CRC/C/COL/CO/3
page 16
measures, such as additional support to compensate for hidden costs, in order to combat the
pervasive discrimination and social exclusion which affects vulnerable groups, such as
children in rural areas, internally displaced, Afro-Colombian and indigenous children;
(e)
Provide further resources and conduct prior consultations with indigenous
communities in order to design and effectively provide them with bilingual and culturally
sensitive education;
(f)
Effectively monitor discrimination against female students who are expelled
due to pregnancy and to sanction educational institutions that fail to comply;
(g)
Compile statistics disaggregated by urban/rural areas, ethnicity and sex in
order to monitor the impact of anti-discrimination measures;
(h)
Provide protection for teachers by including them in the protection scheme
of the Ministry of Interior and to investigate and punish cases of teachers who have been
murdered;
(i)
Cease immediately the occupation and usage of schools or the nearby
establishment of military bases by State armed forces and further provide training on the
principle of distinction and the protection of the civilian population in training of the police
and military;
(j)
Refrain from involving children in any military activities, including study
visits to military bases or military events at schools, as such involvement, given the ongoing
internal conflict, compromises the humanitarian law principle of distinction of the civilian
population and places the children at risk of retaliation by members of illegal armed
groups;
(k)
Invest further resources in incorporating human rights education in school
curricula in order to encourage awareness of rights and values which promote a culture of
peace;
(l)
Finally, the Committee recommends that the State party take due account of
the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, in her 2003
mission report to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2004/45/Add.2).
8. Special protection measures
(arts. 22; 30; 38; 39; 40; 37 (b)-(d); and 32-36 of the Convention)
Displaced children
78.
The Committee takes note of the State party’s intention to increase resources for
assistance to internally displaced children, however expresses grave concern of the very high
number of children who continue to be displaced annually in Colombia. According to the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Colombia has the largest
internally displaced population in the world, estimated in 2005 according to official figures at
1.7 million people and at more than 3 million according to non-official sources. The Committee
shares the concern expressed by the Constitutional Court (T-025 of 2004) over the lack of