Reaching Outside the Nation for Recognition and Justice

By Christina Swan

In the article, “Reaching Beyond the State,” Jeffrey Davis and Edward Warner identify that one of four main purposes of an international court is “its jurisprudence should transcend the parties in the case in order to express the normative value of justice and equality under the law to broad classes of victims”. There is great significance in that purpose. An international human rights court cannot hear every case that is presented to it. National courts are better equipped to handle many individual cases. Therefore it seems very important that international human rights courts should choose to hear cases that are representative of common human rights violations occurring in various nations. In that way it can establish a precedent that other national human rights courts can follow from. It makes an example out of one case that applies to many situations, making their decisions more universal.

In many ways, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights fulfills this purpose; it takes on cases that are representative of endemic human rights violations in Latin America. A good example would be La Cantuta v Peru.
The violation in question took place at the Enrique Guzman y Valle National University in La Cantuta, Lima. Apparently a military post had been set up at the University beginning in May 1991. There were many documented cases of the military forces stationed there harassing students and teachers. They would randomly raid the quarters of students, or would threaten students without cause.

As the sun was rising on June 18, 1992 a paramilitary group called the Colina Group stormed the campus residences. They led everyone outside at gun point, and made them get face down on the ground. Colina Group members went through the students and teachers rounding up people whose names were on a list they carried. They then forcibly removed a professor from his residence. 9 students and a professor were taken with the Colina Group. Above is a picture of the detainees. The decomposing bodies of two students they detained were found in July and October 1993, over a year later. Below is a picture of the family members taking possession of the remains to give them a proper burial.

It was later documented that the Colina Group was part of the Peruvian National Intelligence Service. Their main duties according to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights consisted of “identification, control and elimination of those persons suspected of belonging to insurgent groups or who opposed to the government of former President Alberto Fujimori.”
In this case, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Peruvian government had to investigate, and begin criminal proceeding to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes, find the other 8 bodies of the people detained at the university, put up a memorial for all 10 victims, give reparations to the victim’s families, publicly admit its liability for the crime, and start human rights educating programs for service members among other things.

This ruling eventually led to Peru’s former president Albert Fujimori being charged for this crime. Although the human rights violations committed were egregious, the victims of the La Cantuta murders, through the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, were able to set a precedent in Peru for State committed human rights violations. Because impunity existed in Peru’s government and law system, the crimes against the La Cantuta victims fueled their families to reach outside Peru to speak out for them, and set the example that there are consequences for the human rights violations committed in post-conflict nations.

Works Cited:

Reaching Beyond the State by Jeffrey Davis and Edward Warner
http://www.alternativechannel.org/content.php?cid=11537
http://www.corteidh.or.cr/

Children's Rights Violations: It Can Happen Anywhere.

By Milagros Del Aguila

Physical and emotional abuse is a daily occurrence everywhere around the globe, but children are some of the greatest sufferers from it. At home they face abuses by their family members, or on the streets where they're unlikely to find someone to defend them.

To be a child growing up in Peru can be a great disadvantage if one misbehaves and/or disobeys one’s parents. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Peru says that adults commit physical and emotional abuse to children in order to correct non-desirable behaviors so that new behaviors, considered important, can be impressed upon them (UNICEF in Peru). Most parents believe that it is a way to discipline when in reality all they are doing is developing great fear inside the child’s mind and heart. There are various reasons why parents decide to use physical punishment to correct behavior in a child. Classic examples are not doing or not completing house chores, coming home late, embarrassing parents in public, formal and informal address of language (such as using informal you “Tu” instead of formal you “ Usted”), among others.

I remember how it was for me growing up in an environment where physical and emotional abuse was seen as a way to discipline children. For instance, I was mostly punished because I did not wash the dishes directly after lunch. My grand-mother would always say “your bag is getting full” which would translate into “my patience is getting to its limit and when it reaches its highest point, I will beat you to make you understand that you need to do the dishes when told”. Of course, she did not see it as an abuse, but as a simple tool to guide me on the right path of obedience. One reason why my grand-mother thought this way could be a consequence of the traditional thought that “correct behavior comes with punishment”. This means that because my grand-mother’s parents raised her with this type of belief structure, she believed it to be true. However, not only she thought it was true because it happened in her house, but also because it happened around her community. Therefore, when she became a mother and grand-mother herself, she thought it was part of motherhood to educate or correct one’s child behavior through physical abuse. In other words, she continued the cycle of abuse to the next generation.

