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Colombia returns to IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlist amid rising violence – Transcript
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- Maria Jen Riasos arrived in Bgotaa with her family after an armed group attempted to forcibly recruit her 17-year-old son.
- President Gustavo Petro's total peace strategy has failed to contain armed groups, and reported child recruitment rose by a,000% between 2021 and 2024.
- Colombia has returned to the International Rescue Committee Emergency Watch list amid a surge in violence and collapsing aid funding.
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Maria Jen Riasos arrived in Bgotaa just over a month ago after an armed group tried to forcibly recruit her 17-year-old son. >> They entered the village. They were going to load him onto a truck, but the good thing is that he ran away and they didn't manage to take him. So, we had no choice but to leave.
>> A city agency provided temporary housing, but steady work has been hard to find. When we visited, the family had nothing to prepare for breakfast. Maria's story reflects a wider pattern.
Families fleeing violence and arriving in Colombia cities with little support. President Gustavo Petro's flagship total peace strategy has failed to contain armed groups. Between 2021 and 2024, reported cases of child recruitment rose by a,000%.
>> Local foundations try to fill the gaps, but resources are running out. International support, including funding linked to USA ID, has dried up. This year has been especially difficult.
In previous years, there were more donations, more private organizations willing to help. Aid groups say Colombia is facing a double humanitarian crisis. An increase in violence is driving the internal displacement, now the fourth highest per capita in the world. While regional instability has left the country hosting almost three million Venezuelan refugees. But while needs
soar, aid funding is collapsing. The surge in violence made this Colombia's worst year in a decade and has pushed the country back onto the International Rescue Committee Emergency Watch list, an annual forecast of the 20 humanitarian crisis most likely to worsen in the year ahead.
The US government has dramatically cut uh humanitarian assistance, but so too have other donors. I was in Kucata in the north of Desant in their province last week. I was told that 20 of 38 humanitarian agencies working in Kucata are planning to close their programs at the end of December. As aid agencies scale back or shut down, hundreds of thousands of families are left facing
displacement with fewer lifelines and an increasingly uncertain future. Don't miss out. Get the full picture. Subscribe to Alazer for reliable news and expert insights. Like, share. Stay ahead.