Being normal doesn't come easy to me: queering transitional justice mechanisms to enable justice-delivery for LGBTIQ+ persons

Abstract

Inglés: As judicial representatives of LGBTQI+ victims before the Colombian transitional justice tribunal, we have found that our demands for justice shake the positivist foundations of transitional justice, perhaps with greater intensity than international criminal law can withstand. The formal inclusion of historically excluded populations in protocols or guidelines for justice delivery have proven insufficient without the profound transformation of the ways in which violence and conflict have been investigated and analysed. This paper explores the possibilities of queering transitional justice with the use of methodological and analytical alternatives that can enable the access to justice for LGBTIQ+ persons. Through case study and documentary analysis, this paper explores the possibilities of queer reading and other queer coding strategies as tools for judicial investigation, analysis and interpretation by advocates, justices and other relevant actors in the transitional justice scenario in Colombia. Finally, it provides policy recommendations for a more comprehensive understanding and response to the gendered dimensions of conflict, enabling justice delivery for victims in other transitional justice ecosystems around the world.