Last Change:
08/18/2025
Political Constitution of Colombia
Original names of the law: Constitución Política de Colombia
Year: 1991
Type: Domestic law
Rights Category: Asylum, Education, Freedom of movement, Health, Housing, land & property, Liberty & security of person, Nationality & facilitated naturalization, Social protection, Work & Workplace rights, Family life, Documentation
Description
The 1991 Constitution of Colombia establishes the nation as a social state under the rule of law, organized as a unitary, decentralized republic with autonomous territorial units. Significant reforms include the creation of the Constitutional Court, the establishment of mechanisms for citizen participation, and the recognition of collective and environmental rights. The Colombian Constitution recognizes the right to asylum, with conditions and procedures established according to the provisions specified by law, article 36.
Selected provisions
Constitution of Colombia 1991 (rev. 2013) - Generic
Colombia is a social state under the rule of law, organized in the form of a unitary republic, decentralized, with autonomy of its territorial units, democratic, participatory, and pluralistic, based on the respect of human dignity, the work and solidarity of the individuals who belong to it, and the prevalence of the general interest.
The essential goals of the State are to serve the community, promote the general prosperity, and guarantee the effectiveness of the principles, rights, and duties stipulated by the Constitution; to facilitate participation by everyone in the decisions that affect them and in the economic, political, administrative, and cultural life of the nation; to defend national independence, maintain territorial integrity, and ensure peaceful coexistence and enforcement of a just order.
The authorities of the Republic are established in order to protect all individuals residing in Colombia, in their life, honor, property, beliefs, and other rights and freedoms, and in order to ensure the fulfillment of the social duties of the State and individuals.
The Constitution provides the norm of regulations. In all cases of incompatibility between the Constitution and the statute or other legal regulations, the constitutional provisions shall apply.
It is the duty of citizens and of aliens in Colombia to obey the Constitution and the laws, and to respect and obey the authorities.
The State recognizes, without any discrimination whatsoever, the primacy of the inalienable rights of the individual and protects the family as the basic institution of society.
Nadie será sometido a desaparición forzada, a torturas ni a tratos o penas crueles, inhumanos o degradantes.
All individuals are born free and equal before the law, shall receive equal protection and treatment from the authorities, and shall enjoy the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities without any discrimination on account of gender, race, national or family origin, language, religion, political opinion, or philosophy.
The State shall promote the conditions so that equality may be real and effective and shall adopt measures in favor of groups that are discriminated against or marginalized.
The State shall especially protect those individuals who on account of their economic, physical, or mental condition are in obviously vulnerable circumstances and shall sanction the abuses or ill-treatment perpetrated against them.
Slavery, servitude, and the slave trade in all forms are prohibited.
Freedom of conscience is guaranteed. No one shall be importuned on account of his/her convictions or beliefs or compelled to reveal them or obliged to act against his/her conscience.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed. Every individual has the right to freely profess his/her religion and to disseminate it individually or collectively. All religious faiths and churches are equally free before the law.