Colombian Interior Minister Alfonso Prada has announced the decision of Gustavo Petro’s government to abolish conscription as part of a process that will take place in the Colombian Congress.
The process will take place through the extension of Law 418 (on public order), which allows the government to negotiate with organized armed groups.
“The government and its bank in Congress will present two initiatives for peace.”
“The first is the expansion of the Public Order Law and its chapter on peace policy, in which we will abolish conscription, among other things, to allow young people to opt for social service for peace, which is an alternative for them to dedicate themselves to peacebuilding and the implementation of agreements,” said Senator Iván Cepeda, a member of the government bench and chairman of the Senate’s Second Committee.
MORE THAN 460,000 PEOPLE
In the last five years, 460,113 people (between 18 and 24 years old) performed their military service.
The army is the force with the most men: this year alone, 71,942 men were recruited and will be deployed throughout the country for 12 to 18 months.
Immediately after his election, Petro opened the debate on the possibility of abolishing military service, which he considered wrong and replacing it with voluntary service, which does not necessarily have to be done in the armed forces.