Americas and Caribbean: A - F

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

No information was available on under-18s in the security forces.

Under-18s could enlist with parental consent. In 2007 there was reportedly one under-18 in the armed forces.

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

In July 2004 it was reported that under-18s had been conscripted illegally to support anti-narcotics operations in Chapare.

Although 16-year-olds could volunteer to do military service, there was no information on under-18s in the armed forces.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds continued to be recruited into the armed forces.

Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had no military forces; security was the responsibility of their police forces. Saint Kitts and Nevis had a small military force that patrolled jointly with the police. There were no reports of under-18s in these security forces.

In addition to the treaties listed above, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have ratified the ICC. Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have ratified the ILO Minimum Age Convention 138.

There was no information about under-18s in the armed forces.

Children were both forcibly and voluntarily recruited and used by the two armed opposition groups, the FARC and the ELN. They were used as combatants, to lay mines and explosives and to carry out other military tasks. Girls were subjected to sexual abuse, including rape and forced abortion. Some children reportedly remained with paramilitary groups which had failed to demobilize fully. Government forces used captured and surrendered child soldiers to gather intelligence on opposition forces.

The minimum age for recruitment to the police, the country’s only security force, was 18.

Sixteen-year-olds were liable for compulsory military service in the armed forces or the police.

The minimum age for voluntary recruitment was 16.

The minimum age for voluntary recruitment was 17. Very few Colombian former child soldiers benefited from assistance in Ecuador.

Military service was compulsory for 18-year-olds. There were no under-18s in the armed forces.