6 June 2025
The forced recruitment of minors as young as nine years of age, both girls and boys, is present in many regions of Colombia. Children in Cauca and Nariño are particularly vulnerable to forced recruitment, this vulnerability intensifies when it comes to indigenous communities, and is due to a combination of structural factors, including: historical absence of the State, the high presence of illegal armed actors seeking to control communities and force them to operate under their rules, the control of illicit economies such as gold mining and drug trafficking and the strategic location of these territories as geographic corridors. The impacts on Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities are greater in that they also face territorial dispossession, structural racism and violation of their autonomy.
Many are recruited under pressure or threat and are forced to perform functions as combatants, informants, or collaborators. This situation represents a form of structural violence that violates the right to autonomy and reinforces dynamics of exclusion and stigmatisation; families are forced, due to fear of reprisals against them or their other children, into being silent.
The rate of child recruitment in Colombia has reached its highest point in more than a decade. Between 2021 and 2024, the number of reported recruits rose roughly 1,000 percent, from 36 children to more than 450. Whilst this is the official figure, it is likely to be considerably higher given the fear reprisals which force families to remain silent. In January 2025, illegal armed groups clashed in Guaviare leaving 24 dead, a third of which were children.
Poverty and exclusion are taken advantage of by illegal armed groups, as they use social media networks like TikTok with the to romanise the life of a guerrilla, making promises of money as they seek to attract children living in conditions of poverty. The most recent UN Report (February 2025) highlights concern around the increase in child recruitment and NGOs report how some criminal groups like Nueva Generacion are taking children and then selling them to the different armed groups.
A positive policy introduced by the Petro Government of not bombing encampments of illegal armed groups when there are children present, has had the unintended consequence of armed groups recruiting children and distributing them throughout their encampments in order to prevent the Security Forces from bombing them.
The persistence and growing phenomenon of forced recruitment of minors raises urgent questions about the effectiveness of institutional responses. The UN highlighted a 58% increase in cases between 2021 and 2023. The Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC) has documented a substantial increase in cases of forced recruitment in 2024, with 219 indigenous children and adolescents being recruited. Recruitment is often accompanied by physical, psychological and sexual violence. Indigenous and afro-Colombian children are disproportionately and increasingly affected. According to the OHCHR girls are also being recruited in increased numbers.
The role of Indigenous and afro-Colombian authorities is key in denouncing and resisting this form of violence. The Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca (ACIN) has been particularly active. But even the act of recording child recruitment has proved to be dangerous, because it is seen as interfering with the flow of fighters to these ruthless, violent and illegal armed groups. The suffering of families in this context is immeasurable and women have risked their lives seeking to negotiate with these armed groups in an effort to protect children from being recruited or to get their children back. In March 2024, a Nasa Indigenous woman leader Carmelina Yule Paví was assassinated while trying to stop an illegal armed group from recruiting a child.
Whilst the Colombian Government has measures to reintegrate children once they have been rescued or escaped the armed groups. These measures are inadequate and not tailored to the needs of children, especially children from ethnic backgrounds. Further traumatising them.
Colombia’s reintegration programs for former child soldiers remain under-resourced and unevenly implemented, limiting their effectiveness.
According to Human Rights Watch, while the Colombian government has established frameworks for the reintegration of children demobilised from armed groups, these programs often lack sufficient funding, trained personnel, and long-term support. Many children face stigma upon return to their communities and struggle to access education, psychosocial care, and economic opportunities. Reintegration efforts are particularly weak in rural and Indigenous areas, where most recruitment occurs and where state presence is minimal World Report 2025: Colombia | Human Rights Watch
The Colombian government collaborates with international agencies to support reintegration, but gaps in protection and follow-up persist.
UN agencies and NGOs work alongside the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) to provide emergency shelter, psychological support, and educational services to demobilised children. However, Amnesty International reports that many children fall through the cracks due to bureaucratic delays, lack of coordination, and insecurity in conflict zones. The reintegration process is further complicated by ongoing threats from armed groups, which sometimes target children who attempt to leave. Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International