Children in Colombia faced sharply increased recruitment by armed groups in 2024, with state and non-state actors directly involving minors in hostilities through financial incentives, threats, and emotional manipulation, according to the official announcement. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) documented 77 new cases of children disappearing, with 61 linked to the conflicts and only five found alive. A survey of 348 people from 35 affected communities found that 58% identified child recruitment as their main protection risk.
Colombia’s ongoing armed conflicts have created conditions that make children vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups. Limited access to education, lack of opportunities, weakened family protection, and the presence of armed actors near communities expose minors to recruitment strategies. Armed groups use promises of money, prestige, or power through social networks. They also employ threats and emotional deception including making children “fall in love” with recruiters to manipulate them into joining.
Recruited children face separation from families, psychological harm, sexual violence, mutilations, and death in combat. Of the 77 missing children documented in 2024, 52% were girls and 48% boys, with 23 under age 15 and at least 22 from indigenous communities. The department of Cauca accounted for 53% of cases. ICRC notes official figures don’t reflect the full scope since many families don’t report incidents due to fear of reprisals or hope their children will return home.
Explosive hazards also severely affected children, with 66 harmed while playing, attending school, or doing farm work in 2024. Thirty-four were victims of launched explosives and controlled detonation devices, while 32 encountered anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants. One child died. Survivors face amputations, multiple surgeries, and long rehabilitation periods that radically transform their lives.
ICRC communities view the organization’s confidential dialogues with armed actors and school infrastructure work positively. They note that schools provide protective spaces where children are safer.
