Former commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) accepted responsibility for recruiting child soldiers and committing sexual violence against an estimated 11,000 victims during the decades-long armed conflict, marking a significant milestone in Colombia's transitional justice process.
The acknowledgments came before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), Colombia's transitional justice tribunal established under the 2016 peace agreement. Former FARC leaders including Rodrigo Londoño, the group's last military commander, appeared to accept responsibility for crimes committed between 1996 and 2016.
"This is a critical test of whether restorative justice can deliver meaningful accountability," said María Camila Moreno, director of the Colombian Commission of Jurists. "Victims have waited years to hear these acknowledgments, even as they continue to demand fuller justice."
The transitional justice system offers former combatants reduced sentences—typically five to eight years of restricted liberty rather than conventional imprisonment—in exchange for full truth-telling, reparations to victims, and commitments to non-repetition. The model prioritizes truth and reconciliation over retributive punishment, reflecting the pragmatic compromises necessary to end five decades of conflict.
In Colombia, as across post-conflict societies, peace is not an event but a process—requiring patience, investment, and political will. The 2016 peace agreement ended the Western Hemisphere's longest-running guerrilla war, but implementation has proven more difficult than signing treaties. The JEP itself has faced persistent criticism from those who view its sentences as too lenient and from former combatants who feel vulnerable to prosecution outside the system.
Among the most painful revelations: the systematic recruitment of children, some as young as 12, who were forced into combat roles or subjected to sexual exploitation by commanders. Victim advocacy organizations documented cases spanning conflict zones across Cauca, Nariño, and departments, where FARC maintained territorial control for decades.
