Published: October 16, 2024
On the occasion of the 20 years of Colombia Diversa, and as part of the analysis of the state and recognition of the rights and access to justice of the LGBTIQ+ community, this Seminar was held that brought together experts to analyze the way to issues and the challenges associated with guarantee. their rights.
This academic space, organized by the Department of Constitutional Law and Colombia Diversa, was created with the objective of reflecting on the role of the Cortes in guaranteeing the rights of people with different identities, the creation of public policies in this matter and the importance of. academia and civil society in the fight for equality.
The installation of the event was led by the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Emilssen González de Cancino, who began his speech by referring to the various artistic, literary and cinematographic expressions that exist around the world and that talk about the role of the people. LGBTIQ+ throughout history.
However, he reflected on what it means to see these performances and the hostile reality that people with different identities face on a daily basis.
“If we reflect on history we see, with sadness, that the powers that be, big and small, public and private, have deployed their libido dominandi discriminating against people and groups that deviate from schemes of “normality” or isolated, quiet, gradually grouped. the criteria of presumptions of inferiority,” he said.
Likewise, the Dean drew attention to how unfair it is for this community to protect its rights when they are theirs and the rules that govern them go back to the 19th century with the civil code, as read : “Every person of the human species is a person, regardless of age, sex, race or condition.” Therefore, she emphasized the need to create public policies and individual and community actions, both from institutions and the academic world, to guarantee these rights.
In the same way, the Minister of Justice, Angela María Buitrago, spoke about the work done by the Ministry through various initiatives to protect the LGBTIQ+ population, in accordance with the warnings given by the Inter-American Court of Rights. People on the subject.
“What the ACHR has said is that the physical and psychological integrity of the sexes would be protected and, although it recognizes important changes for their protection, biases are still created towards this population. It is not only an issue that must remain in practice, but there must be reinforcement to make this happen,” he said.
Colombia Diversa: two decades of work for LGBTIQ+ people
This organization, which works to protect and defend people with different identities, is celebrating 20 years in which they have collected all the information related to judicial achievements and key data so that researchers, public officials and society can generally learn about and work on different and accessible policies for this community.
This work is also carried out by the academic world and international cooperation entities, which have been carried out by political bodies. For this reason, Isabel Cristina Jaramillo, professor at the Universidad de los Andes, emphasized during the event that institutions like Colombia Diversa are fundamental to understanding the rights situation of LGBTIQ+ people. “Less than 20 years ago we had no idea of the danger faced by people with different identities and today, thanks to this institution, we have a generation of lawyers who know that people have rights,” said she
This event also included several panels focusing on justice and diversity. The first one had the participation of Arnoldo Quiroz, former president of the Supreme Court of Justice; María Daniela Díaz, professor at Externado University; Aquiles Arrieta, lawyer and philosopher from the University of the Andes; Lina Malagón, assistant magistrate of the Constitutional Court: and Marcela Sánchez, executive director of Colombia Diversa; and it was focused on the role of the Systems as a space for emancipation and proper recognition for LGBTIQ+ people.
Afterwards, public policies and the gap between the recognition and implementation of these rights were addressed with experts such as: Elena Ambros, former attorney general to monitor the peace agreement; Carolina Giraldo, Chamber Representative for Risaralda; Angélica Lozano, Senator of the Green Party; Néstor Osuna, former Minister of Justice and emeritus professor at Externado University; and Mónica Pachón, professor at the University of the Andes.
The day ended with an exploration of social mobilization and the role of the academy in the LGBTIQ+ movement, where the past, present and future were analysed. The following participated: Alejandra Azuero, lawyer from Universidad de los Andes; Esteban Restrepo, lawyer and specialist in constitutional law; Margarita Martínez, gender coordinator of DeJusticia and Yesid Reyes, director of the Department of Criminal Law at Externado University.
The final keynote address was given by Roberta Clarke, president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, who spoke about the challenges of guaranteeing the rights of LGBTIQ+ people in the region.
Finally, the event ended with the presentation of the exhibition ‘A Journey of Peace’, created by Colombia Diversa and exhibited at our university. This exhibition is a collection of testimonies from LGBTIQ+ people who stood up in the midst of war to express love, identity and relationships.