HomeChild Protection Compact Partnerships...Child Protection Compact Partnership Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia

# 									Child Protection Compact Partnership Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia							

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

April 26, 2022

The GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA (hereinafter referred to as “the Participants” and referring respectively to the entire state apparatus),

RECOGNIZING the long-standing relationship between the Participants,

SEEKING to complement existing and ongoing cooperation between the Participants on matters related to child trafficking,

ACKNOWLEDGING the respective leadership roles and responsibilities of the United States Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) and the Colombian Ministry of Interior (MOI), Ministry of Labor (MOL), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and the Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF) in the fight against human trafficking,

NOTING A SHARED CONCERN about the lasting psychological, physical, and developmental consequences of sex trafficking and forced labor for child victims,

EXPRESSING the need for a comprehensive and well-coordinated response to improve efforts to prevent and eradicate child trafficking and as well as the prevention of forced child recruitment, and

DESIRING to cooperate under this Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership to work collaboratively over the next five years to strengthen efforts in Colombia to combat child trafficking;

Have reached the following understandings:

**I. Purpose**

The purpose of this CPC Partnership is to strengthen the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Colombia and civil society organizations in Colombia to:
        - Prevent child trafficking in Colombia;
        - Effectively investigate, prosecute, and convict child traffickers, including those who are part of criminal networks dedicated to the trafficking of children;
        - Proactively identify, protect, and provide comprehensive, trauma-informed care for child victims of these crimes; and
        - Promote effective collaboration to combat child trafficking; prevent forced child recruitment; and strengthen international cooperation to care for victims.

**II. Goal and Objectives**

The Participants endeavor to support the following goal and objectives over the duration of this CPC Partnership:

**Goal:** The Government of the Republic of Colombia and other state entities work in close partnership with local authorities, governments and mayors, civil society, and relevant anti-trafficking stakeholders in a sustainable and coordinated fashion to combat child trafficking (with a particular focus on child sex trafficking in the context of tourism; online sexual exploitation of children (“webcam modeling”) amounting to sex trafficking; forced child begging; and forced child recruitment into illegal armed groups).

**Objective 1 (Prevention):** Child trafficking prevention efforts mitigate the factors that influence, foster and maintain its occurrence, are tailored to ethnic, indigenous, gender, sexual orientation, disability, migration, and cultural differences; take into account the victim’s stage of childhood development; and are widespread in targeted communities.

**Objective 2 (Protection):** The Government of the Republic of Colombia oversees a functioning system of trauma-informed, victim-centered protection services that are accessible to child trafficking victims, including children forcibly recruited in illegal armed groups, and that supports civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders that administer protection and rehabilitation.

**Objective 3 (Prosecution):** Justice sector actors, including the Judicial Police, the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, and the judiciary, utilize existing legal and procedural frameworks to increase identification of child trafficking victims, investigation of human trafficking cases in a child-friendly manner, and prosecution and conviction of perpetrators of child trafficking.

**Objective 4 (Partnership):** The Government of the Republic of Colombia strengthens its coordination efforts between government and civil society to combat child trafficking at the local level and ensures adherence to national policies at all levels.

**III. Definitions**

The following definitions are expected to be used for the purposes of this CPC Partnership:

**“Trafficking in persons,” “human trafficking,”**and**“modern slavery”**are umbrella terms – often used interchangeably – to refer to a crime whereby traffickers exploit and profit at the expense of adults or children by compelling them to perform labor or engage in commercial sex.  When a person younger than 18 is used to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion involved;

**“Forced child labor”**describes forced labor schemes in which traffickers compel children to work.  Traffickers often target children because they are more vulnerable.  Although some children may legally engage in certain forms of work, forcing or coercing children to work remains illegal.  Forms of slavery or slavery-like practices – including the sale of children, forced or compulsory child labor, and debt bondage and serfdom of children – continue to exist, despite legal prohibitions and widespread condemnation.  Some indicators of forced labor of a child include situations in which the child generally appears to be in the custody of a non-family member and the child’s work financially benefits someone outside the child’s family; or the denial of food, rest, or schooling to a child who is working;

