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Colombia: Information on the recruitment practices of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) and other armed groups, including evidence of forced recruitment of adults and/or children

Recruitment practices in general

The International Crisis Group (ICG) underscored that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) used forcible recruitment, a practice which illustrated their political weakness (27 Jan. 2005).

According to the Fundación Seguridad y Democracía, as reported in a document produced by the United States (US) Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), ongoing recruitment by the FARC is not taken into account in government estimates of FARC manpower (US 16 Feb. 2005). FARC recruitment is sufficient to [translation] "maintain its number of combatants and even to keep growing" (Fundación Seguridad y Democracía 5 Sept. 2005, 16).

In a report on the demobilization process, the Fundación Seguridad y Democracía underscored that the young age of demobilized combatants and the short duration of their enrollment were indications of [translation] "the capacity of the armed groups to renew themselves" and of their "intense recruitment processes" (5 Sept. 2005, 6). Part of the uncertainty surrounding numbers in the demobilization process is due to the difficulty in calculating the extent of recruitment performed by the armed groups (Fundación Seguridad y Democracía 5 Sept. 2005, 8).

According to The Christian Science Monitor, the FARC have been active at urban recruiting among university students who "have allegedly played a key role in many of the larger terrorist attacks in Bogotá during the past two years" (10 Feb. 2004). Recruiting takes place in public universities among students from poor families but also in private universities, sometimes using cash or free tuition to attract the students (The Christian Science Monitor 10 Feb. 2004). However, the antiterror police captain in Bogotá estimated that no more than 10 students per university actually become FARC members (ibid.).

Forced recruitment of Brazilians is practised by the FARC along the border with Brazil (Correio Braziliense 21 Aug. 2005). The recruited or abducted Brazilians are used as a labour force in cocaine production facilities or as guides helping in the trafficking of guns and drugs (ibid.). According to the Brasilian newspaper Correio Braziliense, sometimes gold prospectors from Brazil or Venezuela are offered money (US$400 per month) to join the FARC, though reportedly the money is never actually paid to the prospectors (ibid.).

The Fundación Seguridad y Democracía reported that more than 13,000 paramilitaries were demobilized between November 2003 and mid-December 2005 (n.d.). However, EFE News reported ongoing recruitment practices by the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC) in the province of Antioquia, in spite of demobilization plans (11 July 2005). The minister of the interior for the province, Jorge Mejia, called such recruitment "coercive " (EFE 11 July 2005).

Youth in Medellín are offered seven hundred thousand pesos per month to serve with the paramilitaries, and recruitment of demobilized youth is evident in Montería where increasing number of robberies of commercial establishments have been reported (Fundación Seguridad y Democracía 5 Sept. 2005, 40). An article in the Brazilian review Cambio reported that youth from the Northwest region of Ralito, where the paramilitaries are active, are being paid to wear uniforms and pretend to be demobilizing (26 Sept. 2005). Further, more than 30 young men aged 19 to 25 were recruited by paramilitaries in Pereira and Risaralda, Valle del Cauca, in November 2005 (FBIS 15 Nov. 2005).

Recruitment of minors

Sources indicated that minors are still being recruited by Colombian armed groups (ICRC 17 June 2005, 240; HRW 22 Feb. 2005; Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Intro), although according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), exact numbers of recruits are unknown (17 June 2005, 240).

Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimated that "more than 11,000 children fight in Colombia's armed conflict" (22 Feb. 2005). The FARC and ELN have 80 per cent of this total in their ranks, while the other 20 per cent are serving with the paramilitaries (HRW 22 Feb. 2005). The FARC have refused to commit to stopping the practice of recruiting minors; approximately 20 to 30 per cent of FARC combatants are under 18 years of age (ibid.). A FARC source quoted by the ICG maintained that the FARC have internal regulations against the recruitment of combatants under 15 years of age (16 June 2005, 18).

Numerous attempts by the paramilitaries to recruit minors have been reported in the 13th district of Medellín (El Colombiano 18 Aug. 2005). Country Reports 2004 reported that teachers have been targeted by the paramilitaries, in part for opposing their recruitment of children (28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2a).

