Colombia
In March 2023, the Colombian government announced that it is working on its Feminist Foreign Policy, centring the values of pacifism, participation, and intersectionality. The policy's intended goals are to promote gender equality, women's empowerment, and political participation of women in all their diversity, aside from respect for their human rights - including those of vulnerable population groups such as LGBTIQ+ people, and ethnic minorities, by mainstreaming the gender-transformative approach.
Three principles have been identified to guide this policy, namely pacifism (in line with the Colombian peace agreement), intersectionality (by recognizing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination), and participation (by encouraging women to engage actively in decision-making processes in the public and private spheres; Colombian Feminist Foreign Policy, Concept Note 2023). As part of its side event to the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Colombian government announced that its feminist foreign policy will promote a critical examination of the inequalities, roles, social norms, and gender dynamics and stereotypes, while also seeking to recognize and strengthen positive norms that support equality and enabling environments for women and girls. The policy itself remains to be released.
Colombia developed the National Development Plan 2022-2026, where it affirmed its commitment to serve as an international leader on gender equality issues. Prioritizing parity in its representation abroad, Colombia aims at applying feminist principles to address drug trade, promote gender equality across a range of different sectors, and prioritize pacifism (Government of Colombia, 2023).
Colombia also hosted the first national dialogue in building its feminist foreign policy, inviting representatives from civil society from within Colombia and world over, in 2022, under Laura Gill, the former Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs. The event also affirmed that Colombia’s Feminist Foreign Policy will be pacifist, in line with the “Paz Total” (Total Peace) Agenda under its National Development Plan 2022-2026, and participative and intersectional in nature, making space for the active role for women in all democratic processes, while recognizing the overlapping identities of race, class, and sexual orientation.
This was followed by an event alongside the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in March 2023. During this event, Deputy Minister Gil and Ambassador Arlene Tickner, Deputy Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, elaborated on Colombia’s approach to its feminist foreign policy, and named eight strategic areas of focus: (1) women, peace and security; (2) gender and climate change, (3) gender and commerce, (4) gender and migration, (5) gender and diplomacy, (6) gender and culture, (7) gender and cooperation, and (8) women and science. Colombia has been very clear about pursuing a gender-transformative approach to Feminist Foreign Policy, with a keen focus on the human rights of vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Following the Commission on the Status of Women this year, Laura Gil resigned from her position, and was succeeded by Elizabeth Taylor Jay, although civil society made a strong case for Laura Gil to continue holding her position – based on her track record in pursuing feminist engagements. In June 2023, Colombia also appointed a new gender advisor, Diana Maria Parra Romero, to take a lead role in implementing the feminist foreign policy. In July 2023, a press briefing helmed by Elizabeth Taylor Jay reaffirmed the Colombian commitment to adopting a feminist foreign policy, and indicated that it would back the design and implementation of policy with appropriate financial and human resources, and promote women to high-level positions (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023).
This was followed by a presentation adding to the general document indicating its commitment to adopt a feminist foreign policy, and centred the pacifist, participative, intersectional, and transformative framework, while also affirming the rights, representation, and resources as the key pillars.
The presentation identifies 12 topic areas forming the focus of the Colombian feminist foreign policy, divided into four groups, as follows:
Social justice: Participation and representation, Trade and labour (including paid and unpaid care), Migration
Total Peace: Women, Peace, and Security (Resolution 1325), Gender-based violence, Drugs and society
Environmental justice: Environmental protection, conservation, and restoration, Climate change, Biodiversity
Education, science, and culture: Education for life, Women in sport, Culture
Colombia named four key approaches to achieving its policy. First, a coherent approach that centres internal and external dynamics at the ministerial and multilateral/bilateral levels, respectively; Second, establishing criteria and guidelines to support affirmative action and equality mechanisms in institutional action plans; Third, information systems with indicators for monitoring; and Fourth, participatory mechanisms to support the engagement of social organizations, LGBTQIA+ people, and women in all their diversity. This will be supported by an internal working group and an investment plan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2023; Thompson et al., 2023). To facilitate institutionalization, Colombia will establish an internal working group and develop an investment plan.
While a lot of the actual policy itself remains to be articulated, there has been no information on how it will measure its impacts or pursue accountability. Colombia has indicated a commitment to develop information systems comprising indicators, measurement, and monitoring mechanisms but has not provided details. It is useful to bear in mind that the most recent National Development Plan (2022-2026) mentioned a commitment to a “pacifist, participative, and intersectional feminist foreign policy” (Government of Colombia, 2023; Thompson et al., 2023). However, since Laura Gil left, a recent document from Colombia’s Congress suggests that Colombia has committed to adopting a “foreign policy with a gender perspective,” which is a clear, intentional exclusion of the term “feminist.”
Official Launch
At the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 68 in March 2024, the Colombian FFP was officially launched by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Colombia led the event 'Feminist Foreign Policy as a key response to the multiple challenges facing the Latin American and Caribbean region',
Broadly, Colombia’s FFP emphasizes the role of the participation of and partnership with feminist movements, the deployment of gender transformative approaches, and the centring of intersectionality and peace as its key goals. This FFP is very much grounded in Colombia’s history of movement-building toward both inclusive peace and gender equality through the implementation of the WPS Agenda. The FFP aims at extending the ideas of participatory peace, effective implementation, and multilateralism.
Recognizing the value of collective action, the Colombian FFP also strives to transform all portfolios of its foreign affairs, with the aim of shaping global conversations around the feminist agenda.
Colombia’s FFP focuses on four areas: Social and Environmental Justice, Total Peace, and Education, Science, and Culture. It was cocreated with 18 intersectional feminist organizations and in partnership with 10 bureaus at the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Diana Parra Romero, the advisor for Gender Affairs and Feminist Foreign Policy of the Colombian Foreign Ministry indicated that Colombia assumed presidency of the International Alliance for the Initiative to Prevent Sexual Violence in Conflicts in order to build total peace with a gender perspective. It is also set to host the Center of Excellence for Women, Peace, and Security in Latin America and the Caribbean within the framework of compliance with the WPS Agenda.
References
Colombian Feminist Foreign Policy: Concept Note https://unwlobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/csw/475037b3-cda8-4686-997a-c01267482e51_Concept%20note.%20Side-Event.%20Colombian%20Feminist%20Foreign%20Policy.pdf
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (Cancillería de Colombia). (July 2023). Cancillería inicia el diseño de la política exterior feminista, de la mano de organizaciones de mujeres y personas LGBTIQ+. https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/newsroom/news/canciller ia-inicia-diseno-politica-exterior-feminista-mano- organizaciones-mujeres
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia (Cancillería de Colombia). Preliminary Presentation on FFP. Gobierno de Colombia.
Government of Colombia. (2023). Plan Nacional de Desarollo 2022-2026. https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/portalDNP/PND- 2023/2023-05-04-bases-plan-nacional-de-inversiones- 2022-2026.pdf
