The Victims Unit accompanied the commemoration of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia that took place in the sports park of the fourth stage of La Esperanza neighborhood, in Villavicencio.
This date was established in order to commemorate the elimination of homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses by the General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Yeiner Jiménez, member of the Table of effective participation of victims in the municipal order of Villavicencio and departmental (of Meta) by the LGBTI differential approach, said that “the day featured symbolic acts in memory of survivors of armed conflict, as well as we spread a message about the need to advance every day for our rights, united, hand in hand with civil society, State, international cooperation agencies, who on this occasion joined the fight to claim the rights of victims who have a differential sexual orientation”.
“Through a football championship, we are in the heat of sport whose premises were tolerance, respect for difference and fair play. At the end of the meeting, the winners were awarded, taking into account that at the end we all won by supporting a common cause for non-discrimination”, affirmed Jiménez.
Nadim Rima, delegate of the Unit for the event, highlighted in his protocolary speech that “Law 1448 or Law of Victims of 2011 became the first legislative body in Colombia to make explicit recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people and intersex. This recognition is framed in identifying the affectation that the armed conflict has generated towards them, due to their sexual orientation and diverse gender identity. This nomination in the law has allowed that the actions undertaken for attention, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition include work with LGBTI persons affected by armed conflict and the organizations that represent them, promoting the direct participation of victims in decision scenarios for that in a joint way they influence on policies or programs that are implemented in the territories and that these have territorial, ethnic and gender approaches”.
The entities that joined the commemoration are the Mayor’s Office of Villavicencio, Meta Government, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Municipal Ombudsman, UNDP, the UN and the German cooperation agency GIZ through its ProPaz program.
(FIN/EVA/LMY)
