Forced recruitment of children (abduction) in the Colombian armed conflict: Under 18 years of age as victims with special protection reinforced in IHL and IHRL

Abstract

This paper addresses the child soldiers issue, as victims of forced recruitment. A review of the treatment of children in war in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and in International Human Rights Law (IHRL) with emphasis on the age of protection in international instruments is carried out. The forced recruitment in the internal norms is analyzed as the cause of the unconstitutional state of affairs due to forced displacement, which leads to the problem of the soldier children of the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army [Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo, FARC-EP] and their treatment in the implementation of the Peace Agreement. It is concluded that in the discussion of age, the Constitutional Court adopts an ambiguous solution when giving precedence to international norms subsequent to constitutional guarantees that already had in the domestic law. Colombia has an outstanding debt with their lost childhood.