**“Child sex trafficking”** is a form of human trafficking that occurs when a trafficker recruits, harbors, transports, provides, advertises, solicits, patronizes, obtains, or maintains a child for the purpose of performing a commercial sex act.  Force, fraud, or coercion are not required in cases of child sex trafficking.  When traffickers use a live webcam or other device to broadcast over the Internet children performing commercial sex acts or other explicit sexual acts, it is a form of sex trafficking often included in the broader definition of online sexual exploitation of a child;

**“Child trafficking”** encompasses forced child labor and child sex trafficking;

**“Child**” is a person under the age of 18.

**“Child sex trafficking in the context of tourism”** includes the direction, organization, and promotion of tourist activities that seek the commercialization of the sexual exploitation of children and can include tickets, accommodations, food, and narcotics, as well as well as facilitation of child sex trafficking when requested whether for personal use or the benefit of a third party.

**“Forced recruitment of children into illicit armed groups”** is the forced recruitment or use through force, fraud, or coercion of any person under 18 years of age to participate directly or indirectly in combat or support roles by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of a state.  “Forced recruitment of children into illicit armed groups” includes using any person under 18 years of age for sexual slavery, even if voluntarily recruited, by armed forces distinct from the armed forces of a state.

**“Child soldier”**includes any child described who is serving in any capacity, including in a support role, such as a “cook, porter, messenger, medic, guard, or sex slave.”

**“Approach focused on prevention”**is to generate plans, policies, interventions, and strategies that address the structural causes, risks and protection factors associated with the occurrence of these crimes, which includes emergency and medium-term assistance.

**“Victim-centered approach”** is placing the crime victim’s priorities, needs, and interests at the center of the work with the victim; providing nonjudgmental assistance, with an emphasis on self-determination, and assisting victims in making informed choices; ensuring that restoring victims’ feelings of safety and security is a priority and safeguarding against policies and practices that may inadvertently re-traumatize victims.  A victim-centered approach should also incorporate a trauma-informed, survivor-informed, and culturally competent approach.

**“Comprehensive services”** are an array of services that should be made available to a trafficking victim, including emergency and medium-term assistance.  At a minimum, these services include: shelter; case management and follow-up; safety planning; crisis intervention; victim advocacy; legal assistance; physical and mental health treatment, including individual and group counseling; support in family reunification and community reintegration; medical care; dental care; substance abuse treatment; assistance with educational and/or vocational needs; life skills training; transportation; and other necessary services.

**“Trauma-informed approach”** recognizes signs of trauma in individuals and the professionals who help them and responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, practices, and settings.  This approach includes an understanding of the vulnerabilities and experiences of trauma survivors, including the prevalence and the physical, social, and emotional impact of trauma.  A trauma-informed approaches place a priority on restoring the survivor’s feelings of safety, choice, and control.  Programs, services, agencies, and communities can be trauma-informed.

**“Survivor-informed approach”** is a program, policy, intervention, or product that is designed, implemented, and evaluated with intentional leadership, expertise, and input from a diverse community of survivors to ensure that the program, policy, intervention, or product accurately represents their needs, interests, and perceptions.

**IV. Description of Partnership**

The TIP Office is responsible for leading the United States’ global engagement to combat human trafficking, including producing the annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) and developing and managing assistance programs.  The TIP Office appreciates the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Colombia to meet the minimum standards for addressing human trafficking.  These efforts are described in the 2021 TIP Report in which Colombia maintained a Tier 1 ranking.

This CPC Partnership is a jointly developed and implemented five-year plan intended to strengthen the capacity of the Government of the Republic of Colombia, as well as civil society organizations and public international organizations, to address child sex trafficking and forced child labor, thereby strengthening existing efforts by the Government of the Republic of Colombia to meet the needs of child victims and at-risk children and eradicate these crimes.

