In February, the Coalition for Police Reform, a group of human rights and police violence victims’ organizations, presented a set of proposals for police reform with a human rights and intersectional approach. Despite this, the government failed to implement legal reforms for a comprehensive police reform. Various initiatives changing the structure and operation of the police were approved, among them the introduction of a new police manual about the use of force during protests. confirming and strengthening their protection against discrimination. DISCRIMINATION In May, a declaration of national emergency on gender-based violence was included in the National Development Plan 2022-2026. The Colombian Observatory on Feminicides reported 483 gender-based killings of women and girls in 2023 up to November. The Regional Information Network on LGBTI Violence reported 21 killings of LGBTI people in Colombia in 2023 under the category of “violence due to prejudice” (violence that seeks to harm a person due to the negative perception of their gender identity or sexual orientation). The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed concerns about the impact of violence in the Pacific region on Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants and peasant communities. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS Indigenous Peoples were affected by violence and armed conflict throughout the country. In September, Indigenous communities in the Nariño province were forcibly displaced during armed violence. Some families reported being forcibly confined. The Awá people, in the south of the Pacific region, continued to be attacked by armed groups and demanded faster and better institutional response. Since 2009 the Constitutional Court had said that attacks against the Awá people have put them at risk of being exterminated. The Constitutional Court issued a ruling protecting the right of Indigenous Peoples to prior consultation regarding the administrative configuration of their territories. AFRO-DESCENDANTS’ RIGHTS In July, protests started after two incidents of possible racist police violence against two Afro-descendant young men in Valle del Cauca and Bolívar provinces, resulting in their deaths. Ilex Legal Action, Temblores NGO and the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights reported police involvement in systemic racism. PEASANTS’ RIGHTS The constitution was amended to recognize peasants as a collective rights-holder, The State of the World’s Human Rights WOMEN’S RIGHTS In June, a bill was passed extending the reach of the gender-parity rule to more decision-making authorities. The genderparity rule establishes a mandate guaranteeing a certain quota of women at the highest level of decision-making inside the Colombian institutional hierarchy. GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS In February, Doctors Without Borders reported the persistence of obstacles in accessing sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion, in Colombia. The Just Cause Movement identified at least nine barriers to abortion, among them a lack of awareness of the legal framework by health professionals, unnecessary requirements by health administrators, and undue delays in the provision of services. In August, the Constitutional Court confirmed the decriminalization of abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The court reversed decisions that jeopardized the legal effect of a decriminalization decision made in 2022. LGBTI PEOPLE’S RIGHTS In April, a person received a university degree matching their non-binary identity for the first time in Colombia. 135