«Illegal armed groups recruited 1,500 minors since 2016 peace deal» – Colombia News

Illegal armed groups have forcibly recruited at least 1,494 minors in Colombia since the signing of a peace deal between the government and guerrilla organization FARC in 2016, according to the prosecution of war crimes tribunal JEP.

In a report, the JEP’s Investigation and Accusation Unit (UIA) made it clear that the peace process that followed the accord in November 2016 failed to effectively protected children and minors.

The UIA expressed its concern about the illegal armed groups’ use of social media to lure children and minors into their ranks.

According to the prosecution unit, 146 active social media accounts that “promote the recruitment of boys, girls and adolescents of armed groups” received 625,000 views.

This suggests that social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook have given FARC dissident groups like the EMC platforms that their predecessors of the FARC could only dream of.

The recruitment videos generally seek to attract the attention of young people through the use of images of arms, money and tropical landscapes that are underscored with popular music like reggaeton and hip hop.

The dominant narrative in these contents revolves around the romanticization of the guerrilla lifestyle, showing scenes of daily life in the camps as if they were aspirational.

Investigation and Accusation Unit

The forced recruitment of minors has remained prominent in regions where dissident groups were able to resume control over areas that were abandoned by the FARC during their demobilization and disarmament in 2017.

In the northwestern Antioquia province, paramilitary organization EGC has also been actively recruiting minors.

The majority of the recruits are between 15 and 17 years old. In some cases, however, the UIA found that children of 14 years or younger were recruited, which is a major violation of international humanitarian law.

The JEP charged multiple demobilized former commanders of the FARC in November last year over their role in the recruitment of 19,000 minors during the armed conflict.