PARIS, France — Situated in the north of South America, Colombia boasts expansive coastlines on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, encompassing a striking topography bordered by the countries Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador to the east and south. For the last 60 years, this beautiful country has experienced one of the longest ongoing internal conflicts in the world. Consequently, it continues to struggle to ensure the protection of vulnerable populations, including children, from ongoing violence.
Child recruitment in Colombia has been a problematic and consistent feature of the Colombian internal conflict, which has plagued civilians for the last few decades. The conflict has historically revolved around the continued power struggle between four overarching entities: paramilitary groups, guerrilla groups, narcotraffickers and the Colombian military. All of these groups, including the Colombian government, have been documented to use child soldiers. However, in the face of recent peace talks, a continued trend of relaxed sanctions against this practice of child recruitment in Colombia is apparent.
Peace Accord
The 2016 peace accord, led by former president Juan Santos, between the Colombian government and the infamous Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), marked a historic success in the ongoing Colombian peace process, which had begun around four years prior. The torch of this victory was passed to Santos’s successor, President Gustavo Petro, who, upon his inauguration, declared that he would achieve total peace in Colombia. One of the many groups that answered his call for peace was the National Liberation Army (ELN), one of Colombia’s oldest and most powerful insurgent groups today.
Petro’s negotiations with ELN reached fruition in August of 2023 when a truce agreement between ELN and the Colombian government concluded after 10 months of negotiations and resulted in an initial 180-day suspension of fighting. This initial six months of peace was extended after its conclusion in February for another six months of ceasefire. This truce agreement is significant in Colombia’s continued push toward peace and represents another landmark success amid the Colombian conflict.
Concerns Over Child Recruitment Persist
Despite the hope this deal represents, the truce between ELN and the Colombian government contains caveats that put children at continued risk of forced recruitment. Article two of Decree 1117 of the 2023 truce protocol allows ELN to recruit children aged 15 and above. This goes against the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations (U.N.) protocol Colombia signed in 2000 and ratified in 2005.
The protocol requires armed groups like ELN not to recruit or use children less than 18 years of age. Additionally, it states that “States Parties shall take all feasible measures to prevent such recruitment and use, including the adoption of legal measures necessary to prohibit and criminalize such practices.”
The lack of adherence to this protocol by the Colombian government and its allowance of ELN to continue the recruitment of child soldiers is one example of a systemic inadequacy of protections for children against their involvement in Colombian internal conflict. This reality is especially concerning when, as of 2023, there were reports of an increase in child recruitment and kidnappings in Colombia.
International Efforts Against Child Recruitment in Colombia
Large international entities, including nongovernment organizations (NGOs), have noticed this issue and have spoken out against this lack of government protection. Save the Children is one of these groups that continues to battle against injustices against children worldwide. The nonprofit has been a protector and supporter of children affected by armed conflict in Colombia since 1991.
About Save the Children’s Work in Colombia
The Executive Director of Save the Children in Colombia, María Paula Martínez, has spoken out against this deal and asserts that the NGO rejects the protocol as it risks the lives and rights of children in Colombia. Determining children’s safety should be a nonnegotiable and a baseline in any negotiations. Save the Children’s continued presence in Colombia may potentially influence future deals made between the Colombian government and nonstate actors to ensure protection against child recruitment. Other bodies, like the Embassy of Canada to Colombia, are also doing work to combat child recruitment in Colombia.
In light of Venezuela’s ongoing crisis, there have been concerns raised for the safety of children fleeing their country to Colombia. Many are forced to leave their homes in search of necessities, suffering from malnutrition and risks to their safety and health. These children are especially vulnerable to recruitment in Colombia by armed groups, including ELN, due to their position. To raise awareness on this issue further, the Embassy of Canada to Colombia hosted a panel to discuss the situation and how to help during a Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict meeting.
The Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict’s Efforts
The Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict is an informal group of member states party to the children and armed conflict mandate. It comprises The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) (co-chair), Sweden (co-chair), Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom (U.K.), the United States (U.S.), the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Senior Civilian Representative and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
This group advocates for continued international attention, dialogue and action on the issue of child recruitment into armed forces. During this meeting, the Canadian embassy announced a new project in partnership with UNICEF, which will strengthen the national Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) by integrating a child-sensitive approach to justice. JEP was established in 2017 as part of Colombia’s peace agreement with FARC. This system emphasizes transnational justice and offers reparative measures to the victims of the Colombian conflict.
UNICEF’s Work with JEP
Through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs), UNICEF will provide training to JEP, which will better account for the impact of armed conflict on children. Providing more assurance that children who have been victims of armed conflict will receive proper justice and protection. This is not the only way Canada has lent a hand regarding this issue. The country has dedicated $65.7 million in funding as of 2018 for key projects supporting Colombian children affected by conflict.
Such positive forces against child recruitment in Colombia provide further hope in the face of the ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and armed actors like ELN.
– Ani Gonzalez Ward
Photo: Flickr
Source link : https://www.borgenmagazine.com/child-recruitment-in-colombia/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-04-01 03:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.