Peace Commissioner denounces recruitment of minors to the international community

On March 26, the High Commissioner for Peace, Juan Camilo Restrepo, published a video in which he rejects the instrumentalization of minors within the illegal armed groups that are taking control of much of Colombia.

For this reason, Restrepo announced that “it was internationally denounced that armed groups continue to recruit minors, these organized armed groups continue to recruit human beings, who are victims of these actions”.

The peace commissioner took advantage of the video to tell Colombians to “surround the security forces, the institutions who are formed to defend the life, honor and property of all human beings, in this case children.”

The Office of the Attorney General had already given a concept on the recruitment of minors to the Truth Recognition Chamber of the jurisdiction over the duty of the extinct FARC to “recognize that forced recruitment of minors into their ranks was a systematic practice”.

In addition, the Public Prosecutor's Office had asked “the FARC to apologize to Colombian civil society and the entire world for the hundred children they recruited for war, including themselves in an act of sincere repentance.”

The Office of the Ombudsman warned of the increase in threats of forced recruitment, use and use of minors by illegal armed groups and criminal gangs in Cúcuta and five municipalities of Norte de Santander.

For this reason, the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, urgently appealed to the authorities in the municipalities of El Zulia, Puerto Santander, Villa del Rosario and Tibú and the capital of the department to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of children and adolescents living in this border region with Venezuela.

“It is necessary to accelerate the construction of early prevention and protection plans, in the face of the imminent risk of recruitment, use and use of which children and adolescents may be victims,” warned the official, who assured that a team from the entity is taking action to mitigate these serious risks against the rights and integrity of minors in these locations in northeastern Colombia.

National Army General Eduardo Enrique Zapateiro spoke out about the recent cases of recruitment of minors in indigenous territories of Cauca during the last week, which were reported by the Association of Indigenous Councils of North Cauca (Acin).

It should be noted that on March 9, Acin reported that six community members of the Huellas indigenous reservation were recruited by armed groups. Four of them were minors between 12 and 14 years of age. The senior army officer pointed out that the only way to counter this scourge is through “strong and forceful operations in the base areas of these criminal structures.”

The facts were presented at the educational institution El Credo. The minors were receiving their classes, when they were taken out of school by the men. It is presumed that they were taken to southern Cauca for the purpose of forced recruitment, by the armed criminals operating in this department and who are identified as alleged dissidents of the FARC.