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Universal Periodic Review – MEDIA BRIEF

Thursday, 1 November 2012 (morning)

(Disclaimer: The following brief is intended for use of the information media and is not an official record. The note provides a brief factual summary of the UPR Working Group meeting with the State under review and does not cover all points addressed. An official summary of the meeting can be found in the Working Group report.)

State under review

Peru
Represented by a 23-member delegation headed by Dr. Henry José Ávila Herrera, Vice Minister for Human Rights and Access to Justice.

Documents

To access national report, compilation of UN information, and summary of stakeholders’ information, visit the Peru page of the UPR website.

Troika *

Maldives, Mexico, Moldova.

Opening statement by State under review

Few points raised in the  opening statement of State under review:
(See full statement on the Peru page of the UPR extranet )

  • The Government placed human rights at the centre of its policies and at the heart of its democratic convictions in order to ensure a climate of stability for all citizens; in Peru, human rights international treaties had prevalence over domestic law;
  • Among recent steps taken on human rights, the Government set up the Ministry of and Social Inclusion, aimed at closing the poverty gap and improving access to social services, and also set up the Ministry of Culture, aimed at promoting social equality; moreover, the Government recently created the Office for the High Commission for Dialogue and Sustainability;
  • As regards indigenous people, in 2011 the law on Prior Consultation of Indigenous Peoples was enacted in consultation with indigenous peoples and a database registering indigenous people will soon be operational;
  • In terms of the death penalty, only in cases of terrorism and betrayal of the country was the death penalty carried out; the last death sentence was carried out in 1979, as a result Peru was a de facto abolitionist of the death penalty;
  • As regards women’s rights, today there were 148 emergency women centres which provided free health care services as well as legal support for women victims of violence, as well as support for children victims of violence; there was also a national gender equality plan in place for the period 2012-2017;
  • The National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons was enacted for the period 2011-2016 and a plan has also been set up to eradicate the worst forms of child labour;
  • As regards reparation to the victims of violence between 1980 and 2000, an economic reparations programme began in July 2011, which has thus far benefited 1,878 people; the programme earmarked 38 million USD for 2012 which will provide financial reparations to 22,000 beneficiaries;
  • The Government approved a prison reform plan aimed to improve the prison and security structure, eradicate corruption, and improve conditions for inmates; the Government earmarked 28.8 million USD for this project;
  • In September 2012, Peru ratified the Convention on enforced disappearances;
  • There has been a significant increase in economic growth; nevertheless there was a need to continue the fight against poverty; between 2004 and 2011, poverty rates reduced from 58.7% to 27 %; drinking water and sanitation access has also improved considerably in recent years; in that regard a national programme was instituted entitled Water and Sanitation for the Rural Population for which 310 million USD were earmarked;
  • In response to questions posed by States, the head of delegation note that, as regards human trafficking, Peru has met its obligations per international instruments and has set up a number of programmes national and regionally to combat this scourge.;
  • Responding to further questions, the delegation noted a number of national strategies to reduce maternal mortality, and as regards the death penalty, noted that the National Human Rights Commission would review the request regarding the death penalty made during the UPR.

Participants

In total 52 States participated in the dialogue:  22 HRC members and 30 observers  (Statements available on the Peru page of the UPR extranet).

Positive achievements

Positive achievements noted by delegations included, among others:

  • The National Human Rights Plan of Action 2012-2016;
  • Measures to protect women against violence including the Second National Action Plan to Combat Violence against Women; the inclusion of the concept of femicide in the Criminal Code;
  • The National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons;
  • The ratification of the Convention on enforced disappearances;
  • The creation of the Ministry for Development and Social Inclusion and the fight against poverty;
  • The establishment for reparation programmes for victims of past human rights violations during the 1980-2000 period.

Issues and Questions

Issues and questions raised by the Working Group included, among others:

  • Steps to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples were fully respected;
  • Advances made in the fight against poverty, particularly in rural areas;
  • Efforts in the area of the right to health, in particular reproductive and maternal health;  
  • Measures to protect women and children for all forms of violence;
  • Steps to eliminate all forms of child labour;
  • Efforts to improve conditions in prisons and detention centres.

Recommendations

States participating in the dialogue posed a series of recommendations to Peru. These pertained to the following issues, among others: 

  • Intensifying efforts to ensure that indigenous peoples and the Afro Peruvian community fully enjoyed economic, social and cultural rights and ensuring that the new legislation on consultation with indigenous people was properly implemented;
  • Stepping up efforts to combat poverty in rural areas, particularly among indigenous communities;
  • Improving access to sexual and reproductive health services and stepping up efforts to address maternal mortality, and establishing national protocols for abortion in accordance with the conclusion of the UN Human Rights Committee in 2005;
  • Taking further measures to protect women and children from violence and exploitation and prohibiting all forms of corporal punishment and sensitizing law enforcement on gender-based violence and increasing protection and support services for female victims of violence;
  • Implementing programmes to combat the worst forms of child labour and prohibiting child labour for children under 15 or who have not completed compulsory education, and producing and publishing a plan to eliminate child and forced labour with clear and specific objectives;
  • Facilitating the process of national registration for women living in rural areas and promoting birth registration in accordance with the CRC;
  • Improving prison conditions in all prisons and detention centres to comply with international standards and developing appropriate prison facilities for women;
  • Formally abolishing the death penalty;
  • Taking measures to avoid human rights abuses by armed forces and national police during conflicts, ensuring that enforcement personnel received relevant training and investigating acts of violence;
  • Continuing efforts to protect human rights defenders from threats and intimidation and repealing criminal defamation laws to combat reprisals against journalists and human rights defenders;
  • Implementing the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in particular with regard to victim’s compensation and institutional reforms;
  • Ratification of human rights instruments:  the 2nd OP to the ICCPR, the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute of the ICC, the Convention on the rights of migrant workers, and ILO Convention 189 on domestic workers.

Adoption of report of Working Group

The adoption of the report of the UPR Working Group on Peru is scheduled to take place on Monday, 5 November.

The troikas are a group of three States selected through a drawing of lots who serve as rapporteurs and who are charged with preparing the report of the Working Group on the country review with the involvement of the State under review and assistance from the OHCHR. 

Media contact: Rolando Gómez, Public Information Officer, OHCHR, + 41(0)22 917 9711, rgomez@ohchr.org