National Policy for Children and Adolescents 2018–2030

This document aims to contribute to the comprehensive development of children and adolescents, reinforcing the commitment to generate the social, human, and material conditions necessary for their benefit. It is an administrative instrument for all institutions that fall under the umbrella of executive power in Colombia. It recognizes children and adolescents as subjects of rights and emphasizes the government’s social commitment to children and adolescents’ comprehensive development. The background that led to this document included, notably, the peace agreement signed in 2016.

The principles of this policy are rooted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The policy recognizes children and adolescents as subjects of rights, which implies that from birth, they are recognized as autonomous and free subjects, with the development of thought, respect, and recognition of diversity. Likewise, the family is recognized as a collective subject of rights and a political agent, as it is constituted as a unit as well as a network of relationships and primary and fundamental links.

The specific objectives of the policy—as articulated in Section 5.1 of the document—are: “1. To generate processes for developing capabilities in constructing meaningful life trajectories for girls, boys and adolescents. 2. To strengthen children and adolescents’ capacity for agency and protagonism as social and cultural change subjects. 3. Strengthen the capacities of families and human collectives as agents that facilitate the construction of life trajectories for children and adolescents. 4. To provide comprehensive care for children and adolescents, responding to their interests, needs and contextual characteristics. 5. To consolidate institutional conditions and capacities that facilitate the policy management for children and adolescents at the national and territorial levels.”