Global Forum on Migration and Development 2025 in Colombia

22.05.2025

The Global Forum on Migration and Development must not overlook the voices of LGBTIQ+ migrants – voices shaped by fear, exclusion and new forms of belonging.

Teilnehmende der LGBTIQ+-Community bei einer Pride-Veranstaltung in Cartagena 2023.

of Caribe Afirmativo LGBTIQ+-Pride-Parade in Cartagena 2023

Colombia: An ambivalent destination

Colombia has become one of the main destination countries for refugees fleeing difficult living conditions in Venezuela. Of the 7.7 million people who have left Venezuela, more than 2.8 million have settled in Colombia. This includes a large number of LGBTIQ+ people who are doubly vulnerable – due to both their nationality and their sexual orientation or gender identity.

An unpublished study by Colombian non-profit organisation Caribe Afirmativo looked at the experiences of Venezuelan LGBTIQ+ migrants in four Colombian cities (Medellín, Barranquilla, Cartagena and Valledupar). The study, which will soon be published on the organisation’s homepage, provides insight into the lives of these individuals, who reside in urban areas characterised by inequality.

The perspective of the excluded

The qualitative study, conducted between 2023 and 2024, drew on interviews, exploratory walks through the city and collective discussion groups. The methodology chosen prioritises the voices of those affected, recognising the vital insights their experiences and knowledge offer.

The comments and statements collected during the study show that not only do these migrants face barriers in accessing employment, housing and healthcare, but they are also stigmatised, monitored or symbolically excluded within public spaces.

Four cities, one struggle for visibility

Medellín, a modern metropolis with a population of 2.5 million, is a city where discrimination profoundly shapes everyday life – particularly for trans women from migrant communities. In Barranquilla, home to 1.2 million inhabitants, LGBTIQ+ migrants may find refuge but experience severe stigma at the same time. Cartagena, a historical tourist city, denies migrants access to even basic infrastructure. In Valledupar, one of Colombia’s smaller cities, religion and family pressures force LGBTIQ+ people to lead invisible lives.

These cities each have different characteristics, yet they all reveal the same patterns of exclusion. In the face of these challenges, LGBTIQ+ migrants devise courageous and creative strategies – to help them adapt and survive. They organise shared housing for like-minded individuals, form peer support networks or even set up small businesses, thereby venturing into the public sphere. They also create virtual self-help groups as another means of mutual support.

Eine Trans*Person trägt ein schwarz-goldenes Kostüm und hält eine Flagge der NGO Caribe Afirmativo.

of Caribe Afirmativo Collective Muzas: Performance "transformaciones afirmativas (positive change)" for the International Day of Trans*Visibility in Medellín, 2022.

Verkleidete Person liegt bei der Performance "Transformaciones Afirmativas (Positive Veränderungen)" des Kollektivs Muzas auf der Bühne.

of Caribe Afirmativo

Redefining integration

Migration involves more than just escaping political repression or material hardship; it also includes those fleeing discrimination due to their sexual identity. For any migrant, integrating in a new city or country entails challenges that have to be navigated daily. For those that fall outside the established gender roles or ideas of sexuality that prevail in their host countries, however, integration is especially difficult.

The Caribe Afirmativo study shows that integration requires so much more than, as is often assumed, the fulfilment of basic material needs such as housing or employment. Equally essential are freedom of self-expression and self-fulfilment, a sense of belonging and the ability to live without constant fear.

LGBTIQ+ migrants seek more than just existential security. They demand their “right to the city” – the freedom to move safely and without restriction in public space, and to love who they choose without societal condemnation.

Steps towards sustainable progress

Caribe Afirmativo proposes the following steps to achieve sustainable integration:

Inclusive policymaking: The specific needs of LGBTQI+ migrants must be recognised and non-discriminatory access to healthcare, education and protection services guaranteed.
Awareness-raising among authorities: Training for civil servants, developed in cooperation with LGBTQI+ organisations, is needed to prevent institutional discrimination.
Support for self-organisation: Networks within districts with high concentrations of Venezuelan migrants require targeted support.
Participation in decision-making processes: LGBTIQ+ migrants must be included in political decision-making, enabling them to advocate for their rights in areas such as migration policy and urban planning.

Seen as an act of resistance

The Caribe Afirmativo study highlights the remarkable courage and creativity demonstrated by Venezuelan migrants.

Despite the challenging circumstances, they succeed in forging alternative ways of life and building new forms of community in their host country Colombia. They assert their right to visibility, to express their identity and to belong. For many, simply “being seen” has become a daily expression of freedom but also a form of resistance in a world that continually tries to confine their lives – within both physical and symbolic boundaries.

Die längste LGBTIQ+-Flagge Lateinamerikas in Barranquilla.

of Caribe Afirmativo The longest LGBTIQ+ flag in Latin America. Action by Caribe Afirmativo to celebrate LGBTIQ+ Pride Month in Barranquilla. 2021.

Global Forum on Migration and Development

The GFMD is an informal, government-led and non-binding process outside the UN system, launched by Kofi Annan in 2006. It promotes migration and development through dialogue, structures international priorities and facilitates the exchange of best practices. Civil society organisations are actively involved, coordinated by the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM).