(Americas Quarterly) – They may call themselves the “generation of peace,” but young Colombians are actually among those least likely to support their government’s recent peace agreement with FARC rebels, which will be put to a plebiscite vote on October 2. Part of the reason, observers say, is that many young Colombians have not experienced the conflict as directly as their older compatriots. But there is a portion of the youth population in Colombia that has had as close a view of the war as anyone: namely, those that have been fighting in it. The FARC is not the only armed group in Colombia to have recruited child soldiers, but it is one of the worst offenders. Between 1979 and 2014, the group added more than 11,500 children under 18 to its ranks.
