The Red Cross reported on Thursday (27) that the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Colombia has reached its most critical point in the last eight years in 2024.
According to the institution, the intensification of hostilities, the increase in the control of armed groups over the civilian population and the growing disrespect for international humanitarian law increased “alarming way the risks to the life, integrity and dignity of thousands of people”.
Other problems pointed out by the Red Cross were the use of explosive devices, displacements, confinements and attacks on the health care network.
“In the territories, the fear of suffering the consequences of armed conflicts and violence is daily. Homicide, disappearance, sexual violence and recruitment, use and use of children and adolescents are some of the risks faced by communities,” says Patrick Hamilton, head of the Red Cross delegation in Colombia.
Colombia recorded the increase in territorial disputes between armed groups, which eventually divided and reconfiguring themselves after the end of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).
On Wednesday (26), for example, an attack involving an explosive motorcycle injured 11 people in the southwest of the country, the Colombian National Police said.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez attributed the attack on the groups Jaime Martínez and Dagoberto Ramos, dissidents of the FARC.
Among the biggest risks listed by the Red Cross are:
- the recruitment, use and use of children and adolescents
- sexual violence
- the presence, use and abandonment of explosive devices
- the lack of respect for the principles governing the conduct of hostilities
- and the inappropriate treatment of civilian people
According to the 2025 Humanitarian Challenges report, the institution reported that 719 people were injured or killed by anti -personal mines, explosive war waste, launched and controlled detonation devices.
The number represents an increase of 89% over the previous year, besides being the highest in the last eight years.
In all, 482 people injured or killed by explosive devices were civilians, 163 were from the public force and 74 of armed groups.
In addition, the report points out that 117,697 people were included in the Cadastro Único de Victims because of individual displacement in 2024.
252 new cases of disappearance related to armed conflicts and violence were also documented, which represents a 13% increase over the previous year.
Based on the aggravation of the humanitarian situation in Colombia, the Red Cross highlighted the obligation to respect international humanitarian law and asked the parties to conflict to take immediate measures to protect the civilian population.
However, the organization stressed that “the year 2025 does not have an encouraging overview, and the way the increased hostilities can continue to affect the civilian population concerns us.”
“With no clear commitments from the parts of the armed conflict, the future can be even more worrying,” warns the Red Cross.
This content was originally published in Red Cross alert to worsen the humanitarian situation in Colombia on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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