World News
Colombian armed groups recruit children and train them in drone warfare, Human Rights Watch says
A new report says criminal and rebel organizations are using social media to recruit youths for lethal roles, including operating explosives-laden drones.
The short version
- Human Rights Watch reported that Colombian rebel groups and drug gangs are recruiting children, often via social media, and training them to operate drones equipped with explosives.
- Official figures from Colombia's Human Rights Defenders' Office indicate at least 1,500 children have been recruited since 2021, with Indigenous children and girls disproportionately targeted.
- The rights group called on the Colombian government to bolster rural prevention and prosecution efforts, while urging social media companies to improve reporting tools for recruitment content.
Key facts
- Human Rights Watch reported that Colombian drug gangs and rebel groups are recruiting children and training them to pilot drones carrying explosives.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- Colombia's Human Rights Defenders' Office reported that at least 1,500 children have been recruited by armed groups since 2021, including 625 reported cases in 2024.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- Nearly half of all child recruitment cases since 2021 involved Indigenous children, and 40% involved girls.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- Armed groups conducted 121 drone attacks in the first five months of 2024, resulting in 21 deaths and 145 injuries, according to the Human Rights Defenders' Office.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- Human Rights Watch identified a FARC dissident faction led by Ivan Mordisco as responsible for most child recruitment cases, notably in the Cauca region.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- Meta and TikTok told Human Rights Watch that their policies prohibit content promoting violence and that they removed accounts flagged by the organization.[Associated Press · ABC News]
What remains uncertain
- The extent to which social media recommendation algorithms actively promote recruitment content, which Human Rights Watch noted as an apparent trend, remains unverified.[Associated Press · ABC News]
- The Colombian government provided no immediate response to the Human Rights Watch report or its recommendations.[Associated Press · ABC News]