COLOMBIA’S President Gustavo Petro presented a Bill to parliament on Tuesday to create a new Ministry of Equality and Equity.

Mr Petro told lawmakers that the new ministry “would be a central agency of the executive branch.”

Speaking in the Constitutional Hall of the National Capitol in Cali, flanked by Vice-President Francia Marquez, the president said the proposal was aimed at making progress in “the fight against discrimination based not only on gender inequality, but also on sexual preferences.”