V. Colombia
The right to nationality as established in the Colombian Constitution has undergone
little to no modification from the enactment of the first Constitution in 1886 to the
adoption of the most recent Constitution, in 1991. Nationality is granted by birth or by
naturalization.243 Unlike most Latin American countries,244 Colombia has a long history of legal provisions recognizing nationality by descent (jus sanguinis), automatically
granting Colombian nationality at birth to foreign-born children of a Colombian parent.245 However, citizenship by birth on the territory (jus soli) is not available for all children born in Colombia. A child born in Colombia must have either a Colombian parent,
or a parent domiciled in Colombia at the time of their birth246 unless they have no access
to nationality in any other country, in which case they have grounds to naturalize.247
Because of the internal armed conflict that began in the mid-1960s and continued
for five decades, Colombia is marked by emigration.248 Of all South American countries, Colombia has the highest net number of nationals residing on foreign soil, with
approximately 340,000 emigres living outside the country. An additional 6.5 million
people, more than 10% of the Colombian population, have been internally displaced
by the conflict,249 which forced many out of their rural homes and into urban areas.250
However, due to its geographic location at the northern point of South America, with
coasts on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Colombia is also a key point of entry and
country of transit for many migrants.251
Colombia’s population has been wracked by widespread human rights violations,
including violence against human rights defenders, gender-based violence, and drug
trade–related violence.252 There are limited resources available to assist victims of the
conflict and internally displaced persons. In this situation, few resources have been
dedicated to undocumented migrants, leaving them with little access to aid or services.
BORN IN THE AMERICAS
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