Attachments
Human Rights Council
Fifty-sixth session
18 June–12 July 2024
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
Summary
The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, conducted an official visit to Peru from 8 to 17 May 2023 to assess the situation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the country, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 15/21 and 41/12. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur focuses on a series of large-scale protests in Peru since December 2022 and the State’s response to these. He expresses concerns about reports of excessive use of force by security forces in the context of protests as well as increasing restrictions in law and in practice, which have impaired the effective enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government ensure accountability, foster national dialogue, and implement legal and policy reforms to protect the rights to freedom of assembly and association, as part of measures to overcome underlying causes of the recent waves of protests, in particular persistent discrimination against and marginalization of Indigenous rural communities. The Special Rapporteur remains committed to working with the Government and the people of Peru in their efforts to meet the State’s obligations under international human rights law.
Annex
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, on his visit to Peru
I. Introduction
1. The Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, visited Peru from 8 to 17 May 2023 at the invitation of the Government. The purpose of the visit was to assess the exercise, promotion and protection of the rights under his mandate and to closely assess the situation in the country, following a series of countrywide protests that had begun on 7 December 2022.
2. The Special Rapporteur held meetings in Lima, Cuzco, Puno and Juliaca with a wide range of government officials, civil society representatives and stakeholders, including from the private sector, from all over the country. The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the Government for inviting him to undertake the visit and for facilitating meetings with representatives of government institutions. In particular, the Special Rapporteur met with the President of Peru, the President of the Council of Ministers, and the Minister and Vice-Minister of Justice and Human Rights, as well as with the Minister and high-level officials of the Ministry of Defence, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Culture, and with the highest-level officials of the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, the Tribunal of Transparency and Access to Public Information, the National Police of Peru, the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, and representatives and members of the National Penitentiary Institute, and of the multisectoral commission related to the protests. The Special Rapporteur is also grateful for the meetings and exchanges of views with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic and of the Judiciary, the President of Congress, and representatives of the Constitutional Court, the judiciary, the National Electoral Authority, the National Office of Electoral Processes, the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status and the Office of the Ombudsperson.
3. Following his meetings in the capital, the Special Rapporteur also visited Cuzco, Juliaca and Puno, where he exchanged views with regional and local institutions, judicial and prosecutorial authorities, and representatives of the military and the police, as well as with victims and civil society organizations. He also met online with authorities in Ayacucho.
4. Throughout his visit, the Special Rapporteur met with hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society representatives and stakeholders from different districts of the country. They included victims and representatives from Indigenous, campesino and rural communities, academics, students, lawyers, journalists and trade unionists, as well as various human rights defenders and civil society networks.
5. The Special Rapporteur also visited the detention centre of Qqenccoro in Cuzco, where he met with detainees arrested during protests; police stations which served as detention centres in Lima; and the penitentiary of Barbadillo, where he met with the former President, Pedro Castillo.
6. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank, among others, the national coordinator of the civil society human rights network; the Ombudsperson at the time of his visit; and Peruvian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), associations, trade unions, protesters, Indigenous leaders, environmental defenders, communal and youth leaders, journalists, women and girls, and LGBTI defenders who took the time to meet with him and recounted their experiences on civic space, democratic rights and peaceful protest in Peru today. He also wishes to express his gratitude to the Resident Coordinator, to the International Labour Organization (ILO) for its prompt cooperation, and to all United Nations agencies in the country for their support.
7. Following his visit, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the cooperation of the Government of Peru with the United Nations human rights mechanisms, including with the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. He thanked and offered his technical cooperation to the President, Dina Boluarte, and all those government and State authorities who gave of their time to meet with him and address his questions and concerns. The Special Rapporteur noted the coordination by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – among others – which facilitated his visit in a spirit of full and effective cooperation.
8. The present report provides an analysis of the situation of the country from the perspective of freedom of assembly and association, with a focus on the wave of protests that took place between December 2022 and February 2023, and in July 2023, and assesses the latest developments in the country up until February 2024. The Special Rapporteur presents his findings and recommendations in a spirit of shared commitment and support in relation to the obligations of Peru to promote and protect human rights.