Colombia Quits the Global LGBTI Rights Coalition It Was Co-Chairing

Colombia · Politics

Colombia gave up a seat its own co-chair says took years to secure, and gave no reason. The rights themselves sit in court rulings that a diplomatic note cannot touch.

Colombia’s foreign ministry in Bogota, which sent the withdrawal note on 17 September (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Colombia’s foreign ministry withdrew the country from the Equal Rights Coalition on 17 September 2026. The note gave no reason, and took effect the same day.

What the Foreign Ministry Did

The withdrawal went out as diplomatic note S-DVAMCP-26-024300, reported by the outlet Mi Oriente. It came from the vice-ministry for migration, consular affairs and international protection.

The text told the coalition’s executive committee that the government had decided to leave. The operative line says the national government has decided the withdrawal of the Republic of Colombia, effective from today.

Infobae reported that the ministry also informed the government of Spain, Colombia’s partner in the chair. Nothing in the note set out a reason for the decision.

The Reason the Government Gave Later

A day after the note, the vice-minister Pedro Agustin Roa recorded a video statement. He said Colombia has a very robust body of rights protected by the constitution, public policy and a set of rules.

He added that rulings of the Constitutional Court protect minorities on grounds of sexual orientation. El Heraldo quoted the ministry saying the exit does not in any way mean a step backwards on LGBTI rights.

El Universal reported the ministry’s position that taking part in the coalition was not a priority for this government. Caribe Afirmativo told El Espectador its own sources put the decision down to the membership being seen as a legacy of the previous government.

What the Equal Rights Coalition Is

The coalition was founded in 2016 at the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference in Montevideo. Uruguay and the Netherlands led its creation, according to the coalition’s own history page.

El Tiempo described it as an intergovernmental body dedicated to protecting the rights of LGBTI people. Its own pages carry both 43 and 44 member states, and Colombian outlets used both this week.

Colombian outlets used both numbers this week, and one agency report said 45. The work runs through five thematic groups covering diplomacy, national law, donor coordination, humanitarian protection and the 2030 agenda.

How the Chair Works and What Colombia Held

Two member states and two civil-society organisations share the chair for two-year terms. Colombia and Spain held the government seats, with Caribe Afirmativo and Fundacion Triangulo alongside them.

The coalition’s site lists that pairing under the 2024 to 2026 period. El Espectador dated the start to 17 December 2024 and said the term ran to February 2027.

Other outlets described the term as running from 2025 to 2027, so the end date is not settled in the reporting. Noticaribe reported that Colombia joined under Gustavo Petro, after years of groundwork under Juan Manuel Santos and Ivan Duque.

El Espectador said no member state had previously left the coalition while holding the chair. No public record of an earlier withdrawal by any other member state was found this week.

How Civil Society Responded

Caribe Afirmativo held the civil-society half of Colombia’s chair and was not consulted in advance. Its director Wilson Castaneda told El Tiempo the move was an unfortunate decision.

He said it was the clearest decision this government has taken against LGBTI rights, with an international impact. He added that it leaves Colombia in a bad position internationally, signalling no recognition of protection for LGBTI people.

Speaking to La Silla Vacia, he said it would have been healthier to at least wait for the end of the chair. Noticaribe quoted the organisation calling the exit a snub to the international community and a break with the leadership Colombia had built.

The group said it had counted 24 government actions in 40 days that it argues weaken LGBTI rights. The NGO Temblores said the government must publicly explain why it took the decision.

The Ombudsperson and Other Critics

Colombia’s ombudsperson, Iris Marin, responded publicly to the withdrawal. She said LGBTIQ+ people need the backing of the state, and the state cannot stop giving it.

She cited 68 killings of trans women between 2024 and April 2026, and 148 killings of LGBTI people during 2025. El Universal reported the first as an attorney general’s figure and the second as the forensic institute’s; the anthropologist David J.

Luquetta told La Silla Vacia that public discourse determines what a society treats as tolerable, suspect or undesirable. Semana reported that politicians from several sectors spoke against the decision, without naming them in the piece reviewed.

What Colombian Law Still Says

A withdrawal from an intergovernmental coalition does not amend Colombian law. The coalition has no treaty, no binding obligations on members and no enforcement power.

Same-sex marriage rests on Constitutional Court ruling SU-214 of 2016, issued on 28 April that year. Adoption by same-sex couples rests on ruling C-683 of 2015, issued on 4 November 2015.

That ruling held that the sexual orientation of a person cannot be confused with a lack of suitability to adopt. It read the children’s code as covering same-sex couples who form a family.

Law 1482 of 30 November 2011 added article 134A to the penal code, punishing acts of discrimination. Sexual orientation is named among the protected grounds, with 12 to 36 months and a fine, as amended in 2015.

The Wider Policy Direction Since 7 August

Abelardo de la Espriella took office on 7 August 2026 and has moved quickly on foreign policy. On 10 August his government recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the second state to do so.

It also restored ties with Israel and recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, MercoPress reported. Colombia joined the United States anti-drug initiative known as Shield of the Americas.

El Universal reported 85 extraditions in the government’s first 40 days. During the campaign the president said a child needs a father and a mother, and opposed adoption by same-sex couples.

What It Means If You Live or Invest in Colombia

For residents, nothing in the civil registry, marriage, adoption or criminal law changed on 17 September. Notaries and judges continue to apply the same rulings they applied the week before.

For employers, the anti-discrimination provisions of the penal code are unaffected by this decision. Company policies written to Colombian law need no revision because of this decision.

The change is diplomatic, affecting where Colombian officials sit and which joint statements they sign. Any shift in domestic entitlements would require Congress or the Constitutional Court, not the foreign ministry.

What Is Not Yet Known

Spain has not published a public response, and neither has the coalition’s secretariat. It is unclear who will complete the government half of the chair for the remainder of the term.

The ministry has not said whether Colombia will keep taking part in the coalition’s working groups as an observer. No figure has been published for what membership cost the Colombian budget.

Rights groups have asked publicly for the reasoning, and raised concern over the foreign ministry’s 2027 budget. The ministry had not answered that request at the time of writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: Equal Rights Coalition, membership, co-chairs and working groups, El Espectador, the withdrawal note and the chair dates, El Heraldo, the foreign ministry’s explanation, El Universal, the vice-minister and the ombudsperson, El Tiempo, Wilson Castaneda’s response, La Silla Vacia, reactions and context, Noticaribe, Caribe Afirmativo and Temblores, Constitutional Court, ruling C-683 of 2015 on adoption