What makes easier for adults to physically abuse children is the fact that adults are in a position of power. This means that children are deprived from defending themselves because in most cases they have not been taught or have not seen around their communities that they too deserve to be treated as human beings. Instead, what Children learn is that they must follow and obey an adult’s orders because adults are solely capable of making the right decisions for them even if this involves abuse of any form. Also, what allows abuse to continue is the entitlement that adults have over children. Thus, children are seen as property and not as human beings that must be respected and validated as such. In a Document presented by La Defensoria del Pueblo, a Human Rights institution in Peru titled "¡ADIOS AL CASTIGO! La Defensoría del Pueblo Contra el Castigo Físico y Humillante a Niños, Niñas y Adolescentes”, which was based on the visit of 36 Defensorias Municipales de Niños and Adolescentes (DEMUNAS) in Lima, Ayacucho, Junin, and Piura, found that the majority of children’s aggressors are their own parents (23 DEMUNAS, teachers (7 DEMUNAS) and family members such as step parents, grand-parents, uncles, aunts, and older siblings (6 DEMUNAS) (Defensoria del Pueblo, 1). Indeed, by looking at this document, it is clear that children are the most vulnerable because they are surrounded by adults who will purposely abuse them with the ignorant idea that it is for the child’s benefit. What also contributes to children’s abuse is if children ask for help, they have no place to go to as all their community believes in the status quo.

There are different types of abuse: physical and emotional. Physical abuses are perhaps the most noticeable whereas emotional abuse can slowly manifest itself throughout the child’s life. Physical punishment in Peru is executed in different manners, for example, hitting with sticks, wire cables, burnings on hand or other parts of the body (Defensoria del Pueblo, 11). In addition to this list, pulling hair, pinching, and slapping are other forms of physical abuse. While I was growing up in Peru, my grand-mother and my elementary school teacher could be considered as my primary physical abusers. As I write this, it is very hard for me to accept the words “physical abusers” because since I lived in such an environment, I became numb to the idea that this is what was happening to me and other children. As a consequence, although I disagree with either type of punishment, I consciously do not hold any resentment towards those two individuals and I imagine many people who grew up around me might feel the same. For us, it was a simple way our parents used to discipline us, which unsurprisingly, re-estates the abuse cycle discussed earlier. In other words, because I experienced and observed abuse,I learned to accept it as normal, which inevitably, has negative repercussions.

In addition to physical abuse, there is also emotional abuse that is a result of the latter. According to Defensoria del Pueblo, a physical aggression can affect the psychological integrity of a child, it can affect his or her self-esteem, and eventually, it impacts the way he or she interacts with others. In addition, they tend to forget that they live in that body and that it is it what constitutes them as human beings (Defensoria del Pueblo, 11). What this means is that children lose the connection they have with their own bodies. They become two separate entities, which may make it easier for them to disassociate from the pain at the beginning. Nevertheless, “to hit or disrespect the body has to do with the dignity of the human being” (Defensoria del Pueblo, 11). This said, it is an offense to emotionally or physically attack someone else’s body because it contributes to the deterioration of the integrity of an existing being.

Although, the Convention of the Rights of the Child was established in 1989 to incorporate Children as human beings too, there is a lot work to be done. The Convention, along its 54 articles and two optional protocols, state that every child has “the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life” (UNICEF). They are all very well intended; unfortunately they are, in many cases, ignored. For this reason, there are many human rights organizations that dedicate their time to make sure that Children’s rights are fully addressed. Such organizations in Peru are Ministerio de la Mujer y Desarrollo Social (MIMDES), Defensoria del Pueblo, UNICEF in Peru, among others.



