On December 7, 2022, the Peruvian Congress removed and imprisoned President Pedro Castillo, accused of having tried to dissolve that body. Dina Boluarte, until then vice president, replaced Castillo, sparking a series of protests throughout Peru demanding the holding of elections, constitutional reform and the release of Castilloamong other demands.
The government’s response was to originally declare a state of emergency for a month, but the measure has been renewed and remains in force without meeting the demands of the population.
Within this framework, a group of seven special rapporteurs and two UN working groups* in human rights reported having denunciations of repression, murders, arrests and forced disappearances of protesters in the Andean country.
Those reports show 48 protesters killed, 1,301 injuredhundreds of detainees and at least one disappeared, according to the most recent report of the Ombudsman of Peru.
“The serious denunciations of excessive use of force by security agencies and the government’s inability to create an environment conducive to dialogue are cause for great concern,” said the experts, who sent a communication to the Peruvian government raising their concerns and observations.
Accountability
They recalled that the use of force, especially armed force, must respond to the fundamental principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality.
“Any loss of life resulting from the excessive use of force without strict compliance with these principles is an arbitrary deprivation of life and, therefore, illegal,” they emphasized, calling for accountability in those cases.
They added that in any democratic society, people have the right to protest and raise concerns about political changes affecting their lives and livelihoods.
According to experts, Peruvian democracy is facing a credibility crisis that can only be resolved through genuine dialogue, in which the population participates and their aspirations for reform are taken into account, for which reason they urged the authorities to initiate this process to put an end to the political crisis.
Forced disappearences
The rapporteurs explained that an initially legal detention can lead to a forced disappearance if the authorities in charge of the detention they do not acknowledge that the person is detained or do not provide information about their fate or whereabouts, regardless of the duration of the deprivation of liberty.
“It is important to provide information to the victims and their families,” they said.
On the other hand, they referred to the reports of deliberate attacks by police against journalists and media workers while covering the protests, and called on the government to guarantee that these professionals can work in safe and dignified conditions.
They requested the same guarantees for the Ombudsman’s Office, which collects evidence on abuses.
They also stressed the State’s obligation to promptly, independently, efficiently and impartially investigate all alleged human rights violations committed during the demonstrations.
terrorism accusations
Regarding the stigmatization of people who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly, classifying them as terrorists, they highlighted that these accusations disproportionately affect human rights defenders, indigenous peoples and peasant communities.
“Although the State must guarantee accountability for the acts of violence denounced and committed by some protesters, a distinction must be made between those who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and those who commit acts of violence in the context of the demonstrations”, the special rapporteurs stated.
In this regard, they stressed the obligation of the State to guarantee that people who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly are not subject to intimidation and reprisals.
The experts concluded by reiterating their call for a rapid political solution based on dialogue, which takes into account the need for accountability and an end to the repression.
The experts signing the statement are: Mr. Clement N. Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of peaceful assembly and of association; Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Aua Baldé (President-Rapporteur); Gabriella Citroni (Vice President), Angkhana Neelapaijit, Grażyna Baranowska, Luciano Hazan, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Ms. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Miriam Estrada-Castillo (President Rapporteur), Mumba Malila (Vice president); Ganna Yudkiviska, Ms. Priya Golapan, Matthew Gillett, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression.
* The experts are part of what is known as the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name for the council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
