HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS (cont.) Manuel Tovar (left) and Amada Mejía (centre), members of the Communications Collective for the Right to Land in the Serranía de San Lucas. © OHCHR/J.D. Cortés their work and are now interlocutors with municipal authorities, building bridges with local leaders and helping citizens take part in political life. Not far from the riverbank, children and teenagers wave their hands in the air, singing and dancing to the sound of a guitar. Their youth group also belongs to the network and was set up to promote peace through arts and music – and to help put an end to violence and to the exploitation of children. Mirshan Mendoza, who initiated the youth group, speaks from experience. “It was just a decade ago, and the paramilitaries and guerrillas were having their worst fights,” he recalled. “They gathered us all into a park, even children. They made 14 of our leaders kneel, and shot them in the head. I still see it in my mind.” Incidents like these prompted him to act. “My brother wanted to take up arms. I’m a singer, so I began singing,” he said. “First a dozen kids came. Then 30. And it snowballed.” “I’m the son of a miner and during the holidays I went to the mine. We were eight or nine and it was so dangerous. Now we are making parents conscious of the danger and instead of sending their children to the mine, they send them to school.” From its modest beginnings, the youth group has grown to six volunteers and 600 children in 14 villages, with some children walking up to 40 minutes through the bush to attend the monthly gatherings. But behind the scenes, the technicalities of running a group in rural Colombia still get in the way – often, there’s not even enough money to buy drinks for the children who have walked so far to get here. But they’re working on it. Mirshan Mendoza sings for a group of kids in La Capilla. © OHCHR/J.D. Cortés UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2017 43