NGO Submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Working Group for Colombia

August 27, 2017

Authors: Colectiva Polimorfas, Asociación Probienestar de la Familia Colombiana (Profamilia), and Women Enabled International (WEI)

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, approximately 15% of people worldwide are persons with disabilities, and women with disabilities account for 19.2% of the total population of women around the world.2 In Colombia, the Ministry of Health is in charge of the National Registry for Persons with Disabilities, which states that there are 1,326,905 persons with disabilities registered in the country as of July 31, 2017. This accounts for about 2.7% of the estimated total population of Colombia on that date. 3 According to the Ministry of Health and the Presidential Advisory Office for Equity of Women, about 53% of Colombians with disabilities are women, roughly 25% of whom live in Bogotá, Colombia.

This submission outlines the harmful effects of Colombia’s guardianship law in violation of the government’s obligations under the ICESCR. The submission then identifies other areas where Colombian women and girls with disabilities encounter barriers to the realization of their ESC rights. The submission concludes with suggested recommendations that this Committee could make to Colombia to provide guidance to the State to ensure that its legislative and policy framework protects, rather than violates, the ESC rights of women with disabilities.