Bogotá, Aug 4 (EFE).- The NGO Save The Children denounced this Friday in a statement that the ceasefire agreed between the Colombian Government and the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) allows the recruitment of young people over 15 years of age .
“The historic truce between the Colombian government and the ELN, the largest rebel group in the country, allows the recruitment of girls and boys over 15 years of age, which must be addressed,” lamented the NGO.
The bilateral ceasefire began this Thursday and will be the longest agreed with this guerrilla that has so much power in Colombia, since it will last for 180 days.
This measure, agreed on June 9, will entail the cessation of all offensive operations against the other party and the prohibition of carrying out any action that goes against International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
However, the recruitment of minors is not specified in the agreement, which leaves young people over the age of 15 unprotected, who may be recruited by the ELN, something criticized by the director of Save The Children in Colombia, María Paula Martínez.
“The protection of children must not be negotiable, it must be a starting point in any peace negotiation,” said Martínez, who also sent a message to the ELN: “It must not ignore international or national standards, nor omit commitments that it has assumed in other spaces”.
The National Liberation Army mentioned in 1998 that “in the future they were going to increase the age of recruitment to over 18 years of age”, something that did not happen and that it does not expect to comply with this agreement, which allows adolescents over the age of 15 years.
Between 1990 and 2017, around 16,238 children and adolescents were recruited by armed groups in Colombia, although it is likely that the figure rises to 40,000.
