On December 7, 2022, the Peruvian Congress removed and imprisoned President Pedro Castello, accused of trying to dissolve that body. Dina Boluarte, until then the president replaced Castello, a series of protests across Peru demanding an upheaval, elections, constitutional reform, and the dissolution of Castello, among other demands.
The government’s response was to first declare a state of emergency for a month, but the measure was renewed and remains in force without meeting the demands of the people.
In this framework, a group of seven special abductors and two UN groups work on human rights-related checks, reported murders, arrests and abductions of rebels in the Andean country.
These reports account for 48 dead protesters, 1,301 injured, hundreds detained and at least one person missing, according to the most recent report from the Peruvian Ombudsman’s office.
“The serious allegations of excessive use of force by the security institutions and the inability of the government to create an environment conducive to dialogue are a cause for great concern,” said the experts, who sent a communication to the Peruvian government to take care of its affairs and raise observations.
Accountability
They recalled that the use of force, especially armed forces, must comply with the fundamental principles of legality, necessity and proportionality.
“Any loss of life from the uncontrolled use of force without strict compliance with those principles is an arbitrary deprivation of life and therefore unlawful,” he emphasized, in these cases to account.
They added that in any democratic society people have the right to protest and raise concerns about political changes that affect their lives and livelihoods.
According to experts, Peruvian democracy faces a crisis of credibility that can only be resolved through a genuine dialogue in which the population participates and their aspirations for reform are taken into account, for which the authorizing authorities have ordered to begin the process of ending it. to the crisis of the state.
forced removals
The rapporteurs explained that initially legal detention can end in forced removal if the authorities of the detention authorities do not recognize that the person is being detained or do not provide information about their fate, or about it, for the duration of the deprivation of liberty. .
“It is important for victims and their families to provide their information,” they said.
On the other hand, they reported reports of deliberate police attacks against journalists and media workers while covering the protests and asked the government to ensure that they can work in a safe and secure environment.
They asked for the same safeguards for the Office of the Ombudsman, which collects evidence of abuses.
They also issued the State’s obligation to promptly, independently, effectively and impartially investigate all human rights violations committed during the demonstrations.
terrorism accusations
With regard to significant people who exercise their right to freedom of the peaceful population, identifying them as terrorists, they emphasized that these accusations disproportionately affect human rights defenders, indigenous peoples and rural communities.
“Although the State must be held accountable for acts of violence committed by some protestors and protesters, a distinction must be made between those who exercise their right to peaceful freedom of assembly and those who commit violence in the context of demonstrations,” the special rapporteurs limited.
In this regard, they emphasized the obligation of the State to guarantee that people who exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly are not subjected to terror and offense.
Experts recalling their call for a quick political solution based on dialogue, which is justified by the need for rationality and the goal of restraint.
The experts to sign the communiqué are: Clément N. Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of peaceful assembly and association; Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Aua Baldé (Chairperson-Rapporteur); Gabriella Citroni (Vice Chair), Angkhana Neelapaijit, Grażyna Baranowska, Luciano Hazan, Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances; Ms. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Special Rapporteur on promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Maria Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Miriam Estrada-Castillo (Rapporteur President), 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 expert is part of what are known as special procedures in the Human Rights Council. Special reports, the largest body of lawyers in the UN human rights system, is the general name for an independent investigative committee and large-scale machinery that addresses specific regional situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special systems experts work on a voluntary basis; IR are not staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in a unique capacity.
