La Rioja allocates 115,000 euros to Unicef for protective schools in Colombia

The Government of La Rioja will contribute 115,000 euros to the Unicef Foundation Spanish Committee to strengthen protective schools against violence and recruitment in the Colombian departments of Arauca and Nariño. The agreement, signed on July 28, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja no. 181, of September 21, 2026, through Resolution 1398/2026, of September 15, from the General Technical Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance, Public Governance, Digital Society and Government Spokesperson (official reference BOR-A-20260921-III–3602).

An agreement registered under number 2026/0624

The publication is made under article 10 of Decree 13/2017, of April 12, which regulates the Electronic Registry of Agreements of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja. The agreement is listed under Registration Number 2026/0624 and its summary occupies pages 16208 and 16209 of the gazette, within section III, “Other provisions and acts.”

The signing parties are:

• Government of La Rioja: José Luis Pérez Pastor, Minister of Culture, Tourism, Sport and Youth.
• UNICEF: José María Vera Villacián, Executive Director.

The publication resolution is signed by Begoña Sáinz Martínez, Head of the Government Secretariat and Parliamentary Relations Service of the Ministry of Finance, Public Governance, Digital Society and Government Spokesperson, in Logroño on September 15, 2026.

Three schools against armed recruitment

The purpose of the agreement is to regulate the grant awarded by the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Sport and Youth, to the beneficiary entity UNICEF Foundation Spanish Committee. The goal is to strengthen protection processes for children and adolescents in 3 schools in Arauca and Nariño through:

• The development of technical capacities.
• Institutional coordination.
• The consolidation of these centers as protective environments against violence, recruitment, and GBV in contexts of humanitarian crisis.

The text explicitly refers to the pressure from organized armed groups (GAO) and organized criminal groups (GDO) on the child and adolescent population of those territories.

Twelve-month validity from signing

The financial obligations correspond entirely to the Government of La Rioja, amounting to 115,000 euros. The period of validity is 12 months from the signing of the agreement, except as provided regarding justification. The full text is available in the agreements search engine of the Government of La Rioja’s transparency portal.

The agreement joins other cooperation agreements published in the same edition, such as the one signed with the University of La Rioja for a postgraduate scholarship program for development cooperation, endowed with 100,000 euros.

The publication allows for the tracking of the destination of Riojan public funds in child protection programs in areas affected by the Colombian armed conflict, a field in which the autonomous community operates through direct grants to international organizations.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 181, September 21, 2026, section III, pp. 16208-16209 (official reference: BOR-A-20260921-III–3602).