In Colombia, the first cases against the former FARC for recruiting child soldiers

A tribunal set up in Colombia to investigate crimes committed during the half-century-long civil war between the government and armed groups handed down its first case on the recruitment of child forces on Wednesday, March 8. Ten former guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been indicted for recruiting minors into their ranks, the Court of Justice of the Special Jurisdiction (JEP) announced.

The FARC, which signed a peace accord in 2016, “The Recruitment and Use of Women and Children as a Politico-Military Strategy”, said Judge Raul Sanchez. It is not stated how many children may have been employed by the ten co-defendants.

Most of these minors were recruited in the late 1990s and then from 2011 to 2017, the year the FARC laid down their arms. The judge cited the case of a 14-year-old tribal boy.

“war crimes”

As of August 2021, the JEP is investigating more than 18,600 cases of child soldier recruitment during five decades of armed insurgency. The ten co-defendants also face charges of using anti-personnel landmines and kidnapping members of tribal and farming communities. “They are accused of war crimes, murders, extrajudicial executions, displacement of people and destruction of the environment.”The court said in a statement.

In January 2021, five senior FARC commanders were accused of abducting more than 21,300 people between 1990 and 2016. They plead guilty and await sentencing. Under the 2016 peace accord, JEP can provide an alternative to prison for people who confess their crimes and pay restitution to victims. The court is expected to hand down its first sentence later this year.