memorandum of justification concerning human ... - Just the Facts

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and analyze any political, social, and cultural factors that may affect operations in an
area, in order to assess the total tactical impact each operation may have on human rights
and international humanitarian law. As a resource for AJOs, in February 2008, the
Ministry of Defense created the Office of Doctrine and Legal Advice (ODA). The ODA
offers legal advice to commanders on the ground, and develops operational legal doctrine
that ensures human rights and international humanitarian law obligations are met during
the execution of military operations. The Armed Forces has increased the number of
active AJOs from 54 in 2008 to 92 in 2009: 73 in the Army, 7 in the Navy, and 12 in the
Air Force.
The Armed Forces continue to work closely with the ICRC and UNHCR to
improve its own application of international humanitarian law, in particular with regard
to the effect of military operations on the civilian population. The UNHCR also
continued its series of workshops with the Colombian Armed Forces to educate them on
their responsibility to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs) and to avert
displacement. Another primary goal of these discussions is to avoid stigmatizing the
population in areas of FARC concentration. The workshops include discussion of core
principles of humanitarian law, followed by dialogue on how security forces should
interact with civilians (e.g., executing operations so as to minimize collateral damage,
pre-stocking supplies when displacement is foreseen, providing special attention to Afro-
Colombian and indigenous groups, not involving civilians in the conflict, and not
employing children as informants).
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