For example, many non profits in Bolivia organized a campaign against Child abuse. The image on the right shows a child holding two pieces of circled paper: the yellow reads “No al maltrato” (No to maltreatment/abuse) and the orange paper, which is in a shape of an orange fruit reads “Este invierno consume ésta naranja y te protejerás de la violencia y te llenará de amor” (This winter eat this orange and it will protect you from violence and it will fill you up with love) (Jornada.net). It symbolizes the children wanting to replace abuse with a refreshing love just as it would be by consuming an orange. Thus, by allowing a child participation in the fight against a cause that matters to him or her, it re-validates him or her as a human being, part of society and the adult world.

Another aspect of physical and emotional abuse is faced by children who live on the Streets of Peru. The reasons for this are a consequence of urbanization, poverty, and violence. Many families move from the mountains or rain forest regions to the urban areas of the country in search of a better life for their families. However, as it happens often times, parents do not find a job right away or are laid off, which puts them in a poverty level, if they do not form part of it already. As a result, “children of the poor are expected from an early age to contribute to the income and welfare of the household” (Cleary, 39). Examples of the many ways boys and girls help out with the income of the household is quite visible if one takes a walk in Metropolitan Lima. It is common to find children who are shining shoes, cleaning wind shields of cars, singing on buses, selling candy, or performing gymnastics on the middle of the road while the cars wait for the traffic light to change from red to green.



As a concrete example, the image on the left portrays these two girls who are resting on a side of a corridor. The girl on the left is holding a musical instrument that appears to be a Charango or small guitar, which is probably used to sing on the buses. The girl on the right holds what seems to be bag filled with candy that she will try to sell on the streets and buses. From my experience seeing girls performing or selling things on the buses, it could be that the girl with the small guitar sang while the other girl offered candy to the bus passengers hoping someone would buy.

The other problem is that of children who actually make a living on the streets. In addition The Consortium for Street Children's State of the World's Street Children: Violence report (2007) states that “One research project found that 73% of the street children they interviewed cited family violence and child mistreatment as reasons for taking to the streets”, it continues, “most street-living boys in Peru are children who had become 'scapegoats' in their family; blamed for causing conflict and stress, and maltreated when their families were going through a crisis“ (Toybox). Thus, this takes us back to Children’s abuse at home, where a child who has been abused several times by their loved ones might paradoxically; opt for the streets as the safest place to be or a place to relieve stress from his or her parents. Many of these children end up consuming narcotics or other hallucinogenic substances such as “terocal” (shoe glue) to forget the reality they live in. Children, who reside on the streets, feel forced to steal in order to survive. Thus, they form sort of gangs in groups of around 6 or more. In Lima, they are known as or compared to “pirañitas” because when they have a target, they usually appear as a big group and strip down the person they are stealing from, just as if a fish were to be eaten by piranhas. Also, in the Documentary the Hummingbird was seen the denigration of the children of Brazil. They, just as the Peruvian street children, consumed glue to numb their sadness and need for love, respect, and consideration as human beings.

In conclusion, physical and emotional abuse in children happens in a home or on the streets. It is imperative that issues pertaining to the rights of Children are addressed because it is no use to have the Convention on the Rights of a Child if it is not put into practice. There are many of us who grew up facing physical and emotional abuse from our parents and although I am okay, I do not believe corporal, verbal or psychological punishments are the answers to disciplining a child. It is my hope that in the near future, there will be a more centralized focus on children’s rights as they will be the next holders of the world we now live in.


Work Cited

Cleary, Edward L. "Life and Death on the Streets: From Street Children to Children at Risk." Mobilizing for Human Rights in Latin America. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian, 2007. 39. Print.

"Convention on the Rights of the Child." UNICEF. 26 Aug. 2008. Web. 27 July 2010. .

"Dan Chocolates Como Vacuna Simbólica Contra Maltrato Infantil." Jornada | Portada. Ed. Aurios S. R. L. 9 June 2009. Web. 27 July 2010. .

Defensoria Del Pueblo. Adios Al Castigo! La Defensoría Del Pueblo Contra El Castigo Físico Y Humillante a Niños, Niñas Y Adolescentes. 1st ed. Lima, 2009. Web. 27 July 2010. .

