Forced Recruitment in Southern Bolívar: State-Level Tensions and Challenges for the Protection of Children in Colombia Between 2024 and the First Semester of 2025
Keywords:
Forced recruitment, children, armed conflict, south of Bolívar, human rights, rebelocracy.Abstract
This article presents a socio-legal analysis of the forced recruitment of children and adolescents (NNA) in the southern region of Bolívar, Colombia, during the 2024–2025.1 period. Through a mixed methodological approach combining documentary and legal review, descriptive analysis, and qualitative examination of institutional sources, it explores the tension between the legal framework for child protection and the realities of rural territories affected by armed conflict. Findings show that, despite normative progress and commitments stemming from the Peace Agreement, the forced recruitment of minors remains a persistent practice in municipalities. These areas face structural conditions of poverty, social exclusion, geographical isolation, and weak state presence, which facilitate the operation of illegal armed groups. The study also identifies the existence of a local “rebelocracy,” where armed actors regulate community life and use recruitment as a mechanism of control. The results highlight the urgent need to strengthen public policies, institutional action, and comprehensive child protection in post-conflict contexts.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Esta obra está bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional.
