Officials of the National Government will meet in an extraordinary manner in Chocó on allegations of recruitment of minors

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. “As a society we reject any instrumentalization that these narco-terrorist groups have been carrying out against children,” the official noted.

Restrepo announced that the issue would be brought before the international community, bearing in mind that the rights of minors are not being respected: “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.”

One of the areas that most presents this problem and where young people have decided to commit suicide for this reason has been in the department of Chocó.

“Suicide has become a method of protection for indigenous children and adolescents who do not want to be part of the ranks of illegal armed groups,” Gerardo Jumi Tapias, general councilor of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (Onic), confirmed in dialogues with RCN Mundo.

Faced with the delicate situation, according to W Radio, the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights and International Affairs, and who is leading these sessions, Jefferson Mena confirmed that the Government convened an extraordinary session to discuss and seek solutions to the problem.

“This Special Session is to review the measures that we have been taking by the Government to prevent our children and adolescents, to avoid being victims of the criminals who want to recruit them, to induce them along the path that no Colombian wants, the path of violence and illegal economies,” Mena noted.

According to the official, the Government will not only meet with government entities but also seek to listen to different voices, so there will be: delegates from the 22 National Entities that make it up, the Government of Chocó; the Attorney General's Office, the Ombudsman's Office, the Mayors of Quibdó, Bahia Solano , Alto Baudo, Medio San Juan, Novita, Sipí, Istmina, El Litoral de San Juan, Riosucio, El Carmen del Darién and Bojayá, social and ethnic leaders of the department, the Catholic Church, the Presidential Counseling for the Participation of Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Public Force, Cooperation International, USAID, MAPP-OAS, UNICEF, ACDI/VOCA and UN.

Military calls for more operations to protect children

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.

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