Fuente: Nietzsche's horse
- The Committee on the Rights of the Child expresses its concern about the presence and participation of children and adolescents in bullfighting events.
- The UN resolution comes at a time when Colombia is immersed in a process of peace and respect for life in general, which should be promoted from childhood.
The United Nations (UN), through the Committee on the Rights of the Child, has expressly spoken out against children participating in and attending bullfighting events, and has urged Colombia to keep minors away from the "violence" that bullfights and corralejas entail.
As part of its 'Childhood without violence' campaign, the Franz Weber Foundation presented a report in 2014 that drew the Committee's attention to the existence in Colombia of bullfighting events in which children and adolescents witness violence, and bullfighting schools in which they participate in that violence, something that violates the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, a legally binding treaty and which is currently the most ratified Human Rights Convention by the legislative powers of the world.
That Convention establishes the right of all persons under the age of majority to a standard of living adequate for their physical, mental, moral and social development, as well as the obligation of states to adopt measures that ensure that protection, something that is not fulfilled in Colombia in the case of bullfighting, according to several members of the Committee.
At the session held in Geneva on January 21 and 22, the delegation sent by the Government of Colombia did not offer explanations to the Committee on the measures it intends to take to prevent the continued violation of children's rights in these activities.
Natalia Parra, delegate of the Franz Weber Foundation in Colombia, participated in the session in Geneva and believes it has been demonstrated that “the violence of bullfighting not only affects bulls and horses, but also children and adolescents.” “In the future, we will understand that we are all victims, in one way or another, of any tolerated form of violence, and even more so of violence that is applauded,” she asserted.
Parra emphasized that Colombia is immersed in a peace process, so the resolution could not have come at a better time: “Peace and respect for life in general is a culture that we must promote from childhood.” Since the Colombian Senate ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government is obligated to implement it. “It has no choice; it is the guarantor of compliance with the rights enshrined in the Convention, and the Committee is responsible for interpreting it. The measures will have to be applied without exception or excuse.”
According to Anna Mulà, a lawyer for the Franz Weber Foundation, “the principle of the best interests of the child, which is the essence of the Convention, prevails over that of cultural diversity and over any legitimate interest that might conflict.”
This ruling comes shortly after the shockwaves that swept through Colombia and beyond following the killing of a bull by stabbing and beating during a corraleja, a popular festival in which local residents "fight" the bull in the town square. Just days later, at another corraleja, a wounded horse was dismembered alive.