There has been a law in Colombia since 1999 that forbids the use of child soldiers in the Colombian army. This means that only adults serve in the army and also that the conscripts are at least 18 years of age. Further, in January 2001, the United Nations Treaty of the Rights of the Child was amended. The minimum age for fighters in an armed conflict was raised from 15 to 18 years of age. But both the guerrilla movement and the paramilitaries recruit minors for their armies. 'Recruiting minors means that the armed parties take on young people and children under the age of 18 as fighters in their combat units. They often try to persuade young people with tempting promises to come and fight with them in the group. Sometimes they force a family to give up their children to become fighters.

It is very difficult to estimate the number of child soldiers in the armies of the paramilitaries and the guerrilla movement in Colombia. Colombian newspapers say that there are probably approximately 6000 child soldiers in Colombia. The paramilitaries and the guerrilla movement together have approximately 30,000 fighters in their troops, which would mean that out of every five fighters at least one is a minor. According to other organizations, the number could be much higher than 6000. In other words, we do not know exactly how many child soldiers there are in Colombia, but it is clear that ever more are joining, and that the paramilitaries and the guerrilla movement pay no attention to international agreements on the age limits of soldiers and fighters.

Source: IKV Pax Christi