Rising violence and displacement have forced Colombia back onto the International Rescue Committee's Emergency Watchlist.

Bogotá

Colombia has rejoined the International Rescue Committee's 2026 Emergency Watchlist following a sharp rise in violence and internal displacement. The country's humanitarian situation has deteriorated, with reported child recruitment cases increasing by 1,000% between 2021 and 2024, and Colombia now hosting almost three million Venezuelan refugees.

Aid organizations report that resources are running out as international funding, including support from the US government and other donors, has been dramatically reduced. Many humanitarian agencies are planning to close their programs, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced families with diminishing support and an uncertain future.

Colombia returns to IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlist amid violence

Maria Eugenia Riascos arrived in Bogotá just over a month ago after an armed group tried to forcibly recruit her 17-year-old son. They entered the village, they were going to load him onto a truck, but the good thing is that he ran away and they didn't manage to take him, so we had no choice but to leave. A city agency provided temporary housing, but steady work has been hard to find. When we visited, the family had nothing to prepare for breakfast. Maria's story reflects a wider pattern, families fleeing violence and arriving in Colombia's cities with little support. President Gustavo Petro's flagship Total Peace strategy has failed to contain armed groups. Between 2021 and 2024, reported cases of child recruitment rose by 1,000%. Local foundations try to fill the gaps, but resources are running out. International support, including funding linked to USAID, has dried up. This year has been especially difficult. In previous years, there were more donations, more private organizations willing to help. Aid groups say Colombia is facing a double humanitarian crisis. An increase in violence is driving the internal displacement. Now the fourth highest per capita in the world, while regional instability has left the country hosting almost 3 million Venezuelan refugees. But while needs soar, aid funding is collapsing. The surge in violence made this Colombia's worst year in a decade and has pushed the country back onto the International Rescue Committee emergency watch list, an annual forecast of the 20 humanitarian crisis most likely to worsen in the year ahead. The US government has dramatically cut humanitarian assistance, but so too have other donors. I was in Cucuta in the north of the Santander province last week. I was told that 20 of 38 humanitarian agencies working in Cucuta are planning to close their programs at the end of December. As aid agencies scale back or shut down, hundreds of thousands of families are left facing displacement with fewer lifelines and an increasingly uncertain future. Alessandro Ampietti, Al Jazeera, Bogota.

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Bondi Beach

Islamic State link eyed after Bondi Beach gunmen's Philippine visit

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Washington

Trump sues BBC for $10 billion over edited Capitol riot speech

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Berlin

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Council of the City of Sydney

Bondi Beach shooting motivated by ISIS ideology: Australian PM

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California

FBI arrests four over alleged New Year’s Eve bomb plot in California

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Providence

New person of interest sought in Brown University shooting

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Los Angeles

Rob Reiner's son arrested after director and wife found dead

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Boston

Brian Walshe found guilty of first-degree murder in wife's death

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Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong court finds Jimmy Lai guilty in landmark security trial

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Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy offers to drop NATO bid for security guarantees

Police have released a person of interest who was detained in a shooting at Brown University. Two students were killed and at least nine others were injured in the Saturday attack. Tom Hanson spoke with students about the shooting.

Police release person of interest in shooting at Brown University

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Ukraine offers to drop NATO bid at Berlin peace talks

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Brentwood

Director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead in their L.A. home

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Santiago

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Person of interest identified in Brown University shooting

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Father and son behind Bondi mass shooting, Australian police say

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Israel calls Bondi shooting attack on Jews, urges action on antisemitism

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Gunmen kill several at Jewish gathering in Sydney's Bondi Beach

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Police hold person of interest after Brown University shooting

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Minsk

Belarus releases 123 prisoners as U.S. lifts sanctions

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Deming

Washington under state emergency as rains ease

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London

Controversial Chinese embassy construction in London delayed

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Tokyo

United Airlines flight loses engine during liftoff, sparks brush fire

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Phnom Penh

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Caracas

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King Charles to reduce cancer treatments

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Belarus releases political prisoners as U.S. lifts some sanctions

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Kup'yans'k

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Brussels

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Breakdown