Colombia: the war for dozens of FARC's child soldiers

The decision represents a new step in the peace negotiations with the Colombian Government under three and a half years ago in Havana.

According to the representative of the Government, Humberto de la Calle, "announced today three important measures, the demobilization of children under 15 years and the elaboration of a plan that would allow the release of all remaining under 18 years, as well as the creation of a programme of reintegration of these children who come out of the war".

The FARC had already committed in February not to recruit minors. The application of the new agreement will be supervised, in the field, by UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

For the FARC representative Ivan Marquez,

"We have agreed with the Government that these minors cannot be persecuted for Justice, because they are victims of a dramatic social and political situation and will be treated as such and never as criminals".

The FARC would have recruited more than 1900 children in recent decades, maintaining currently about three dozens of children under 15 years in their ranks.

The new understanding comes at a decisive moment for the peace negotiations, after the two camps agreed last week that all the decisions announced in Havana will be inscribed in the Constitution, to avoid any modifications in the future.

The two fields, which promise to brief the signing of a peace agreement, seem to show favour to the possibility of submitting the set of understandings to a national referendum.

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