, the community level, in institutions as well as in judicial and administrative procedures, the principle of respect for the views of children and their participation in all matters affecting them, in accordance with article 12 of the Convention. 4. Civil rights and freedoms (arts. 7, 8, 113-17 and 37 (a) of the Convention) Birth registration 48. The Committee notes the efforts undertaken together with various United Nations agencies in order to improve the rate of birth registration, however it is concerned that 20 per cent of all Colombian children continue to lack birth registration, especially in rural areas and among Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations.