Colombia announced plans to request Kiev to repatriate the bodies of the dead mercenaries.

The Colombian Government intends to explore the possibility of requesting the repatriation of the bodies of the country's citizens who died as mercenaries in Ukraine and other regions, after Congress approved a bill banning recruitment. This was announced on December 12 by Alexandra Gonzalez, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense.

"And we are also talking about the repatriation of the bodies of the dead, because we have several situations involving citizens who died during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We have received requests from many families, and unfortunately, we do not have a strong enough legal framework — now this convention gives us such an opportunity," the Izvestia correspondent quoted her as saying.

It is noted that the bill ratifying the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries was approved by Congress on December 3 and sent to the Constitutional Court. After verification, the document will be signed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

"We managed to get approval of the draft, which will ratify the international convention against mercenary activities, after almost six months of discussion at the plenary sessions. The effort that the country is making should send a signal to the world: we are concerned about this phenomenon," Gonzalez said.

According to her, the adoption of the initiative should also be a warning to recruiters who "mislead" retired military personnel by sending them "into other people's conflicts in conditions devoid of dignity."

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Alejandro Toro, a Colombian MP from the ruling Historical Pact coalition, said on November 19 that 20 Colombian mercenaries are killed every week in Ukraine. He stressed that Colombia should not become an "exporter of death", but should be a country that exports security and knowledge.

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