The survivors of the armed conflict are exempt, by law, of doing the military service in Colombia, and those who have suffered forced displacement don’t have to pay for this procedure.

The Victims Unit, the Colombian Army, and other local entities, participated this Wednesday in the city of Pereira in the delivery of the military passbooks to 300 victims of forced displacement living in the region known as Eje Cafetero (center).

“The victims require this document to access better, stable and long-lasting jobs. This is what the Victims Unit is also offering within different job agencies and the Sena (a technical school in Colombia)”, said Omar Toro, director of the Victims Unit in the Eje Cafetero.

“We expect that the victims take profit of this military passbook. It is a procedure that, without the intervention of the government, could have been annoying for them”, added the public employee.

The event took place according to the Law 1448/2011 or Victims and Land Restitution Law, that establishes the exemption of military service for these people. The passbook has a double function: the identification of the citizens and the acknowledgement of the pain that the victims have suffered during the armed conflict

During all 2016, 24 thousand military passbooks were expected to be delivered for victims. Just in the Eje Cafetero area, a total of 1.246 passbooks will be handed out.