ABSTRACT
Armies used children extensively during the American Civil War, both world wars, the Iran-Iraq War, and Cambodia’s civil war. The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the Communist Party in Nepal, the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, and other diverse groups have recruited children. This chapter focuses on Colombia’s protracted civil war, which lasted from 1964 until 2016, when a momentous peace accord was achieved. The Colombian government had two main adversaries: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). All parties to the conflict committed egregious human rights violations. Millions became internally displaced, creating a humanitarian disaster. Mélida, a member of the Amazon’s Cubeo indigenous community, was a child soldier in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) for seven years. Child sexual exploitation (CSE) takes different forms, including child prostitution, sex tourism, and pornography. The Latin American and Caribbean region is a site of international and domestic trafficking routes for sexual and labor exploitation.
