| Click here for a summary of Colombia’s review at the first cycle and/or the second cycle. |
30th UPR session
Date of review: 10 May 2018
Date of report adoption: 20 September 2018
Document number: A/HRC/39/6
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SUMMARY SOGIESC issues during Colombia’s 3rd UPR review |
I. SOGIESC issues/recommendations identified by NGOs and other stakeholders
Equality and non-discrimination
21. JS20 indicated that since the previous universal periodic review, there had been considerable progress in the recognition of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, including the development of a large body of legislation and case law, but that there were obstacles to the enforcement of the law.
22. JS18 stated that despite progress in the legal recognition of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, public officials were prejudiced, and the rights of transgender people were still not guaranteed.
23. JS6 reported that lesbian and bisexual women continued to suffer from a lack of protection and support from the State and that “corrective” rapes, administered as a “cure”, were still common.
Right to life, liberty and security of person
30. JS20 reported that 440 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons had been murdered between 2013 and 2016. At least 148 of those murders had been motivated by prejudice against the victim’s sexual orientation. There had also been 365 cases of police violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.
36. JS20 stated that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons deprived of their liberty were victims of multiple forms of discrimination and violence and were faced with a health system that did not address their specific needs.
Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
40. JS27 noted that as part of the implementation of the peace agreement, the Government had issued a decree-law that had reduced staffing levels at the Attorney General’s Office considerably, a reduction that made it difficult to break up paramilitary groups. JS20 stated that the Attorney General’s Office had launched a programme to encourage investigations into crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, although there had as yet been no significant progress.
Fundamental freedoms and the right to participate in public and political life
54. […] Caribe Afirmativo stated that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex leaders had not been provided with effective protection.
Right to health
75. JS20 stated that the only way for transgender persons to gain access to safe methods of physical transitioning within the health system was to accept a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
Right to education
80. Caribe Afirmativo indicated that the education secretariats of several departments had no plans for the prevention of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
II. Excerpts on SOGIESC issues from the national report
Cooperation with international mechanisms
17. Colombia is a member of the New York core group, which promoted the adoption by the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations of resolutions that were to lead to the establishment of the mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Participation of women in the peace process (First cycle recommendation 15 and second cycle recommendations 117.2 and 117.6)
31. Vital contributions were made to the subcommittee’s work by 16 leaders of women’s organizations, 10 Colombian female experts on sexual violence, 36 women victims (part of a group of 60), the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community and female ex guerrillas from various parts of the world. Spaces were created for civil society participation, yielding a total of 7,172 contributions from more than 301 women’s organizations. This resulted in a proposal to incorporate a gender perspective in the Framework Plan on the Implementation of the Peace Agreement.
Comprehensive victim support and reparation (First cycle voluntary commitment 38. Second-cycle recommendations 116.17, 116.18, 116.22, 116.23, 116.24 and 116.25)
51. According to the Single Register of Victims,22 as of December 2017, the number of registered victims stood at 8,625,631,23 including 4,271,327 men, 4,289,790 women and 2,472 persons who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. Sixtyfour per cent of the cases reported since the entry into force of the Victims and Land Restitution Act (hereinafter the “Victims Act”) relate to events that occurred before 2012.
Access to justice and judicial independence (First cycle recommendations 14 and 28; second cycle recommendations 115.5, 115.6, 116.67, 116.69, 116.70, 116.71, 116.72, 117.7, 117.8. Second cycle voluntary commitment 120)
80. The Government has implemented the Red Construyendo strategy to facilitate women’s access to justice. To this end, the following steps were taken between August 2013 and October 2017:
[…]
• Nineteen psychosocial support circles were held in Tumaco, Barranquilla, Quibdó and Pasto, with the participation of approximately 100 members of the public with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities who had been the victims of sexual violence during the armed conflict.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (First cycle recommendation 8 and second cycle recommendations 116.43 and 117.4)
97. Colombia has made progress in protecting and guaranteeing the human rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community and of persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities; nevertheless, the Government recognizes the challenges that exist in fully guaranteeing the right to equality and non-discrimination.
98. The Constitutional Court issued decisions approving equal marriage (Decision SU214/2016) and adoption by same-sex couples (Decision C-683/2015). The Government issued Decree No. 1227/2015, which regulates citizens’ access to identity documents in accordance with their identity construction.
99. Medical procedures for the purpose of body modification are legally protected under the right to health, and the Government is moving forward with the joint drafting of a road map for the humane care of transgender persons, in the light of the challenges that they face in terms of access to services.
100. Awareness-raising and capacity-building initiatives are under way to promote recognition of the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, including workshops for administrative staff, guards, warders and (male and female) inmates in prisons throughout the country.
III. Excerpts on SOGIESC issues by UN agencies
Equality and non-discrimination
12. The Human Rights Committee recommended that Colombia continue and step up its efforts to combat stereotypes regarding, and prejudice against, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
Right to life, liberty and security of person
30. The Human Rights Committee was concerned by the persistence of serious prison overcrowding, as the total rate in the country’s detention centres was 55 per cent and had reportedly reached over 400 per cent in two centres. The Committee was also concerned by reports that instances of ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, including members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex population, continued to occur. The Committee against Torture recommended that Colombia adopt effective measures, as a matter of urgency, to reduce prison occupancy rates, primarily by making use of alternatives to deprivation of liberty, in accordance with international standards.
Fundamental freedoms and the right to participate in public and political life
41. OHCHR reported in detail about killings, attacks, threats, arrest and detentions, infringements of the rights to privacy, enforced disappearances and sexual violence affecting male and female human rights defenders, journalists, trade unionists, leaders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex groups, and social and human rights activists. It noted that the departments most affected by all types of aggression were Cauca, Bogotá, North Santander, Valle del Cauca, Meta and Antioquia. The Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee against Torture and the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations raised similar concerns.
IV. References to SOGIESC issues during the Working Group review
31. Chile inquired about the measures taken to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. It requested information about the steps taken by Colombia to protect human rights defenders and about how it planned to increase the effectiveness of those measures.
39. Czechia appreciated the efforts Colombia was making regarding several human rights, such as the launching of specialized programmes to prevent the forced recruitment of children into armed groups and steps taken to recognize the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
48. Measures had been taken to reduce prison overcrowding and improve health care in prisons. In addition, steps had been taken to increase the use of house arrest, and to incorporate a differentiated approach to caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons who were deprived of their liberty.
63. Iceland congratulated Colombia on the signing of the peace agreement, which had brought an end to over five decades of armed conflict. It welcomed the decisions to approve marriage equality and adoption by same-sex couples.
84. The delegation of Colombia highlighted the decisions of the Constitutional Court approving marriage equality and adoption by same-sex couples. The State was committed to non-regression in the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, and a policy was in place guaranteeing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons…
V. Conclusions and/or recommendations
Colombia accepted the following recommendations:
120.23 Take further steps and effectively implement the existing measures aimed at protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons from discrimination and violence (Czechia);
120.24 Continue and step up efforts to combat stereotypes regarding, and prejudice against, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (Iceland);
120.25 Establish mechanisms to obtain disaggregated data on ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, making it possible to design effective public policies that are non-discriminatory and meet the needs of marginalized population groups (Mexico);
120.63 Work with civil society to strengthen protection for members of vulnerable communities by implementing effective collective protection schemes tailored to ethnicity, gender and regional circumstances (United States of America);
VI. Further information
You will find all documents relating to Colombia’s third review at UPR-Info and OHCHR’s websites.