He Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent* this Friday urged the Government of Colombia to confront systemic and institutional racism that this population group has suffered over the centuries.
At the conclusion of a ten-day official visit to the South American country, the Group noted in a statement that Colombia “must undertake effective transformative change to restore dignity, repair invisibility and defend the recognition and rights of people of African descent.
The experts recognized that Colombia has adopted legal, political and strategic provisions and created institutions to protect human rights and address violations, and that national courts have begun to issue rulings in favor of people of African descent.
Government committed to justice
In this sense, they affirmed that with a new government “committed to justice and human rights, Colombia has the unique opportunity to break the cycle of centuries of discrimination and racism institutionalized, structural and systemic attacks against people of African descent.”
Despite the progress, they stated that the country has made less progress in improving the daily life of this group since their poverty has not been alleviatednor have they been guaranteed their rights to security, education, housing, employment, access to basic services, freedom of movement, access to justice, participation in political and public affairs, representation adequate governance, self-government and rights over territory.
“Colombia must guarantee these rights without violence or discrimination,” the Working Group emphasized.
State abandonment and lack of autonomy
After asserting that Afro-descendants and their territories have been the biggest victims of conflicts in Colombiarecalled that discrimination and racism are characterized by state abandonment and lack of autonomy and self-government.
During their visit to the country, the experts spoke with people of African descent, including women, young people, human rights defenders and LGBTIQ+ people who assured them that the regions they inhabit are areas of “racial sacrifice” characterized by confinement.
The testimonies reported violence, including sexual and gender violence, rape as a weapon of warkidnappings, femicides, brutal murders particularly by armed groups and organized crime cartels, extortion and brutal dispossession of lands.
Likewise, they were informed of the forced recruitment of children into armed groups, forced disappearancesforced displacement, mutilations, use of children for illegal activities, and the deterioration and destruction of livelihoods and their social fabric.
Abuses foster distrust
The experts maintained that these abuses They exhaust Afro-descendants and foster distrust of authorities and local authorities, including the armed forces, for failing to protect them and ensure an adequate standard of living.
Colombia must ensure structural and institutional reform that guarantees the country’s Afro-descendants the full and free exercise of their rights, they stressed, and urged the authorities to adopt ethnic approaches to reparation.
The Group also called on Colombia to ensure the meaningful participation and consultation of people of African descent in all processes and policies that may affect them, including in the context of the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement.
The full report of the Working Group on its observations in Colombia will be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2025.
*The Working Groups are part of what is known as Procedures Specials of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent investigative and oversight mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address specific country situations or thematic issues around the world. They are not part of the UN staff and are independent of any government or organization. They provide their services on an individual basis and do not receive a salary for their work.
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