FARC Agrees To Remove Child Soldiers From Its Force As Part Of Peace Agreement With The Colombian Government

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, agreed to remove child soldiers from its force as part of its ongoing peace process with the Colombian government. The agreement will prioritize FARC recruits under the age of 15, and will extend to young fighters under 18 years old.

Victims Of War

Aside from returning them to their respective families, FARC's child soldiers will be recognized as victims of war and will be given pardon when the country's law allows it, BBC reported. The United Nations and other international agencies will oversee the child soldiers' return and reintegration to society.

The FARC has around 7,000 fighters but it is unknown how many combatants are underage and how many will be released back to society, Newsweek wrote. Both the FARC and the Colombian government didn't disclose how many child soldiers the rebel group has, but the FARC previously revealed it has 13 fighters under 15 years old, BBC noted.

Recruiting Of Child Soldiers Unintentional

Humberto de la Calle, the Colombian government's head of peace negotiations with FARC, said freeing the child soldiers is an important development in the peace accord. Since the conflict between Colombia's government and the FARC began in the 1960s, there have been 220,000 deaths, 25,000 disappeared and 5.7 million people displaced, according to CFR.

The FARC said it was never their intention to recruit child soldiers into their ranks, but the group admitted that they accepted orphaned children and those who have suffered from domestic abuse, ABC Online reported. Majority of FARC fighters who are now adults joined the group when they were still minors.

Finalization

This month, the Colombian government and the FARC announced an agreement that will ensure a final peace deal between the two sides -- an agreement which will be signed before May 18, teleSUR wrote. De la Calle said Colombian citizens will agree on the final text in a referendum. The Congress will approve it afterward and then it will be integrated into the country's constitution.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos promised that a peace deal with the FARC will be concluded "in the very near future," according to Reuters. There was a final accord set in March but both groups missed it.

The FARC was behind 60 percent of Colombian cocaine transported to the United States, CFR wrote. InSight Crime reported in 2012 that FARC's earnings from its narcotics trade reached $200 million, but Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón said it reached as high as $3.5 billion, the Christian Science Monitor wrote.