The Inter-American Court of Human Rights published a landmark decision ruling that the Colombian State is accountable for denying Ángel Alberto Duque, a HIV positive gay man, the enjoyment of his right to equality and nondiscrimination when he was denied the pension of his long time partner.

This is the first time that the IACHR rules on issues related to same-sex couples and the second, after Atala Riffo and daughters vs. Chile, on LGBTI rights. The potential impact of this decision on regional jurisprudence and on the international human rights system is enormous.

In 2002, the private pension fund –Colfondos- denied to Mr. Duque the pension of his deceased partner of 10 years, Jhon Óscar Jiménez. A judge ratified the decision arguing that the petitioner was in a same-sex relationship and that the “family had to be protected.”

The Court orders the Colombian State to start paying the pension within three months and retroactively for 13 years plus a US10000 dollar for immaterial injuries. Read more via El Espectador