A picture made available in 2013 shows local children pose for a photograph at Lleras sector, which registered high criminal activities, in Buenaventura, Colombia, This main port of Colombian Pacific, faced a serious situation of insecurity due to the war between gangs. File Photo by Mauricio Duenas Castaneda/EPA
The recruitment and use of children by armed groups in Colombia increased 300% over the past five years, according to cases verified by the United Nations, amid a sustained rise in violence that continues to affect rural communities.
The figures were released Thursday by UNICEF as part of the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers. According to the most recent data verified by the United Nations, on average, one minor is recruited every 20 hours by armed groups in Colombia.
“Children in Colombia are not only caught in the crossfire, but have for years been recruited or used by armed groups. The consequences this has for them and their families are devastating,” said Tanya Chapuisat, UNICEF representative in Colombia.
“It is urgent to take action to protect children from recruitment and use by armed groups, as well as from sexual violence and other grave violations. The effects of these traumatic experiences can follow them for life, and it is our duty to prevent them,” she said.
UNICEF noted that recruitment and use of minors constitutes a grave violation of their rights and is prohibited under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The agency attributed the increase to escalating violence, widespread poverty, lack of access to education and the limited availability of social services and critical infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
Many minors, the agency said, are forced to join armed groups to help their families or escape violence at home. Others join after receiving direct threats. There are also cases of children separated from their caregivers and left without alternatives for survival.
UNICEF also warned that armed groups are increasingly using social media to recruit minors with false promises of employment and better living conditions. Once inside these structures, they are not allowed to leave.
In Colombia, the recruitment of minors by armed groups has increased 66%, making it the fastest-growing form of victimization in the country.
The phenomenon now surpasses other expressions of violence such as massacres, forced displacement or the killing of social leaders. Children carry out high-risk tasks, suffer abuse and are executed if discovered attempting to escape.
The organization explained that it works with national and local institutions to strengthen access to education, protection and opportunities that reduce children’s and adolescents’ exposure to violence.
It also develops community-based interventions with an ethnic focus to reinforce protective environments.
In preventive efforts, UNICEF trains children and adolescents to identify risks and develop life plans away from conflict.
According to the agency, these efforts have contributed to the adoption of a national strategy for the prevention of child recruitment in Colombia.
The use of minors in armed conflicts is classified as a war crime under international law. International organizations have warned that the sustained increase in this practice could have long-term consequences for the country’s stability if prevention and protection mechanisms are not strengthened.
