哥伦比亚波哥大——周一，一名法官缺席审判了哥伦比亚最大反政府武装组织“民族解放军”（Ejército de Liberación Nacional，简称ELN）的11名指挥官，他们因在2004年至2018年间招募了60名儿童加入该组织而被判入狱。
BOGOTA, Colombia — A judge on Monday sentenced in absentia 11 commanders of Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group to prison for recruiting 60 children into their ranks between 2004 and 2018. The commanders of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), or National Liberation Army, were found guilty of recruiting boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 17 into their ranks.
这些指挥官被认定犯有招募8至17岁儿童的罪行；检察官称其中一些女孩遭到了性虐待。他们的刑期从11年到20年不等。其中一些人最近曾参与与哥伦比亚政府的和平谈判。
Prosecutors said that some of the girls were sexually abused. Sentences handed to the rebel leaders ranged from 11 years to 20 years in prison. Some of them recently participated in peace talks with Colombia’s government.
由于这些指挥官尚未被哥伦比亚政府抓获，审判是在他们缺席的情况下进行的。
The trial was conducted in absentia because the commanders haven’t been captured by Colombia’s government.
其中一名被判有罪的成员名叫以色列·拉米雷斯·皮内达（Israel Ramírez Pineda），他也使用化名“巴勃罗·贝尔特兰”（Pablo Beltrán）；目前他居住在古巴，并曾率领代表团与哥伦比亚政府进行和平谈判。
One of the leaders who was convicted, Israel Ramírez Pineda, also known by the alias Pablo Beltrán, now lives in Cuba and recently led a delegation that held peace talks with Colombia’s government.
去年，由于该组织在卡塔图姆博（Catatumbo）地区发动了一系列袭击（导致至少80人死亡），哥伦比亚政府取消了与ELN的和平谈判。
Colombia’s government canceled peace talks with the ELN last year after the group staged a string of attacks in the northeastern Catatumbo region in which at least 80 people were killed .
人权组织指出，哥伦比亚的反政府武装组织和犯罪团伙继续存在招募儿童的问题；这些组织如今利用社交媒体诱骗青少年加入他们的行列。
Human rights groups have pointed out that the recruitment of children by rebel groups and gangs in Colombia continues to be a problem, with these organizations now using social media to lure youth into their ranks.
2016年，在哥伦比亚政府与该国最大的反政府武装组织“哥伦比亚革命武装力量”（Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia，简称FARC）达成和平协议后，近1.4万名武装分子交出了武器。然而，在一些政府管控薄弱的农村地区，暴力事件再度抬头；这些武装组织仍在争夺毒品贩运路线、敲诈勒索的非法利益，以及FARC遗留下来的非法矿场控制权。
In 2016, almost 14,000 fighters laid down their weapons following a peace deal between Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest rebel group, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . But violence has resurfaced in some rural areas where there is little state presence and where groups like ELN are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes, extortion rackets and illegal mines abandoned by FARC.
据哥伦比亚人权捍卫者办公室称，自2021年以来，至少有1500名儿童被武装团体招募，其中2024年报告了625起案件。被招募者承担各种任务，包括担任信使、收集情报、做饭或与敌人交战，而女孩有时还被迫与指挥官发生性行为。
According to Colombia’s Human Rights Defenders’ Office, at least 1,500 children have been recruited by armed groups since 2021, with 625 cases reported in 2024. Recruits are given a wide range of tasks that include serving as messengers, gathering intelligence, cooking or engaging with the enemy — while girls are sometimes forced into sexual acts with commanders.
联合国呼吁社交媒体平台与哥伦比亚检察机关分享证据，并采取行动，阻止反叛团体利用社交媒体招募儿童。
The United Nations has called on social media platforms to share evidence with Colombian prosecutors and take actions aimed at blocking rebel groups from using social media to recruit children.