This report assesses women’s access to justice and women’s political participation in parliament, local councils and civil society organisations at national and subnational level in Colombia. It examines existing legal, political and institutional frameworks in order to better understanding of successes, challenges and implementation gaps in the government’s pursuit of access to justice and gender-equality.

This report assesses the current landscape of women’s access to justice in Colombia and women’s political participation in parliament, local councils and civil society organisations at a national and subnational level. It reviews the existing legal, policy and institutional frameworks that promote women’s access to justice and political participation, including international commitments and key national legislation, and assesses the successes, challenges and gaps in the implementation of access to justice and gender-equality objectives within the government’s current policy-making frameworks and processes. The drafting of this report was finished by October 2019, date after which it was revised and edited. Therefore, information on some of the most recent events are not included (i.e. 2019´s local elections results).

Colombia has made major strides in the past two decades towards designing and delivering policies that foster gender equality. It has ratified all international treaties on women’s rights, and has updated its laws to reflect those commitments. Colombia’s Quota Law of 2000 establishes that women must hold at least 30% of top decision-making positions in the public administration, while its Electoral Reform Law of 2011 stipulates that women must represent at least 30% of the candidates on party lists in elections. Colombia produced a National Policy on Gender Equality in 2013. Moreover, the National Development Plan 2018-22 includes a chapter on women’s rights based on three dimensions: economic, political and physical integrity, including violence against women. The country is currently implementing a ten-year plan to improve access to justice that is helping national and subnational authorities co-ordinate common goals, including the protection of women’s rights.

This chapter presents a succinct overview of the status of gender equality in Colombia. It explores the policy and legal instruments as well as existing barriers and gaps in attaining gender equality. It briefly maps factors that affect women’s empowerment at the national and local levels, such as access to education and employment, violence against women, problems faced by the indigenous populations and the internal armed conflict in selected regions. Based on a multidimensional understanding of women’s empowerment, it proposes an empowerment continuum to enhance women’s access to justice and politics at the local level.

This chapter evaluates women’s political participation in Colombia within the framework of the 2015 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Gender Equality in Public Life. It assesses the current landscape of women’s political participation in the national parliament and in local councils at the national and subnational levels, specifically in the departments of Putumayo and Chocó, and in their municipalities of Mocoa and Quibdó. The chapter discusses the existing legal and policy frameworks and institutional mechanisms for promoting gender equality in political participation. It offers an assessment of key achievements, challenges and gaps in the implementation of gender-equality objectives within government decision-making frameworks and processes, namely in relation to women’s political participation.

The joint OECD-SIDA project includes a specific component on access to justice as a human right. Its objective is to build on and support the ongoing efforts of the Colombian government with regards to women’s needs. This chapter highlights recent achievements in Colombia’s justice sector regarding access to justice, with a special focus on women victims of violence. It also addresses challenges regarding women’s access to formal and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, considering the justice needs in Colombia and the institutional response in cases of violence against women. It provides solutions to enhance access to justice for all women, particularly in rural areas affected by internal conflict and including women victims of violence. In light of recommendations of the Accession report, recommendations are designed to assist with implementing Colombia’s commitments under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically SDG 16.3 on equal access to justice for all.