Defensoria Del Pueblo. En El Marco De La Reforma Del Código De Los Niños Y Adolescentes DEFENSORÍA DEL PUEBLO RECOMIENDA IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE MARCO LEGAL QUE PROTEJA A LOS NIÑOS FRENTE AL CASTIGO FÍSICO Y HUMILLANTE. Lima, 2009. Web. 27 July 2010. .

Hummingbird. Dir. Holly Mosher. 2007. DVD.

M. Isabel. Niños De La Calle/Street Children. Photograph. Lima, Peru. Bubblepics (Lima, Peru). 26 May 2008. Web. 27 July 2010. .

"Street Children in Peru." Toybox - Let the Street Children in Latin America Live through Child Sponsorship. Web. 28 July 2010. .

"Violencia Y Maltrato Infantil." UNICEF En El Peru. Web. 27 July 2010. .

Women's Rights in Peru

By Christina Swan

Peru has had a significant problem concerning violation of women and children’s rights. Although it can be said that advances have been made, progress has been slow. Women and children in Peru experience discrimination, domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, lack of education and availability of legal abortions and contraceptives, lack of K-9 education, lack of health care, and a lack of legal recourse on many of the human rights violations committed against them to list a few.
Discrimination comes in many forms. Women have fewer opportunities to obtain jobs than men, and when they do get jobs, many aren’t compensated at the same rate as a man would in the same job. Jobs in the political sphere are even harder for women to get. According to the US Department of State, in 2001, “there were 22 women in the 120-member congress and 4 female regional presidents. Approximately 3 percent of the mayors and 25 percent of the city council officers elected at the local level were women. There were 2 women in the cabinet; the attorney general was a woman; and there was 1 woman on the Supreme Court of Justice.” Even though US Department of the State says, “the law provides for equality between men and women and prohibits discrimination against women relative to marriage, divorce, and property rights” in reference to Peru, violations are still present.

Attached is a picture of a woman named Nelly Marcos Manrique. She is a symbol of hope for women’s rights, especially indigenous women. Through working with Chirapaq, which is the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Cultures of Peru, she became the Municipal agent in the Black River District in 2004, and also helped “recover land that belonged to Ashinka ancestors.” Her leadership role in her indigenous community brings inspiration that progress is being made to bring women up to an equal standard with men in comparable positions.
In Edward Cleary’s work, Mobilizing for Human Rights in Latin America, he states that “almost half of Latin American women reported psychological abuse, while one to two women in five experience physical violence.” In Peru in 2005, 25,863 domestic violence cases were reported by the Ministry of Women and Social Development (MIMDES). That is only the number of cases reported. NGO’s state that many cases aren’t reported “due to fear of retaliation from the accused spouse or because of the cost involved in pursuing a complaint.” Although the law allows for investigation of and prosecution for domestic violence, many complaints aren’t taken seriously, and many abusers are not prosecuted for their crimes, or spend minimal time in jail. In 2004, MIMDES reported 2,721 cases of children ages 12 to 17 that experienced violence or sexual abuse. Human trafficking made victims of women and children in Peru as well.

Also attached are pictures from the MIMDES’s women’s emergency center, Chirapaq, and Lundu (The Center of Afro-Peruvian Studies and Promotion). All three of these groups are working towards better rights for women in Peru. MIMDES has been especially influential in educating about women and children’s rights, as well as awareness of the growing problems with violations.

Chirapaq and Lundu have been more influential in women and children’s rights in the realm of indigenous rights. Many of them have programs to help women become more independent, by giving them job, educational, and social skills to help them compete in a male dominated world.

They provide legal assistance and representation for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. They provide empowerment to women, giving them the confidence to pursue equality in leadership, domestic, and employment roles. The activisms by groups like these are giving women the tools to help them fight for their equal rights, instead of waiting for the world to give them these rights.

Sources: Mobilizing for Human Rights in Latin America by Edward Cleary; http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61738.htm; http://www.thp.org/learn_more/news/latest_news/peru_october_2008_update_to_global_board; http://www.mimdes.gob.pe/; http://www.madre.org/index/meet-madre-1/our-partners-6/peru-chirapaq--lundu-43.html; http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/07/09/peru-risk-women-denied-legal-abortions;

“Lack of Economic Independence, Law Flaws, and Machismo as Perpetrators of Domestic Violence”

By Milagros Del Aguila

Domestic Violence (DV) in Peru continues to be a major issue, especially in the rural districts. Though laws passed in the last couple decades have helped, the women of this beautiful country still contend with its ramifications today.

