JEP identified 94 victims of forced recruitment by public forces in the armed conflict

The Special Court for Peace (give) reported on Wednesday, March 1 that the Truth Recognition Room had identified 94 victims of recruitment and use of girls and boysin the armed conflictby members of the police force. This finding was made on a preliminary basis in the investigation conducted by the Court in Case 07: Recruitment and use of girls and boys in armed conflictlaw enforcement sub-case.

The news was published by the give by ordinance 046 of 2023. In it, the justice of the peace indicated that in the Case 07 She received 49 reports of acts of recruitment and use of boys and girls in the context of the conflict, 36 were submitted by non-State institutions or organizations and 13 by State institutions.

It should be noted that the JEP is conducting its investigation into case 07, both for the acts committed by the former stuffingas by the public force.

According to the court, the 94 boys and girls recruited by the police force they occurred before December 1, 2016. As indicated in the order, this universe of victims recorded a significant peak from 2006 to 2009, a period during which 72% of identified victims were found.

Regarding the place of occurrence of the forced recruitment, the department of Cauca has the highest number of victimizations, with 28% of the total number of events recorded. They are followed by Valle del Cauca, Nariño and Antioquia. Similarly, 87% of the victims are men. Regarding the structures presumed responsible, in 81 cases, the national army was linked as the perpetrator.

On the responsibility of the former stuffing in this crime, give pointed out that to date, 579 individual victims have been accredited, who were recruited by the extinct guerrillas before laying down their arms in 2016, after signing the Final peace agreement with the Colombian State. The Truth Recognition Chamber has identified that some of these victims suffered violence at the hands of state agents, mainly in the processes of capture, separation and demobilization, as well as in the conduct of combat.

In order to deepen the investigation into the facts of recruitment and use by actions of the public force, the give called on the victims to submit their request for accreditation to Case 07: Recruitment and use of girls and boys in armed conflict.

The justice of the peace stressed that accredited victims can provide information and participate in the development of the investigation by virtue of the principle of their centrality in the process.

What conditions must victims meet to be accredited in case 07 by the JEP?

1. The express manifestation of wanting to be accredited/or as a victim.

2. An account of the victimizing events, including when and where they occurred.

3. Some evidence to prove your victim status. In cases where individuals do not have these documents to contribute to their application, an in-depth interview will be assessed.

According to the Colombian Transitional Court of Justice, it is estimated that more than 18,000 children were forced to join the Farc guerrillas over a period of 20 years. It was a well-known tactic to recruit child soldiers and train them. However, forced recruitment continues to occur in the Colombian territories. According to the UN, some 600 children have been recruited by armed gangs in the three years since the signing of the Peace agreement.