Humanitarian Report 2025: the situation in Colombia reached its most critical point in eight years in 2024.

In 2024, the humanitarian situation in Colombia got much worse. Armed groups split into factions and were reconfigured, territorial disputes between them intensified, armed actions increased and, in areas controlled by armedgroups, mechanisms to control civilians were tightened. 

Moreover, as the ceasefires ended, hostilities between the national security forces and some of these groups resumed. All this significantly increased civilians' exposure to serious protection risks and violations of international humanitarian law.

The presence, use and abandonment of explosive hazards have devastating effects on civilians. In 2024, entire communities were displaced or confined due to theconstant threat posed by these explosive hazards. 

This transformed their ways of life, as they could no longer move freely through their territories. Many people lost their means of subsistence. 

In 2024, community confinement in Colombia became more widespread than at any time in the last eight years.

Confinement events increased by 102 per cent, and the affected population grew by 89 per cent compared with the previous year. According to figures from the Comprehensive Victim Support and Reparation Unit,* 88,874 people were confined in 12 departments of the country over the course of the year. 

In some cases, communities were confined because of direct threats from armed groups; in others, they adopted protective measures, including limiting mobility, due to the risk of confrontations or the presence of explosive hazards in the area.

In Colombia, people continue to disappear. It is a never-ending tragedy. Thousands of families have searched tirelessly for their loved ones for years, even decades. They face countless obstacles, difficulties and, in many cases, stigmatization for demanding answers about what happened to their relatives and their whereabouts.

In 2024, another of the humanitarian consequences that intensified was violence against health-care workers. The National Medical Mission Board recorded 201 infractions (events related to the armed conflict). These included particularly serious events, such as the homicide of five people.

We are also worried about the incidence of sexual violence in the areas most affected by armed conflicts and violence. This type of violence often goes unseen. Many victims/survivors choose not to report sexual violence, out of fear of retaliation, shame or guilt. As a result, the figures do not reflect the real magnitude of this phenomenon. In addition, a large number of cases go unreported because people distrust the institutions or face barriers to accessing the state assistance pathway.

The complex reality described in the previous sections is partly the result of the fragmentation and reconfiguration of armed groups. The unstable and constantly changing scenario in Colombia has intensified the humanitarian challenges. However, our current legal classification of the armed conflicts in Colombia does not reflect recent changes, since at the end of 2024, we did not have enough accurate information to establish a new classification.

In 2024, state and non-state armed actors in Colombia continued to directly involve children in the conflicts. For example, information gathered by our teams in the fieldshowed a large increase in the recruitment, use and participation of children in the hostilities.

In 2024, detention conditions for people deprived of their liberty continued to deteriorate, as did the welfare and safety of the staff of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC in Spanish). This was despite the Colombian government having declared a prison emergency in February 2024. It should be noted that the INPEC and the Penitentiary and Prison Services Unit (USPEC in Spanish) are civilian bodies. They are not part of the Military Forces of Colombia, nor do they directly participate in the hostilities.

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