U.S.-Colombia Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership (2022–2027)
On April 26, 2022, the United States and Colombia signed the U.S. – Colombia Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership, a five-year plan developed jointly by our two countries that documents the commitment of our nations to achieve specified shared objectives related to strengthening efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict child traffickers; identify, protect, and provide comprehensive, trauma-informed care for child trafficking victims; prevent child trafficking from occurring in Colombia; and promote effective collaboration to combat the crime.
Foreign Assistance Awards to Support the U.S.-Colombia CPC Partnership
In October 2022, the TIP Office announced the award of funds totaling $9.6 million to NORC, Fundacion Renacer, ABA-ROLI, and PADF towards activities in support of the goal and objectives of the U.S.-Colombia CPC Partnership. More information about these organizations and the work they will be doing under the CPC Partnership in collaboration with relevant Colombian government ministries and state entities and the TIP Office can be found below.
National Opinion Research Center (NORC)
NORC will conduct a prevalence study that will provide rigorous, empirical data, along with formative qualitative research, that will inform CPC Partnership program areas and promote high-impact intervention activities to be carried out by CPC implementing partners. The study will focus on the four child trafficking types that the United States and the Government of Colombia prioritized under the CPC Partnership: (1) child sex trafficking in the context of tourism; (2) livestreamed online sexual exploitation of children that amounts to sex trafficking (‘webcam modeling’); (3) forced child begging; and (4) forced recruitment of children into illegal armed groups.
Fundación Renacer
Fundación Renacer will ensure coordination and provision of comprehensive, victim-centered, trauma and survivor informed protection services are accessible to child trafficking victims in Colombia. Working with government interlocutors, they will also develop and promote information on how to address child trafficking, including improving support for children at-risk of the crime. Fundación Renacer will coordinate between the government and civil society under the CPC Partnership to improve collaboration on anti-TIP initiatives in Colombia. Fundación Renacer will address three of the four trafficking types under the CPC Partnership: (1) child sex trafficking in the context of tourism; (2) livestreamed online sexual exploitation of children that amounts to sex trafficking (‘webcam modeling’); (3) forced child begging.
American Bar Association-Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI)
ABA-ROLI will enhance the capacity of the Colombian criminal justice system by ensuring justice actors utilize existing legal and procedural frameworks to increase identification of child trafficking victims, as well as prosecute and convict perpetrators of the crime using victim-centered, trauma and survivor-informed approaches. ABA-ROLI will address all four of the trafficking types identified by the United States and the Government of Colombia for the CPC Partnership.
Pan American Development Foundation (PADF)
PADF will enhance the awareness of child trafficking among relevant stakeholders, specifically the forced recruitment of children into illegal armed groups. PADF will also work to strengthen protection services for children who were formally recruited or at risk of being recruited by illegal armed groups in a trauma, survivor informed, victim-centered manner. PADF will address one of the four trafficking types under the CPC Partnership — forced recruitment of children into illegal armed groups.