A/HRC/10/32 page 12 36. In several rural communities in Quibdó and Carmen de Atrato, in Chocó, members of the army and police gave children gifts and propaganda in return for information on the whereabouts and identity of members of guerrilla groups. These acts put the lives and safety of the children in serious danger. 37. OHCHR Colombia also observed that members of the army occupied civilian premises, notably private houses, schools and places of recreation. One example was the school belonging to the indigenous communities of the Nasa Kwe´sx Kiwe (Valle del Cauca) reservation. 3. Kidnapping 38. According to the Ministry of Defence, through the National Fund for the Defence of Personal Liberty (FONDELIBERTAD),16 the number of persons kidnapped in Colombia as of June 2008 amounted to 2,820. 39. Guerrilla groups continued taking hostages. In Nuqui (Chocó), in January 2008, FARC-EP kidnapped six tourists; in Puerto Asis (Putumayo), in September 2008, they kidnapped four investigators from the Attorney-General’s Office. In Samaniego (Nariño), there were seven incidents of hostage-taking attributed to ELN in January and February 2008. 40. Also in January and February, FARC-EP unilaterally released five former members of Congress and one former vice-presidential candidate. Subsequently, in a bloodless military operation in July 2008, a former presidential candidate, 3 American citizens and 12 members of the security forces were rescued.17 Lastly, in October 2008, another former congressman managed to escape. However, FARC-EP still holds many others, some of whom it considers “exchangeable” for imprisoned FARC-EP members, as part of so-called “humanitarian exchanges”. 41. Under the circumstances, the systematic, protracted and widespread taking of hostages, who are then kept in the most inhuman conditions, can be considered a crime against humanity. As the High Commissioner has repeatedly said, the release, rescue or escape of the above-mentioned individuals should not allow other kidnapped persons to be forgotten. 16 This is a unit within the Ministry of Defence, established in 1995 in place of the Presidential Programme for the Defence of Personal Liberty, and responsible for coordinating resources to combat kidnapping, including additional funds and operating resources for the Unified Action Groups for the Defence of Personal Liberty (GAULA), and for assisting victims. 17 The President admitted that an army officer had worn a vest with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) logo and the Red Cross emblem, during this operation, allegedly out of fear. This constituted an abuse of those symbols and, as such, a breach of international humanitarian law.