Republic of Bolivia

Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.

Population: 8.6 million (3.9 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 31,500
Compulsory recruitment age: 18
Voluntary recruitment age: 15 (for premilitary service)1
Voting age: 18 (married) 21 (single)
Optional Protocol: not signed
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II, ICC, ILO 138, ILO 182

The government acknowledged that 14 year olds may have been forcibly conscripted during organized sweeps. Sixteen-yearold students doing voluntary premilitary service were considered members of the armed forces.

Context

Within the armed forces there was increased discussion on the reform of compulsory military service and respect for human rights.2 However, the poor and marginalized remained least able to escape conscription and reports of human rights violations by members of the armed forces continued.3

Government

National recruitment legislation and practice

Under the 1967 constitution, all citizens have a duty to undertake military service as required by law (Articles 8 and 213).4 The Law on National Defence Service (No. 21479 of 17 December 1986) requires all Bolivian men who have reached the age of 18 to serve in the armed forces for one year.5 On completing compulsory military service, recruits receive a certificate of military service (libreta militar) which allows them, among other things, to apply for a job, enrol at university, travel abroad, apply for an electoral card and replace their identity card if it is lost or stolen.6

Bolivia had acknowledged to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1997 that "when the annual intake into the armed forces cannot be made up on a voluntary basis, compulsory recruitment is indiscriminate, an occasion for forcibly recruiting poor adolescents, including some as young as 14, by means of organized sweeps".7 No action to address these issues was known to have been taken.

Under the Law on National Defence Service, a voluntary premilitary service (servicio premilitar) coexists alongside compulsory military service.8

Boys and girls aged between 15 and 19 years of age, who have completed three years of secondary schooling, may volunteer for training in combat, national defence, and disaster and emergency relief operations. Premilitary service was reinstated in 1997 for boys9 and in 2003 girls were allowed for the first time to volunteer.10 Under Supreme Regulation No. 27057 of 30 May 2003, the option of volunteering for premilitary service was extended to all students from the third year of secondary education (16 years of age);11 previously only those in their final year could do it. Those doing premilitary service are considered soldiers in active service.12

Premilitary training is provided on Saturdays and during holidays over a period of 12 months. Students pay 800 Bolivianos (around US$100) for registration, a uniform and insurance.13 The number of under-18s volunteering for premilitary service was increasing, partly because on completion they can obtain their certificate of military service and its associated privileges, and are exempted from further military service.14 By October 2003, 24,445 individuals had registered for premilitary service that year.15

Although premilitary service trainees are soldiers on active service, it was not clear how they would participate in the defence of the country at times of war or emergency.

1 Article 3, Ley del Servicio Nacional de Defensa, http://www.mindef.gov.bo/servimil/spm/disposiciones.php.

2 El Deber Online, "Defensora del Pueblo propone que servicio militar sea voluntario", 8 July 2003.

3 Juan Ramón Quintana, Soldados y ciudadanos: Un estudio crítico sobre el servicio militar obligatorio en Bolivia – Su contribución a la formulación de políticas institucionales en el área de la Defensa Nacional, Research and Education in Defense and Security Studies Conference, Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, Washington DC, 22-25 May 2001 (REDES 2001), http://www.ndu. edu/chds/REDES2001 (Programa, Bloque IV, Panel 2).

4 Constitution, http://www.minedu.gov.bo/pre/ley/ley1615.html.

5 Ley del Servicio Nacional de Defensa, No. 21479, cited at Ministry of Defence, http://www.mindef.gov.bo (Servicio militar, Servicio militar obligatorio, Requisitos; Duración de Servicio).

6 Ministry of Defence, op. cit. (Servicio militar, Libreta de servicio militar; Servicio militar obligatorio, Antecedentes).

7 Second periodic report of Bolivia to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/65/Add.1, 1 December 1997, http://www.ohchr.org.

8 Ministry of Defence, op. cit. (Servicio militar, Servicio premilitar, Disposiciones legales).

9 Reestablecimiento del Servicio Premilitar, Decreto Supremo 24527, 17 March 1997, http://www.embolivia.co.uk/oma/bolivia/LTJ-V10/leg_bol_ archivos/LTJ-121.doc.

10 Ministry of Defence, op. cit. (Servicio militar, Servicio premilitar, Disposiciones legales).

11 Ministry of Defence, op. cit. (Servicio militar, Servicio premilitar, Disposiciones legales).

12 Ministry of Defence, op. cit. (Servicio militar, Servicio premilitar).

13 Los Tiempos, "Ya no hay cupo para admitir premilitares", 1 October 2003.

14 La Opinión, "Reclutamiento en Cochabamba logra llenar los cupos asignados", 17 January 2004; El Deber online, "El servicio premilitar es ahora a los 16 años", 30 September 2003.

15 La Opinión, "Masiva respuesta al reclutamiento premilitar obligó a ampliar los cupos", 4 October 2003.

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