In Peru, one of the main factors that leads to DV is economic dependence from one spouse or partner to another despite existing laws allowing both spouses the right to work. In a report made by the non-profit organization working for women’s rights in the country El Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan stated that Article 293 of the Civil Code required that one spouse had implicit consent from the other to work outside the house, which initially applied only to women. This law was extended to both spouses making it “gender neutral” (Equality Now, 1). Thus, this law indicates that Peruvian men are not to prevent their partners or wives from working. Nonetheless, it remains unsuccessful due to the Machismo mentality that exists in the country, especially in rural parts. Now, when talking about Machismo in Latin-America, it refers to the sense of superiority of men over women. In other words, men believe that they only may work while the women take charge of domestic issues (which are considered chores to be executed by them only). Since this way of life has long been ingrained as a tradition, it conflicts with newly established laws.

Because these traditional social structures are held in higher regard than national laws, tradition consistently trumps newly established laws. Women who wish to become secondary contributors of the household are unable to exercise their right to work; which by the way, is also protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, “everyone has the right to work and to free choice of employment” (Equality Now, 1). Furthermore, women who lack financial power are also restricted from resources, especially women living in rural and/or impoverished areas of Peru. Consequently, when women do not have the opportunity to work, they do not develop the necessary skills that will allow them to survive having to leave their husbands due to physical or sexual abuse.

DV cases in Peru increase exponentially if living in rural areas where the communal laws trump national regulations. For example, Susana Montesinos, a Psychology student who did an internship in a medical clinic in Cuzco Peru tells her experience with a DV case of a patient named Maria.

“Maria, 29, from a local farming community, who spoke both Quechua and Spanish, had recently experienced spousal abuse and death threats from her alcoholic husband. Maria explained that each farming community outside of Cusco creates their own laws. One of the laws in Maria’s communidad states that under no circumstances may a husband and wife separate or divorce. If this separation occurs, the one who initiates the separation is required to leave their home, family, community, and inherited land. Maria had unsuccessfully appealed to the community leaders and her family, who encouraged her to stay married. Maria had risked a great deal by filing for legal separation and asking for help. When we finished the intake, Maria declined emergency shelter and returned to her communidad. She had simply wanted to make a statement to her loved ones by seeking help and standing up for herself, but wouldn’t leave home” (Susana Montesinos).

The story of Maria is just one more example of how traditional and communal laws take president over state laws in Peru. It demonstrates the ingrained beliefs that a unified family is what matters most and a respectful and healthy relationship between husband and wife is merely consequence. Although the communal law intends fairness, it mostly affects women or Maria, in this case because she has everything to lose if she decides to leave her husband. She would have no financial or emotional support since she is willingly separating. Additionally, Maria’s separation could easily result in depression and, in a sense, a loss of dignity (originated by comments of those in her community) for having left her husband. Hence, since she knows this, she prefers to stay and put up with the physical abuse.

Likewise, another contributor to DV in Latin-America, which inevitably applies to Peru, is Consensual Unions between men and women and their association with extreme poverty (Cleary, 22). The explanation of this in relation to DV could be that if a man is unemployed, he might take his stress on his spouse by violently attacking her. This act might be because he feels the pressure from his Machista community where he is constantly reminded that he needs to be able to support his family. In the same way, if the woman “provokes” an increase of stress in him by asking for money or things that need to be bought for the home, he might respond violently because in his mind, she does not have the right to ask for or complain about anything as she is “not” a contributor of the household. In this case, since they are not legally married, she cannot present legal claims against him.

