Child recruitment and use by armed groups in Colombia quadruples over five years

BOGOTÁ/NEW YORK,12 February 2026 – The number of children recruited and used by armed groups in Colombia has spiked by 300 per cent over the past five years, according to cases verified by the United Nations, as escalating violence continues to put tens of thousands of children at risk.

According to the latest UN-verified figures from the Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict, covering 2024, on average one child is recruited and used every 20 hours by armed groups in Colombia.

“Children in Colombia are not just caught in the crossfire - they have been actively recruited or used by armed groups for years. The impact on them and their families has been devastating,” said UNICEF Colombia Representative Tanya Chapuisat, “Urgent action is needed to protect children from recruitment and use, sexual violence, and other grave violations, and from the impact of traumatic events that can last a lifetime.”

Recruitment and use of children constitutes a grave violation of their rights. It is prohibited under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

The rise in child recruitment and use and other grave violations by armed groups in Colombia is fueled by escalating violence, pervasive poverty, lack of education, and limited availability of critical infrastructure and social services in regions, particularly in rural areas. Children are often coerced into joining to support their families, to escape from violence at home, or under threats to their safety. Many are recruited and used after being separated from their caretakers, stripped of protection and survival options. Armed groups increasingly use social media to recruit and use children, often through false promises of a better life and employment. Once inside the group, children are not allowed to leave.

UNICEF works to prevent the recruitment and use of children through a systemic approach that prioritizes access to essential services within their families and communities. By working with national and local institutions, UNICEF helps ensure that children and adolescents can access education, protection, and opportunities that reduce their exposure to violence and recruitment and use, and other grave violations. UNICEF also works at the community level, using ethnic lenses to better understand conflict-related risks and strengthen protective environments.

Focusing on prevention, UNICEF empowers children and adolescents, helping them develop abilities to recognize risks and develop life projects away from violence. These efforts have contributed to the adoption of a national child recruitment prevention strategy.

#####

Notes for Editors: All children encountered during security operations should be handed over to state led child protection actors, in line with the Child Handover Protocol for the release and reintegration of children associated with armed groups that was validated by the state, UN agencies and civil society organizations last year. This is to ensure that children actually or allegedly associated with armed groups, including those accused of having committed crimes, are primarily regarded as victims of violations of international law or abuses, rather than as perpetrators of such offenses, consistent with relevant international law.

The six grave violations include killing and maiming of children; recruitment and use of children; sexual violence against children; attacks against schools or hospitals; abduction of children; denial of humanitarian access for children.