Same-sex couples have had the freedom to marry since May 2016, a month after the country’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling in favor of the freedom to marry on April 28, 2016. The Court ruled that banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional under the Colombian Constitution of 1991 (decision here). 

A landmark case on the victory for humans rights of same-sex couples was Duque v. Colombia, which involved a petitioner who alleged that he was denied the right to a survivor’s pension due to his sexual orientation. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“IACHR”) submitted the case to the Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction on October 14, 2014 after Colombia failed to comply with its merits report recommendations (here).  

On September 26, 2016 the IACtHR held that Colombia had violated the petitioner’s right to equality and non-discrimination as provided for in the American Convention on Human Rights (full decision here and a summary here).