Some 300 teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, who have committed
crimes, will receive vital support at the new IOM-supported Forjar
Integrated Care Centre.

The teenagers who will be assisted at the new centre are
currently assigned to the Teenage Criminal Responsibility System
(the Colombian Justice Department initiative that handles minors
charged with crimes) due to their involvement in violence or
because they have been charged with misdemeanours.  Extreme
poverty and lack of opportunities also puts them at high risk for
recruitment by illegal armed groups.

The IOM-supported centre, located in the one of the most
marginalized and vulnerable neighbourhoods of Bogota, will allow
the participants to serve their sentences by performing community
service under the supervision of the Centre's staff. The minors
will also receive training on human rights, their rights and
responsibilities as citizens, moving away from lawlessness, and
psychosocial support.

Centre activities will include cultural and artistic activities
to support youngsters and their families will be able to retake
their lives and carry out long-term plans, rejecting violence and
crime.

According to official figures, as of March 2010, more than
11,000 teenagers in Bogota are currently linked to the Teenage
Criminal Responsibility System.

Factors such as a poor use free time, high levels of unmet basic
needs, weaknesses in the judicial system, teenage pregnancy and
early parenthood, school truancy, domestic violence, and living in
close proximity to areas where drugs are sold and consumed, all
exert a big influence on the criminal behaviour of youngsters.

The Centre was developed as part of an agreement signed, between
IOM, United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
the Mayor's Office of Bogota and Artesanías de
Colombia  and the Fundación Escuela de Artes y Nuevo
Circo Ciudad, two local organizations focused on arts/handicraft,
with funding of more than US$3.4 million.

For more information, please contact:

Jorge Gallo

IOM Bogota

Tel: +57 1 622-7774

E-mail: "mailto:jgallo@iom.int">jgallo@iom.int