We call for a condemnation and diligent investigation into the human rights violations in Peru in the face of permanent repression and the criminalization of protests

January 20, 2023, Washington D.C. The Center of Justice and International Law (CEJIL) denounces the lack of a response that guarantees human rights in Peru during the demonstrations that have swept across the country following a call for a national strike this week.  We are disappointed that the State has not condemned the violence, repression, and lack of investigation of human rights violations at the hands of security forces or the criminalization of the protestors by the Prosecutor’s Office.

On January 19th and 20th, during the UN High Commissioner’s Office’s high-level mission, the death of three people during confrontations with the police have been registered. Since the demonstrations began, the State has used excessive police and military force to limit and criminalize the protests, resulting in more than 50 deaths and hundreds of injuries since December 8th, 2022.     

Despite the condemnations by national and international civil society organizations, and visits from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights violations during the protests have not ceased and diligent investigations to prosecute and sanction those responsible are not being conducted. 

This situation is worsened by the use of State power to reinforce the criminalization and stereotyping of protesters. This is evident in the decision by the Attorney General to increase the number of counterterrorism prosecutors to investigate demonstrators and the President’s message to the nation describing the work of the National Police during the national strike in Lima as “immaculate”. The pronouncements ignore the multiple violent confrontations with demonstrators, generalize all acts of protest as “not peaceful”, and label demonstrators as “bad citizens” acting “outside the law”.

Added to this situation are the attacks directed at members of civil society organizations dedicated to defending human rights, like IDL- Reporteros (IDL-R), Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH), and Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDDHH). Such acts have occurred in the past and have not been investigated, remaining in impunity.

CEJIL calls on the Peruvian authorities to investigate and ensure the non-repetition of human rights violations committed during the protests and of attacks directed against human rights defenders. We reiterate our request to the international community to promote a broad and participatory dialogue among the diverse branches of the State to address the many structural causes that triggered the protests, in order to find genuinely democratic and durable solutions in Peru.