We have heard a lot about the current situation of human rights defenders in our country, day by day we see in the headlines how the number of murders against these people who fight for social justice in our country is increasing. However, we have seen little of those LGBT leaders who risk their lives to defend the lives of others who, like them, suffer stigma and prejudice.

This is why Colombia Diversa took advantage of the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders in Colombia, Michel Forst, to talk to him and tell him about the situation of LGBT social leaders. After this conversation, this senior UN official issued a final statement of his visit, these were his statements:

One of their first findings is that LGBT leaders suffer a double risk, because of the social work they do and because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This was proven by the threats received by these people, by the attacks of armed groups and by the hate speeches that have been repeated recently.

However, the special rapporteur did not limit himself to talking about his findings, he also made recommendations to entities in charge of safeguarding the rights of social defenders. Firstly, he asked the National Protection Unit to "identify protection measures that respond to the specific needs of LGBTI persons, in close consultation with LGBTI defenders".