Colombia Country Report - February 2026
- Genocide Watch
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Juliana Girotto
Genocide Watch is issuing a Genocide Warning for Colombia. Nearly a decade after the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), violence and instability continue to impact civilians. Indigenous, Afro-descent, and rural peasant communities, as well as human rights defenders, are groups facing the highest risk of danger and human rights abuses.
In remote rural areas of Colombia, illegal armed groups seek to intimidate communities and force relocation of those who may disrupt their activities. In 2024, an average of 16 community leaders were killed each month in Colombia, bringing the yearly total to 186 documented murders, surpassing the 163 reported during 2023. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has found that human rights defense work by social leaders is itself a primary factor making them vulnerable, due to their public opposition to illegal activities. In recent years, illegal armed groups have increased violence against social leaders who defend the environment or land against extractive projects. Indigenous and Afro-descent are especially vulnerable when they defend their communities. The state’s weak presence in rural areas only increases these vulnerabilities to violence and coercion.
Regarding active militias, the Atlantic Council reports that five active armed conflicts remain between new and existing illegal armed groups. One of the largest active armed groups in recent years has been the National Liberation Army (ELN), along with many other FARC dissidents who refused to demobilize after the peace agreement and have only gained more influence since. These groups engage in narcotics production and trafficking, illegal mining, extortion, and human trafficking. They function as the de facto authorities in some regions, imposing curfews, restricting movement and economic activity, and brutally punishing those who do not comply.
In 2025, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro implemented a “Total Peace” plan that involved peace talks with these illegal armed groups. While negotiations have reduced violence between armed groups and state forces, they have also fueled inter-group fighting as fragmented and opportunistic armed groups compete for territory to enhance their negotiating positions. The Total Peace plan does not include deployment of security forces to weaken remaining groups and protect civilian populations. For example, in 2025 the ELN began a campaign against other armed groups at the Colombia-Venezuela border in the Catatumbo region to regain control of some of this territory. This effort has reportedly displaced over 56,000 people from their homes, one of the largest mass displacements in Colombia in decades.
Child recruitment is a common strategy used by armed groups that has only continued to grow over recent years. In 2024, there were 625 reported cases of child recruitment by armed groups, an 81% increase of those reported in 2023. However, these are just the cases that are documented and there is believed to be a continuous upward trend in child recruitment throughout 2025. Children as young as 11 years old are being recruited and given basic training before they are sent to the front lines where they face dangerous conditions and often go days being denied basic necessities. Some children who are caught trying to escape after joining an armed group are executed, a practice for deterring other runaway children.
Due to the continued territorial control and coordination of illegal armed groups such as the ELN and FARC dissidents, including their use of structured command systems, economic networks, and armed governance in rural regions, Genocide Watch considers Colombia to be at Stage 5: Organization. The systematic targeting of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and rural peasant communities, along with human rights defenders and social leaders through killings, threats, forced displacement, and child recruitment, places Colombia at Stage 8: Persecution.
Genocide Watch recommends:
The Colombian government should recalibrate the Total Peace to ensure negotiations do not inadvertently fuel conflict among armed groups, conditioning talks on measurable reductions in violence against civilians.
The Colombian government should strengthen protection for Indigenous, Afro-descent, and rural peasant communities and human rights defenders, prioritizing rural reform laid out in the 2016 agreement.
The United Nations system should expand monitoring and reporting mechanisms in Colombia’s conflict-afflicted regions, including strengthening the mandate and resources of in-country human rights offices. Early warning systems should be actively utilized to prevent escalation toward mass atrocities.
