Stand with the Victims of Repression in Peru
49 people were killed and hundreds seriously injured by police and military personnel during the protests in Peru between December 2022 and February 2023. Over a year later, the victims and their families are still waiting for truth, justice and redress.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Peru between December 2022 and February 2023 to protest. The police and army responded with the unlawful use of bullets, tear gas, and rubber and metal pellets, causing 49 deaths and leaving hundreds of people seriously injured. Most of the victims belonged to historically marginalised communities, including Indigenous people and campesinos (rural farm workers).
The victims of this repression could be denied their rights to truth, justice and redress due to inaction from the authorities. To date, no public officials have been arrested in connection with the human rights violations committed. This includes officials who may have fired weapons and those who may have ordered or allowed the repression.
Although some important progress has been made, the investigations of the Attorney General’s Office have generally been slow and incomplete and have not fully considered the needs of victims.
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Amnesty’s 2023 report on Peru
This report highlights the excessive use of force used by security forces in response to protests, especially in regions with largely indigenous populations. Among other concerns, it notes the lack of reparations for the La Pampilla refinery oil spill; the significant risk still faced by human rights defenders; the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence; obstruction of the right to abortion in cases of child pregnancy; the undermining of gender equality; violence and discriminatory legislation still faced by LGBTI people; and denial of due protection to Venezuelans.
Significant Events from Newsletters 2024
July
Watch out for a new Amnesty report this month focusing on demanding justice and accountability for the victims of the military and police repression of the 2022/23 protests. Meanwhile The International Federation for Human Rights and Peru’s Association for Human Rights have made a submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing Peru’s President Dina Boluarte and members of her government of crimes against humanity in connection with the deaths of 49 people during the protests. It has called on the ICC to open a preliminary examination against Boluarte and members of her government regarding the allegations.
June
Human Rights Watch have reported that, on 10 May, the Peruvian government published a presidential decree classifying trans identities as mental health conditions in the country’s Essential Health Insurance Plan, which lists insurable health conditions for insurance policies. The Health Ministry has since affirmed that it does not view LGBT identities as “illnesses,” but the decree remains in place despite heavy criticism from Peruvian human rights organizations and activists.
Peru currently does not allow same-sex couples to marry or enter into civil unions, does not have a procedure for trans people to change their documents to reflect their gender identity, and does not have civil laws prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people.
February
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has warned that changes to Peru’s Forestry and Wildlife Law could legalise and encourage the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples from their lands and threaten their physical and cultural survival. The revised law permits the clearing of forested lands for agricultural purposes or other economic activities without requiring consideration of the existing forest ecosystems. The law explicitly mentions native and peasant communities and Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation but has not gone through a consultation process with a view to obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of these Peoples.