The International Office for Human Rights Action on Colombia

World Children’s Day

Today, 20 November, is World Children’s Day.

World Children’s Day commemorates the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) on 20 November.

As the UN emphasises, ‘from the moment the sun rises, children wake up to a world shaped by choices they didn’t make. But every child, everywhere, also wakes with rights. Including the right to be protected, to learn, and to have their voice heard’.

On this day, we wish to echo the statements made by numerous civil society organisations condemning the recent deaths of children and adolescents due to bombings by the Colombian security forces, as well as rejecting the recruitment of children and adolescents by armed actors.

National human rights platforms and social organisations express in their statement their ‘deep rejection of the sustained worsening of massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that have marked this year in Colombia’ and ‘emphatically condemn the recruitment, utilisation and use of minors by illegal armed groups’. They also question ‘with equal firmness the state’s decision to carry out military operations of such magnitude without first guaranteeing the protection of these minors.’

COALICO, for its part, emphasises that ‘in 2024, 44,784 children and adolescents were affected by events related to the armed conflict.’ It recalls that ‘these children and adolescents are victims of the armed groups that recruit them’ and that it is ‘essential to overcome the false dichotomy between “combatant” and “civilian” when it comes to children and adolescents who are victims of illegal recruitment.’

The Social Movement for Peace affirms that ‘basic principles of international human rights law and international humanitarian law were disregarded: the duty to provide comprehensive protection to children and adolescents, the prevalence of their rights, the principles of distinction, precaution and proportionality, and a war crime was committed.’

We reiterate our solidarity with the affected families and communities, and our determination to continue raising awareness in Europe about the human rights situation in Colombia, advocating for the construction of a positive and lasting peace.

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Our solidarity is universal.

We are deeply concerned about all victims of armed conflict, repression and violence around the world — from Sudan to Syria, including the persecution of the Rohingya and so many other crises that often receive less international attention than they deserve. Each of these situations calls for solidarity, remembrance, justice and action.

However, we have decided to specifically highlight the message ‘Stop Genocide in Palestine’ because what is happening in Palestine represents not only a human tragedy of enormous magnitude, but also a direct challenge to the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and to the rules-based international system itself. The indifference and complicity of much of the international community in the face of the apartheid regime imposed by the Israeli government on the Palestinian people represent one of the greatest moral and political contradictions of our time.

The persistent violation of essential norms — such as the protection of the civilian population, the prohibition of collective punishment and respect for proportionality in the use of force — not only has devastating consequences for the Palestinian population, but also erodes the global mechanisms designed to limit the power of states and prevent abuses.

When these rules are repeatedly breached without any effective consequences, the framework that protects all populations in conflict situations, anywhere in the world, is weakened. Therefore, speaking out in this case does not mean ignoring other forms of suffering, but rather emphasising the urgency of defending an international order which, if it collapses, leaves everyone in a more vulnerable position.

Drawing attention to this situation is, therefore, an act consistent with the universal values we uphold: the protection of life, human dignity and respect for international law, without exception.

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