Colombia

Following a 52-year armed conflict, the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), an armed opposition group, have been engaged in United Nations (UN)-brokered peace talks since 2012. The annual report of the Secretary-General of the UN on children and armed conflict first identified the FARC among parties to conflict who unlawfully recruit and use children in 2003. Colombia is a party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict,  which includes obligations regarding demobilization and reintegration of children who have been unlawfully recruited. As part of the peace process, the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP committed to demobilizing children associated with the FARC-EP and to supporting their reintegration into civilian life.

Some 50 years of armed conflict between the government of Colombia and the then Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) left thousands of people unaccounted for. Families have endured decades of uncertainty over what happened to their missing relatives. In 2015, in the context of peace negotiations, the parties to the conflict formally agreed to work together to resolve outstanding cases of missing persons and so honour their obligation under IHL to provide families with information about the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives.

Five decades of armed conflict between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), a non-state armed group, left parts of Colombia littered with landmines. The mines caused large-scale death, injury and displacement and, in some areas, hindered access to schools and health services. The parties began peace negotiations in 2012, reaching a final agreement in November 2016. Between May 2015 and November 2016, in support of the peace process, the parties worked jointly to demine two communities. In a coordinated effort supported by international actors, FARC-EP members located the mines while the Colombian government cleared them. Besides restoring safety to these historically isolated communities, the project strengthened their relations with government, bringing improvements to local infrastructure and socio-economic benefits.