A Second Judge Orders Temporary Suspension of Bombings in Colombia
When the legal team of the Government of Abelardo de la Espriella was refining its strategy to respond to the ruling of a Bogota judge ordering the cautionary suspension of bombings against illegal groups, in recent hours it became known that a second judicial office made a decision in the same direction. This temporarily affects one of the most forceful procedures that the Military Forces of Colombia have to combat criminal structures.
The first judicial decision was made by the 34th Family Court of Bogota, led by judge Viviana Arciniegas Gomez, which ordered the Presidency of the Republic and the Military Forces to suspend “offensive air operations” on targets where “certain, objective, or reasonably verifiable” information exists regarding the presence of minors recruited by illegal armed groups. It is a provisional order that must be maintained while the court makes a decision on the merits.
The measure indicated that until the necessary precautionary and protective measures are adopted and verified, and it is determined “that there is no less damaging operational alternative allowing the legitimate military objective pursued to be achieved,” bombings where there may be a presence of minors must be suspended.
Thus, that judicial office said, the De la Espriella Government will have to consider “the best interest and prevalence of the rights of children,” as well as the principles of distinction, precaution, and proportionality, and the constitutional and international obligations applicable to the protection of children in contexts of armed conflict.
That judicial order was triggered by a joint operation by the Military Forces and the Police against a structure of the Jorge Suarez Briceno Block, a faction of the Farc dissidents commanded by alias ‘Calarca’, which included a bombing that left 10 members dead, among them, three minors. According to authorities, the operation, executed on August 27 in El Retorno, Guaviare, allowed strategically impacting this armed structure in a jungle area of difficult access in the department of Guaviare.
An exceptional, temporary, and preventive measure
The second judicial decision affecting the bombings arose from the Third Criminal Court of the Circuit of San Jose del Guaviare, led by judge Jhoan Aguilera Martinez. That office adopted the decision defined as “exceptional, temporary, and preventive” in response to a tutela action filed to protect minors who are victims of forced recruitment in that department. The measure is directed at the Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry of Defense, and the competent military authorities.
This court ordered the temporary suspension of bombings against illegal armed groups or structures located in Guaviare when there is intelligence information, a preventive alert, or another objective element that reasonably allows warning that children or adolescents could be affected in their life or physical integrity. In the decision, the judge ordered the “TEMPORARY SUSPENSION (while the tutela action is resolved on the merits) OF BOMBINGS ON MILITARY TARGETS” under those circumstances.
However, the measure is provisional and does not represent a general ban on bombings or military operations in the department. Its application is conditional on the existence of information about the possible presence of minors and will remain in force while the office studies on the merits a tutela action filed by citizen Roxemhberg Rozo Sanchez, who acted as an informal agent for children and adolescents who are victims of forced recruitment.
For judge Aguilera Martinez, the temporary restriction seeks to avoid irreversible harm while it is determined whether authorities have sufficient mechanisms to identify the presence of minors and prevent risks during air operations. “The measure is suitable to prevent the risk to minors recruited by groups outside the law,” the judge pointed out, and considered that at this stage of the process there is not sufficient information to establish whether the prevention measures implemented by the authorities allow ruling out the risk.
Not all military operations are suspended due to the presence of children
The office clarified that the decision does not mean that every military operation must be suspended given the eventual presence of minors. “The balancing carried out at this stage does not imply asserting that every military operation must be suspended, nor that the eventual presence of minors makes any operation illegal per se,” it stated.
Among the facts analyzed by the court is Operation Amon in El Retorno, Guaviare. The ruling also mentions new operations announced by the Government against structures associated with alias ‘Ivan Mordisco’. These antecedents were considered by the court when evaluating the risk of recruited minors remaining within armed groups that are subject to military operations.
The court seeks to establish how authorities identify targets, verify the possible presence of civilian population and minors, and evaluate alerts related to recruitment. Among the requested information are “the protocols used for the identification and verification of targets” and the precautionary measures adopted before operations.
As part of the provisional measure, the court gave a 48-hour deadline to the Ministry of National Defense, National Army of Colombia, Colombian Air Force, and Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) to report on the protocols and mechanisms used before and during military operations.
The entities must report the measures implemented to identify the possible presence of minors, verify intelligence information related to their recruitment or utilization, evaluate risks to the civilian population, and apply reinforced protection measures for children and adolescents.