Colombia, 2021 Most Violent Year Since the Peace Agreement

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP, in Spanish) on Saturday confirmed that 2021 was the most violent year in Colombia since the signing of the

This organization, founded after the signing of this historic agreement between the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP, in Spanish) and the administration of Juan Manuel Santos, representing the State, warned about the escalation of hostilities and the organization and presence of illegal armed groups in 12 areas of the country.

According to it, the number of these types of events and structures exceed international standards that assess internal armed conflicts.

According to data from the Unified Risk Monitoring Mechanism presented by JEP’s Investigation and Accusation Unit (UIA, in Spanish), there were 328 violent deaths in 2021 amid the country’s armed conflict: 24 of them were civilians and 89 were members of public forces.

It reported that 2021 saw the highest number of violent acts since the signing of the Final Peace Agreement and was the year with the highest number of massacres (93), mass forced displacements (146), combats between security forces and illegal armed groups (228), and harassment of the public force (134).

Moreover, the number of cases of forced recruitment of boys, girls and teenagers has increased, UIA reported.