Colombia

Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) dissident groups and Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) are listed in the annexes of the Secretary-General’s (SG) 2023 annual report (S/2023/363) on children and armed conflict (CAAC) for recruiting and using children in Colombia. In October, the mandate of the UN’s Verification Mission is up for renewal, per SCR 2655 (2022). According to the SG’s July report on the Verification Mission (S/2023/477), the Investigation and Accusation Unit of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace reported a “48 percent reduction in confrontations between illegal armed groups and the public security forces between January and 30 April, compared with the same period in 2022.” However, the Unit also reported an increase of child recruitment and use in the first four months of 2023. The SG’s report also noted that the National Reintegration Council’s technical working group on children resumed implementation of the action plan for the program “A different path of life,” and is working on the inclusion of a child protection approach within the comprehensive reintegration program. The Security Council should:

• Demand that all armed groups, in particular the ELN and FARC-EP dissidents, immediately release all children under 18 from their ranks and prevent and end all child recruitment, use, and abductions, as well as other grave violations;
• Call on the Government to include child protection in peace discussions with the ELN and the FARC-EP dissident groups, including ceasefires, and to enable the UN to engage with listed armed groups to develop action plans to end and prevent grave violations against children;
• Encourage the Government to continue strengthening efforts to prevent the recruitment and use of Colombian, Venezuelan, and refugee and migrant children, as well as other grave violations, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable, including girls and indigenous and Afro-Colombian children, and noting vulnerability to recruitment at informal border crossings;
• Call on all parties to cease attacks and threats of attack on schools and education personnel, as well as to refrain from the military use of schools and educational facilities; and encourage the Government to implement commitments made under the Safe Schools Declaration, which it has endorsed;
• Call on all parties to swiftly and fully implement the recommendations of the SCWG-CAAC, as elaborated in its fifth conclusions on Colombia.

THE UNITED KINGDOM IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL PENHOLDER ON COLOMBIA.

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – October 2023

In February, the SG published his sixth report on the situation of CAAC in Colombia (S/2024/161), covering the period from July 2021 to June 2023. During this period, the CTFMR verified 615 grave violations against 476 children (306 boys, 166 girls, four of unknown sex), representing a substantial increase compared to the previous report (383 grave violations). Indigenous children and children of African descent were disproportionately and increasingly affected by grave violations, representing 43 percent of victims. Girls were also increasingly affected, particularly by recruitment and use and sexual violence, as compared to the previous reporting period. Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) dissident groups were the most prominent perpetrator, responsible for 55 percent of verified grave violations, followed by Ejército de Liberación Nacional (107 violations), Clan del Golfo/Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (52 violations), and the Colombian Armed Forces (27 violations). Recruitment and use of children continued to be the most prominent grave violation, followed by killing and maiming. Rape and other forms of sexual violence, abductions, and attacks on schools and hospitals all increased compared to the previous report. Children were killed and maimed primarily through gunshots, followed by mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The Working Group should:

• Demand that all armed groups immediately release all children under 18 from their ranks and prevent and end all child recruitment, use, and abductions, as well as all other grave violations against children; and to engage with the UN to develop action plans to end and prevent grave violations against children;
• Encourage the Government to continue strengthening efforts to prevent the recruitment and use of children, as well as other grave violations, paying particular attention to the heightened risks of grave violations for refugee and migrant children, unaccompanied and separated children, girls, and indigenous and Afro-Colombian children;
• Welcome the Government’s suspension of airstrikes against armed group camps where children might be present and encourage the scaling up of demining and explosive ordnance risk education; and demand that all parties uphold their obligations under IHL and IHRL, including respecting the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution;
• Demand that all parties take concrete steps to end rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, including in the context of recruitment and use; and call on the Government to ensure all children have access to gender-sensitive, age-appropriate, disability-inclusive comprehensive and non-discriminatory child protection services, including specialized services for child survivors of gender-based violence;
• Expressing grave concern at the six-fold increase of attacks on schools and hospitals during the reporting period, call on all parties to cease attacks and threats of attack on schools, hospitals, and education and health care personnel, as well as to refrain from the military use of schools and educational facilities; and welcome the Government’s plan of action for the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration;
• Call on the Government and parties supporting peace dialogues to incorporate child protection issues into all ongoing and future efforts to build and sustain peace, including those with the ELN, AGC, and FARC-EP dissident groups, pursuant to SCR 2427 (2018), drawing on the Practice Guidance for Mediators.

This information is based on Watchlist’s Children and Armed Conflict Monthly Update – April 2024.

Year listed: 2003
Action Plans signed: No
Sanctions Committee: No
Secretary-General’s reports on CAAC in Colombia: 2021; 2019; 2016; 2012; 2009
Security Council Working Group conclusions on Colombia: 2020; 2017; 2012; 2010
UN Mission: UN Verification Mission in Colombia