Unetchac Observatory on the Field
Colombia
The Colombian armed conflict was for a long time the world’s longest running active civil war. It officially began in 1964 with the creation of two guerrilla movements, but the violence had begun long before. After numerous failed attempts, in 2012 a successful peace process was initiated between the Colombian government and the FARC with a final agreement signed in November 2016. Talks between the Colombian government and a second guerrilla organisation, the ELN, are ongoing.
The Observatorio de Niñez y Conflicto Armado - ONCA, managed by the Coalición Contra la Vinculación de Niños, Niñas y Jóvenes al Conflicto Armado Interno - COALICO, identifies 7 categories of violations of children's rights, taking as a reference the UNSCR 1612, appropriate to the Colombian context:
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Violations and infringements of the right to life and personal integrity
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Violations and infringements of personal freedom
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Use and recruitment of boys, girls and adolescents.
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Attacks and occupation of schools, hospitals, and other civilian property
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Violations and infringements of the right to sexual freedom
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Blockade of supplies and basic services
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Forced displacement and refuge (special category for the Colombian context).
In its most recent annual report (January/December 2022), ONCA identified at least 268,524 children and adolescent victims* (*children and adolescents affected)
At least 235.229 victims of attacks and occupation of schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities
At least 16.005 victims of denial of humanitarian access and basic services for children
At least 14.882 victims of forced displacement (internal displacement or exile / asylum)
At least 159 victims of recruitment or involvement of children and adolescents by armed forces and armed group
At least 1.764 victims involved in civilian-military activities
At least 9 victims of violations and infractions of the right to sexual liberty
At least 87 victims of violations and infractions against the right to life and the personal integrity
At least 389 victims of violations or infractions of personal liberty
View of the mountains from the village in Valle del Cauca, Colombia.. Mountains that, for several occasions, were refuge of "los armados".
Video by Diana Bolaños Erazo, South America Team Leader, recorded on October 2023
The story of Johana, a young Colombian refugee in Brazil. She and her family left the country for Ecuador, the first country of refuge, because they were mistaken for combatants. Here, she highlights the importance of UNHCR and other aspects of her life.
Testimony collected by Diana Bolaños Erazo, researcher of the UNETCHAC", 2023
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1. A peasant woman selling empanadas for a living in a village in Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
2. Street of the Central Plaza of one of the towns that lived through the armed conflict in Valle del Cauca, Colombia. "Motorcycle cabs" are one of the activities, mainly of the men of the village.
3. The dusty streets of the village are shared with cows, chickens, dogs, cats, etc.
4. A small commercial space. Nowadays, the village is sustained by tourism and by the city people who have a house there.
INSTITUTIONAL DATA
Colombia - 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2021
Children and armed conflict – Colombia
UN - General Assembly Security Council - Report of the Secretary General/S/2021/1022
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the country task force verified 383 grave violations committed against 330 children (217 boys, 109 girls and 4 of unknown sex);
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The country task force verified the recruitment and use of 220 children (146 boys, 70 girls and 4 of unknown sex);
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The country task force verified that a total of 118 children (81 boys and 37 girls), some as young as two years of age, were killed (78) and maimed (40) during the reporting period;
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The country task force verified that 14 children (2 boys and 12 girls, including a Venezuelan girl) were victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence
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Eight incidents of attacks against schools (six) and hospitals (two), including protected persons in relation to schools and hospitals, were verified in 2020 (six) and in the first half of 2021 (two);
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The country task force verified the abduction of 10 children (7 boys and 3 girls) in the second half of 2019 (3), in 2020 (2) and in the first half of 2021 (5);
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The country task force verified 13 incidents of denial of humanitarian access to children in the second half of 2019 (4), in 2020 (8) and in the first half of 2021 (1).
