Colombian child soldiers are often referred to as ?little bees? or ?little bells?, depending on the armed group to which they belong. Recent efforts by the Colombian government to facilitate demobilization of paramilitary fighters have neglected a significant contingent: children. The inability of the government to successfully assimilate former child soldiers of both paramilitary and guerrilla groups into society will have serious cultural and political consequences in the future.
Colombia?s Child Soldiers
Child soldiers in Colombia comprise as much as 25 percent of the country?s unconventional combatants, according to Human Rights Watch.
It is likely more than 11,000 child soldiers are active participants in the country?s decades-old armed conflict. While these children witness atrocities and are forced to kill and maim their rivals, many joined armed groups of their own volition. Some estimates posit the percentage of voluntary enlistment at 80 percent. Children who typically enlist come from poverty-stricken villages; they are drawn to the promise of regular meals and personal security. Children are treated as regular soldiers and are expected to dig trenches, endure rigorous training and kill on command. Those caught trying to escape face severe punishment or death.
Child combatants are not unique to Colombia?s internal conflict. According to Amnesty International estimates, there are approximately 300,000 child soldiers worldwide serving in government armed forces, paramilitaries and other non-state armed groups. The presence of child combatants has been recorded in many countries, such as Sudan and Myanmar (Burma) . Several factors account for the growing number of child soldiers participating in intrastate conflicts; one of the most significant is the massive influx of small arms onto the international black market following the Cold War. Since these weapons are light and easy to use, child soldiers are more easily armed and require less training.
Incomplete Demobilization
The Colombian government is criticized for not giving child paramilitaries a more substantial role in current demobilization efforts with various militia groups. For example, children are absent from televised demobilization ceremonies. The rationalization provided for this absence is related to international law. Apparently, the presence of children at these ceremonies would provide confirmation that Colombia?s paramilitary groups have, in fact, utilized children as combatants, a clear violation of international humanitarian law. Demobilized children are often just sent home quietly.
Nevertheless, there are not enough efforts in place to assist children who have demobilized. There are many societal and political barriers in place to their successful reintegration into society. An absence of re-adaptation programs forces these former child soldiers to seek criminal alternatives. In addition, children trying to return to their former villages are often ostracized and discriminated against. Therefore, in addition to state barriers to successful reintegration, children often face societal and political obstacles.
Implications for Colombia?s Future
The inability of the Colombian government to demobilize and reintegrate its former child soldiers into civilian society will have serious implications for the current armed conflict and the overall security of the country. First, child combatants facilitate the continuation of hostilities. Children provide an easy and cheap source of manpower, reducing the need for peaceful alternatives. Second, incomplete demobilization efforts, which fail to take into account the importance of providing children with support services, will provide Colombian society with a generation of children exposed to violence and possessing no viable academic or economic alternatives. These children are increasingly turning to crime in order to survive. The likely result of this will be a new generation of violent criminals.
While various domestic and international non-governmental organizations are working to assist Colombia?s former child soldiers, it is essential that Colombia receive additional resources and funding to its Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) efforts. Scholars have long pointed to Colombia as having a ?culture of violence.? Failure to address effectively the growing problem of child combatants will only add further credence to this flawed school of thought.