Besides the Article 293 Civil Code which states that both spouses may work outside of the house, there is a law protecting women against DV that was passed in 1993 which, just as the first one is rarely enforced. The 1993 DV law establishes, “…a state policy for the eradication of violence, creates mechanisms for the protection of victims, considers the necessity to come up with a complaints procedure, and defines the role that social organizations should play in the defense of women and children” (Equality Now, 3). However, Flora Tristan shows two examples of the many issues regarding this law. To illustrate, “the law does not set up a clear procedure to follow in order to obtain protection for the victims of domestic violence, and the agencies designated to implement the law (the police, the judiciary, and public prosecutors) have so far shown little inclination to carry it out” (Equality Now, 3). The first quote clearly shows the initiative to provide protection against DV; nevertheless, the examples set by Flora Tristan show the lack of desire to exercise it as it appears only on the books. In addition to the insufficient training for law enforcement in the issue, what is more terrifying is that some police and prosecutors themselves commit DV abuses in their own homes. Hence, it is easier for them to disregard DV cases as they might view them as private issues instead of public ones.

Furthermore, “although [the 1993 DV law was] strengthened in 1997, Peru's Law for Protection from Family Violence still contains flaws. It does not protect women from marital rape or stalking, nor does it apply to women who are harassed or beaten by intimate partners if they are not living together” (BBC World Service). For instance, the image below shows Peruvian women marching in downtown Lima on November 25, 2008 for the International Day of No Violence against Women (25 de Noviembre-Dia Internacional de la No Violencia contra la Mujer, in Spanish). Their slogan was “Mujer, el Estado no te protege de la violencia”, (woman, the State does not protect you from violence), which clearly indicates the irresponsibility of the Peruvian government over the matter (Vicuña Yacarine).



The women marching on the streets in Lima are aware of the repercussions if laws protecting women against DV are not enforced. They risk losing their mothers, sisters, friends, cousins, neighbors, and perhaps themselves. DV in Peru is such a grave issue that the Ministerio de la Mujer y Desarrollo Social (MIMDES) stated that DV and sexual abuse are responsible for the deaths of 12 women every month. Also, a research study conducted by El Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan from the year 2004 to year 2008 found that there already were 547 victims of femicide (Flora Tristan). Similarly, in 2009, 139 women were murdered while in 2010 there was decrease of only 29 murdered (MIMDES). As alarming as these numbers are, it is important to note that there are Peruvian women marching and fighting for those who died in hands of abusers. Now, the hope is that the government will listen to their requests and keep their word.

In short, the image, class reading, and the story of Maria presented in this blog, have very strong connections with one another. The image of the women carrying the sign that says “Dia Internacional de la No Violencia contra la Mujer” is the representation of the existing problem of DV in Peru and around the world. It is an issue that does not discriminate against religion, social class, civil status, or race if you will. Said this, the class reading of “Women and Rights in Latin-America” that explains the consensual unions between men and women living in rural and/or impoverished areas relates to this because many of these women become easy target for abuse. This could be due to both the prominent machista mentality and/or the lack of financial independence, which ultimately prevents them from escaping such a violent environment. Last, the story of Maria is a real life testimony which reminds the reader of the gravity of the situation and the many limitations that women from rural areas might incur when wanting to leave their abuser.

Work Cited

Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan. Primer Trimestre 2009 FEMINICIDIO – ASESINATO DE MUJERES. Rep. 2009. Web. 17 July 2010. .

Cleary, Edward L. Mobilizing for Human Rights in Latin America. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian, 2007. Print.

Equality Now Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee. Rep. July 1996. Web. 17 July 2010. .

Montesinos, Susana. "Lessons I Learned about Domestic Violence Counseling in Cusco, Peru." Living in Peru : Your Everyday Companion. 13 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 July 2010. .

Photograph. 28 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 July 2010. .

"PROGRAMA NACIONAL CONTRA LA VIOLENCIA FAMILIAR Y SEXUAL DEL MIMDES PARTICIPA EN FÓRUM SOBRE LEY PENAL Y FEMINICIDIO." MIMDES. 6 July 2010. Web. 19 July 2010. .

Vicuña Yacarine, Julia. "Día Internacional De La No Violencia Contra La Mujer Falta De Presupuesto E Impunidad Agravan Violencia Hacia La Mujer." UITA - Secretaría Regional Latinoamericana. 28 Nov. 2008. Web. 19 July 2010. .

