01/19/2021

On Tuesday 19 January, the hearing against Amanda Azucena Castillo Cortés, the former rector of Gimnasio Castillo Campestre, the school where Sergio Urrego, the young man who took his own life after the school authorities systematically discriminated against him because of his sexual orientation, restricting his rights to education, privacy and free development of his personality, was studying, was postponed once again. These events led to an emblematic trial in which the first conviction for sexual orientation discrimination in Colombian schools has already been issued.

The 43rd Circuit Criminal Court has already ordered the case to be dismissed against Amanda Azucena Castillo for the crime of discrimination, but the crime of false denunciation and concealment of material evidence is still pending, both of which are now in danger of being time-barred. This means that the case is closed without a verdict or conviction, as the time for the courts to rule has expired.

"I have been standing up to continue defending the rights of children in Colombia (...) today, almost six years after the death of my son, we are facing a case that has been emblematic for Colombia, for the defence of all Colombian children and young people, it is a case that clearly shows that a child was mistreated because of his diversity, because of his sexual orientation, that his rights were violated", she stated. Alba Reyes, mother of Sergio Urrego, in a video published on social networks in which he asks for speed in the process so that it is not shelved.

The Sergio's case has become a milestone and has led to landmark decisions both in the Constitutional Court and in the criminal courts. It is a case that has set a precedent and has made the country think about the route against discrimination ordered by the law on coexistence in schools. The criminal proceedings against Amanda Azucena Castillo Cortés could be closed and the message that the Sergio Urrego case leaves us with remains clear: the children and adolescents of the country are not alone and discrimination against them cannot be tolerated; on the contrary, it must be eradicated.