Civilians and minors put at risk by the state

HRW stated that the Colombian government has involved children in intelligence work (Jan. 2003), a practice that put them and their families at greater risk (AI May 2005) through programs such as the "peasant soldiers" (recruitment of informants to supplement the work of the armed forces) or "soldier for a day" (familiarizing children with the armed forces) (HRW Jan. 2003; see also AI May 2005). Additionally, the "network of civilian informants" involved more than 2.5 million civilians in the conflict by August of 2004 (AI May 2005).

In May 2005, Colombia ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (Pútchipu 10 June 2005). Nonetheless, the Coalición contra la vinculación de niños, niñas y jóvenes al conflicto armado en Colombia (Coalico) denounced the ongoing involvement of children in the conflict by the armed groups and requested more efforts from the government to put an end to this practice (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). May 2005. "Colombia." Amnesty International Report 2005. <http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/col-summary-eng> [Accessed 23 Dec. 2005]

Cambio [Bogotá, in Spanish]. 26 September 2005. "Colombian Paras Still Exercise Some Control in Cordoba." (BBC Monitoring/Factiva)

The Christian Science Monitor. 10 February 2004. Rachel Van Dongen. "A Coed's Path from Poli-Sci Major to Leftist Guerrilla." <http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0210/p01s02-woam.html> [Accessed 11 Jan. 2006]

Correio Braziliense [Brasilia, in Portuguese]. 21 August 2005. "Colombian Rebels Recruiting Brazilians on Shared Border." (BBC Monitoring/Factiva)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004. 28 February 2005. "Colombia." United States Department of State. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41754.htm> [Accessed 23 Dec. 2005]

EFE News Service. 11 July 2005. "Colombian Militia, Supposedly Demobilizing, Said to be Recruiting." (Factiva)

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Report. 16 November 2005. "Colombia Military/Guerrilla/Paramilitary Activities 15-16 Nov 05." El Diario del Otun [Pereira] (WNC/Dialog)

_____ . 18 August 2005. "Colombia Military/Guerrilla/Paramilitary Activities 18 Aug 05." (WNC/Dialog)

Fundación Seguridad y Democracía. 5 September 2005. Juan Carlos Garzón, Julián Arevalo, Paola González. "Desmovilizaciones Individuales: Las Incertidumbres de la Guerra y las Limitaciones de la Paz." <http://www.seguridadydemocracia.org/docs/pdf/ocasionales/desmovilizacionesIndividuales.pdf> [Accessed 13 Jan. 2006]
_____. N.d. "Desmovilizaciones colectivas de los grupos de autodefensa." <http://www.seguridadydemocracia.org/docs/pdf/datosConflicto/desmovilizacionesColectivas.pdf> [Accessed 11 Jan. 2006]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 22 February 2005. "Colombia: Armed Groups Send Children to War." <http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/02/22/colomb10202_txt.htm> [Accessed 13 Dec. 2005]
_____. January 2003. "Colombia: Government Forces." <http://hrw.org/reports/2004/childsoldiers0104/5.htm> [Accessed 13 Dec. 2005]

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 17 June 2005. "Colombia." ICRC Annual Report 2004. <http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/6D5D3A/$FILE/icrc_ar_04_colombia.pdf?OpenElement> [Accessed 23 Dec. 2005]

International Crisis Group (ICG). 16 June 2005. "Colombia: Presidential Politics and Peace Prospects." <http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/latin_america/14_colombia_presidential_politics_and_political_prospects.pdf> [Accessed 19 Jan. 2006]
_____. 27 January 2005. "War and Drugs in Colombia." <http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/latin_america/11_war_and_drugs_in_colombia.pdf> [Accessed 19 Jan. 2006]

Pútchipu. 10 June 2005. Boletín 12. Coalición contra la vinculación de niños, niñas y jóvenes al conflicto armado en Colombia (Coalico). Ratificación del estado colombiano del protocolo facultativo relativo a la participación de niños y niñas en los conflictos armados. <http://www.coalico.org/archivo/boletin_putchipu_12.pdf> [Accessed 13 Dec. 2005]

United States. 16 February 2005. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Resource Information Center. "Colombia: Current Status of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia." (Sent to the Research Directorate by the USCIS Resource Information Center.)

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: A University professor from Georgetown University did not provide information within the time constraints of this Response.

Attempts to reach the Coalición contra la vinculación de niños, niñas y jóvenes al conflicto armado en Colombia (Coalico) were unsuccessful.

Internet sites, including: Defensoría del Pueblo de Colombia, ECOI.net, Freedom House, World News Connection.