**V.****Sharing of Information**

A. Beginning one year from the effective date of this CPC Partnership, the Participants intend to meet with civil society implementing partner(s) annually to highlight CPC accomplishments, note challenges in implementation, and discuss and validate planned activities for the coming year.

B. The Government of the Republic of Colombia, through the Interagency Committee for the Fight against Trafficking in Persons, acting under the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior and in coordination with civil society implementing partner(s), is expected to provide an annual report, including a brief narrative describing progress toward meeting this CPC Partnership’s objectives and activities, recommendations for further assistance, sustainability, areas for improvement, and data on the performance indicators for measuring progress.  The reporting format is expected to be jointly developed by the Participants and the implementing partner(s). This report is expected to be presented at the annual meeting noted above.

C. The Government of the United States of America, through the TIP Office, intends to monitor the progress of implementing partners toward meeting this CPC Partnership’s objectives and completing its activities.

**VI. Performance Indicators for Measuring Progress**

The Participants understand that the Government of the Republic of Colombia’s progress toward fulfilling this CPC Partnership’s purpose is expected to be measured through performance or management indicators which will be set among the Government of the Republic of Colombia, the implementer, and the TIP Office.

**VII. Commitments**

The Participants intend to develop the following activities over the duration of this CPC Partnership:

A. The Government of the United States of America, through the TIP Office and subject to the availability of funds, intends to provide up to $10 million in U.S. foreign assistance to nongovernmental (NGO) and/or international organizations that are expected to collaborate and cooperate with relevant Colombian ministries to support implementation of activities that will support the goal and objectives in Section II.  The TIP Office is expected to select implementing partner(s) through a competitive solicitation process after the signing of this CPC Partnership and to facilitate communication and coordination between the implementing partner(s) and participating Colombian ministries.  Once selected, the Participants and the implementing partner(s) are expected to meet within 90 days of funding being made available to jointly decide upon activities to support the goal and objectives as outlined in Section II.

B. The Government of the Republic of Colombia, through the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Institute for Family Welfare, intends to contribute human talent; promote collaboration and facilitate access between government offices for coordination and meeting purposes; share information with the TIP Office; collaborate with civil society, including implementing partner(s), to support the goal and objectives described in Section II of this CPC Partnership; and sustain the systemic improvements made through these joint efforts after this CPC Partnership ends.

**VIII. Communications**

Communications specified under this CPC Partnership are expected to be in writing and submitted to the Point of Contact (POC) designated by each Participant as indicated below.  Notices of a change in POC are expected to be provided in writing to the other POCs within 30 days of such change.  The POCs are expected to facilitate intra- and interagency communication regarding CPC Partnership activities and monitor progress toward meeting the objectives and completing activities of this CPC Partnership.

***POCs for the Government of the United States of America***

**Department of State POC:**Office: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in PersonsEmail: JTIPGrants@state.gov

**Embassy of the United States in Colombia POC**:Office: Embassy of the United States in ColombiaEmail: BogotaPOL@state.gov

***POC for the Government of the Republic of Colombia***

**Ministry of Foreign Affairs POC:**Office: Directorate for Multilateral Political AffairsEmail:  prevenciondelito@cancilleria.gov.co

**IX.****Modification**

This CPC Partnership may be modified or extended in writing with the mutual decision of the Participants.  These modifications are expected to become effective as determined by the Participants in writing.****

**X. Effective Date, Duration, and Limitations**

This CPC Partnership is expected to become effective on the date of the signing and remain effective for five years from that date, unless extended as stated in Section IX.

This CPC Partnership does not constitute an international agreement and does not create any binding obligations between the Participants under either international or domestic law.  The Participants intend to implement this CPC Partnership in accordance with their own legal systems.  Activities of each Participant are subject to the availability of funds.

SIGNED at ____________________, this ____ day of ______________ 2022, in duplicate in the English and Spanish languages, each text being equally valid.