Colombia
Practice Relating to Rule 97. Human Shields
Colombia’s Basic Military Manual (1995) states that parties in conflict shall “abstain from using [the civilian population] as shields or barricades in order to obtain a military advantage”. It further states that it is prohibited “to use the civilian population as human shields”.
In 2007, in the Constitutional Case No. C-291/07, the Plenary Chamber of Colombia’s Constitutional Court stated:
Taking into account … the development of customary international humanitarian law applicable in internal armed conflicts, the Constitutional Court notes that the fundamental guarantees stemming from the principle of humanity, some of which have attained
ius cogens status, … [include] the prohibition of using human shields.

[footnote in original omitted]