WIGJ at the 42nd FIDH Congress in Colombia
November 10, 2025—Our colleagues Juliana Laguna Trujillo and Valeria Babără recently travelled to Bogotá for the 42nd FIDH Congress, a global gathering of human rights defenders shaping strategies for justice worldwide.
Gender justice was a central focus of the Congress, with multiple discussions highlighting feminist perspectives on peacebuilding, the investigation of gender-based crimes, and the role of collective resistance and solidarity.
Alongside the Congress, they met with various partners, including members of the Cinco Claves Alliance (Corporación Humanas, Women’s Link Worldwide, Colombia Diversa, Sisma Mujer, and La Red Nacional de Mujeres), Dejusticia, Civil Rights Defenders, All Survivors Project, Global Survivors Fund, the Gender and Peace Alliance, and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
These exchanges build on the team’s ongoing dialogue about the evolving developments and challenges within Colombia’s transitional justice landscape, while also exploring collaborative strategies to enhance gender and intersectional competence in accountability processes.
Colombia’s intricate and innovative transitional justice landscape serves as both a complex testing ground and a source of inspiration, offering valuable insights and lessons learnt that can inform justice pursuits worldwide into how deeply divided societies can seek accountability, pursue truth and reparation, particularly for victims and survivors of gender-based crimes.
Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice’s work in Colombia
WIGJ launched a project in Colombia in 2020 to promote awareness of The Hague Principles on Sexual Violence and to highlight “other forms of sexual violence” often overlooked in conflict-related contexts. The initiative aimed at complementing national justice efforts, including those by the Attorney General’s Office and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
As a result of this work, a Practical Guide on Acts of a Sexual Nature was developed, providing Colombian practitioners with legal context, examples, jurisprudence, and analytical tools to strengthen accountability and deepen understanding of sexual violence in conflict.
In 2025, WIGJ and the JEP signed a Memorandum of Understanding to carry out joint actions to promote the exchange of good practices and experiences between the JEP and other actors in the field of international justice and accountability around gender justice.
Photo L-R: Juliana Laguna Trujillo (WIGJ), Danya Chaikel (FIDH), Valeria Babara (WIGJ).