Iván Duque receives the World Peace & Liberty Award "for Colombian democracy" from the King of Colombia

On Friday, King Felipe VI presented the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, with the World Peace & Liberty Award 2021 granted by the World Jurist Association (WJA), which this year has been awarded "to Colombian democracy".

The ceremony took place in the Colombian city of Barranquilla on the occasion of the XXVII Biennial World Law Congress Colombia 2021, organised by the World Jurist Association and in which more than 200 high-level speakers from around the world debated on the rule of law.

The King arrived last Wednesday in Barranquilla, where he was received by the Vice President and Chancellor of the Republic of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez; the Spanish Ambassador to Colombia, Joaquín de Arístegui; and the Colombian Ambassador to Spain, Luís Guillermo Plata. Afterwards, the King -who travelled accompanied by the Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop- attended a lunch offered by the President of Colombia and concluded the day with a meeting with a representation of the Spanish community in Barranquilla.

Yesterday, the King attended the closing ceremony of the World Law Congress 2021, during which the World Peace & Liberty Award ceremony was held, an award that in the past was received by personalities such as Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Felipe VI himself and which on this occasion, for the first time, has not gone to a person, but to a country, specifically to "the democracy of Colombia" on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the country's current Constitution.

During the ceremony, Felipe VI said that, "now that the democratic rule of law is suffering in some countries of the world from very worrying setbacks, we must highlight the efforts of the Colombian people and its institutions to give development, stability and vigour to its Constitution". Iván Duque then received the award from the King.