Differential approach in Colombia

Talking about differential approach anywhere in the world and in Colombia specifically, deserves our attention and approach, given the importance of our plurality of cultures, ethnicities, races that derive precisely from the diversity of regions, idiosyncrasies, traditions and customs that converge throughout the national territory.

To this end, it is relevant to approach its conceptualization. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the differential approach has a double meaning: on the one hand, it is a method of analysis and, on the other, a guide for action. In the first case, it employs a reading of reality that seeks to make visible the forms of discrimination against groups considered different by a majority or hegemonic group. In the second case, it takes this analysis into account in order to provide adequate attention and protection to the rights of the population.

Therefore, the differential approach is fundamental and relevant in the country, to the extent that it must become a tool that is articulated both in the public and private spheres, to ensure the welfare and enjoyment of the rights of citizens, which is one of its purposes.

In this sense, the approach makes it possible to make visible, for example, acts of violence and systematic violation of the human rights of a specific population, which historically and culturally have been discriminated against; the absence and weakness of public policies with a rights-based approach; it also points out the inconveniences and resistance to recognize and accept the differences, inequalities and needs of some populations, among others.

It is also important to bear in mind that International Humanitarian Law recognizes that some peoples and groups have differentiated protection needs based on specific situations of vulnerability or inequalities in the societies to which they belong. Therefore, it is relevant to mention the relationship between the differential approach and the gender approach, as well as the relationship with the ethnic approach. In the first, it makes visible the quality of the relationship between men, women and the LGTBI community (Lesbian, gay, transsexual, bisexual and intersex) and how these relationships facilitate actions that have to do with their rights, needs and capabilities. Also, in many societies, such as Colombia's, where historically a patriarchal culture has been perpetuated, the gender approach seeks to solve problems of unequal opportunities, unequal access to education, work and training, violence against women and their low political participation, among others.

As for the relationship with the ethnic approach, it is important to mention that it is related to ethnic and cultural diversity, this diversity is evident in the uniqueness of the communities, but also in the plurality of their identities, which contributes greatly to the richness of humanity.

In the world and in Colombia, for decades there has been diverse legislation that seeks to vindicate and guarantee the rights of these communities, such as ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries of 1989, Decree 1397 of 1996, which created the National Commission on Indigenous Territories, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007, as well as Law 70 of 1993, which establishes the rights of Afro, black, Palanquero, Room and Raizal communities, among others.

It is clear that there are normative advances in this aspect, but it is also absolutely necessary to introduce the differential approach in the different policies, plans and projects of the public and private sectors, always respecting their multiplicity and ancestral traditions. Generating an articulation of strong actions to always favor diversity and multiculturalism in all areas, for the welfare and progress of the entire population of the country.