UNICEF’s representative in Colombia expressed concern over the increase in the recruitment of minors as guerrillas at the First International Congress on the Recruitment and Use of Children in Bogota Wednesday.
Representative Paul Martin said that while UNICEF does not have exact figures, reports from other NGOs place number of minors recruited by guerrilla organizations between 8 and 14 thousand.
Martin told the Congress that child recruitment by guerrillas was primarily a problem along Colombia’s borders with Venezuela and Ecuador. He asked the nations to put aside their political differences and work together to confront the humanitarian issue, CM& reported Wednesday.
The Congress, organized by Vice president Francisco Santos, is being held in the nation’s capital today and tomorrow. Former FARC hostage Luis Eladio Perez also spoke at the convention.