Colombia's conflict

Enduring for the last 40 years, Colombia’s internal conflict has never been formally recognized as a civil war. The Colombian people, however, have felt the consequences of the cycles of violence that created millions of displaced people, political disappearances and stolen childhoods across the country.

The armed actors in the conflict are the leftist guerrillas—the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), the United Self-defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the narco-traffickers and the Armed Forces.
 

The origins of the conflict are controversial. Some authors cite the fight for territory as the principal motive and others point to political disputes between the Liberals and Conservatives, especially during the period called “The Violence” (La Violencia, 1946-1962) that allowed for the surfacing of guerrilla activities.
 
In this dossier we intend to bring together materials to understand the violent conflict that has caused more than 2.5 million people to be displaced, an estimated 14,000 children to be recruited by irregular groups, and innumerable other victims to be silenced.

Related materials, available in Spanish:

Niñez Colombiana: Entre Ejércitos y Grupos de Violencia Armada Organizada

Por Iván Darío Ramírez, coordinador del Observatorio Niñez en Conflicto Armado y Violencia Armada Organizada y miembro del Grupo COAV de Investigación y Gestión de Políticas Públicas para la Niñez en Violencia Armada Organizada.

Informe de 2005 de la Coalición Contra la Vinculación de Niños, Niñas y Jóvenes en el Conflicto Armado en Colombia

Informe de 2006 de la Alta Comisionada de Derechos Humanos sobre la Situación en Colombia

Websites

Centro de Recursos para el Análisis de Conflictos

Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular

Fundación Ideas para la Paz

Fundación Seguridad y Democracia

Instituto Popular de Capacitación

Informes sobre Derechos Humanos en Colombia

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Universidad Los Andes

"The war on drugs has been lost"

Understanding the Colombian Conflict, Guides to a Labyrinth

Colombia under the toll of cocaine 

Where are the paramilitary children?

Turning a new page in life

Impressions of a demobilization, Part 1: The Group

New Child Code deemed too harsh by human rights proponents