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Colombia: Females

Volume 490: debated on Thursday 26 March 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the level of violence against women in Colombia. (265374)

Successive UN reports, and those of civil society, have detailed violence against women, including sexual violence and displacement.

Our embassy in Bogota held a round table meeting with Colombian women's organisations in October 2008 to learn more about their concerns and priorities.

We have also recently supported a UN project to improve criminal prosecution of sexual crimes committed against women and girls; and a project on human rights education for women held in Colombia's women's prisons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the incidence of forced abortions for women guerrilla combatants in Colombia. (265375)

Successive UN reports have detailed the forced recruitment and crimes of sexual violence against women by illegal armed groups including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

It is widely documented that women combatants have been forced to have abortions. We condemn these and other activities by illegal groups, such as the recruitment of child soldiers, hostage taking, drug trafficking and the use of land mines.