Trend in Human Rights Violations in Peru

By Christina Swan



Beginning in the 1980’s, an armed conflict has raged in Peru. The CIRI Human Rights Data Project has classified Peru as having a consistently high level of conflict and violence from the 1980’s through the post-2000 era. In a comparison set they developed of 15 different countries in Latin America, only 3 other countries ranked as high as Peru. The conflict in Peru has revolved around two oppositional sides: the government and citizens of Peru and the terrorist group Shining Path, whose ideals are centered on Maoist Communism. Although there was another terrorist group involved in this conflict, know as the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), membership was lower than the Shining Path, and their influence not as prevalent. As of the mid- to late- 1990’s the activities of the MRTA faded.
Both the Shining Path and the MRTA committed brutal human rights violations. There were countless times where these terrorist groups would bomb large, populated areas. They would threaten, harass, and murder journalists who reported on their acts of violence, intimidating them into not practicing their right to freedom of speech, or freedom of the press. They would also threaten, or assassinate elected officials of the state in attempt to intimidate, and thereby limit their reaction to the threat of terrorism. The most chilling thing about these terrorist groups was not the acts themselves that they committed, but rather the indiscriminant nature of those acts. No woman, child, or non-combatant was safe from the punishment they meted out for any number of things. Just complying with government regulations under duress was enough for them to murder a person. Particular targets for mass murder were villages that formed civil defense patrols. One example given by the Human Rights Watch in 1992 cites that the Shining Path “killed thirty-seven persons in Santo Tomas de Pata, Angaraes, Ayacucho, ostensibly because they had formed a civil patrol.”
As illustrated by much scholarship on the subject – including works by Mary Ann Glendon, and Paolo Carozzo – there is a definite dedication on the part of Latin Americans to promulgate human rights. Yet in spite of concerted efforts, violations of human rights in Peru are glaring. One of the most surprising violators is the Peruvian government, military, and police. The institutions most responsible for the welfare of its citizens have been one of its largest violators.

Posted are some pictures of people attending a college in Peru, and a gathering of women and children. Two of the most well known acts of violence committed by the government against its citizens involved college students, women, and children. The first of which were the murders and disappearances of 9 students and a teacher at La Cantuta University in 1992. Also in 1992, 16 people – including women and children – were murdered at a barbecue in Lima. President at the time, Alberto Fujimori, was eventually charged for both of these massacres.
Along with these two specific cases were thousands of smaller, yet not any less significant, human rights violations. The Fujimori administration forced villages to form civil defense patrols, which they knew would make them targets of the Shining Path and MRTA. The military and police killed countless innocents in apparent attempts to subdue terrorists. New laws were put into effect that took away many basic rights. Anyone could be arrested as a terrorist because of the vague definition the new laws gave on terrorism. If they weren’t, there were barely any restrictions on torturing someone to get information, which resulted in many forced confessions. Citizens could be held for long periods of time without being charged for a crime. If charged, you went before a court of faceless judges whose decisions were swift and beyond reproach. Citizens had little options to defend themselves. Amparo and habeas corpus were abolished. These are but a few of the specific examples of human rights violations committed by the state.

Some may want to ask why the state violated these human rights. It would appear that they were several contributing factors. First of all, Peru was in the middle of an internal conflict. The country also didn’t have a functional democracy for a period of this conflict, in which Alberto Fujimori made himself dictator. Peru also had a high level of poverty. The threat against national security (terrorist groups) was used by the state as justification for their actions, thereby giving themselves permission to commit these human rights violations. The international reaction to these human rights violations also contributed to their continued violations. The US specifically was giving aid to the Fujimori administration while these acts were being committed.
All in all we can see a definite trend in human rights violations in Peru. The government has taken advantage of its position, during an internal conflict, to commit human rights violations to “protect” it’s citizens against terrorist groups also violating human rights. We can only hope that the continued scholarship on this subject can lend more insight on the events and what caused them, so that we might prevent it happening again in the future.



Sources: http://www.hrw.org, http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_PER.html, http://ciri.binghamton.edu, From Conquest to Constitutions by Paolo Carozzo, The Forgotten Crucible by Mary Ann Glendon

“The Devil’s Curve Massacre”

By Milagros Del Aguila



The image displays a massive and violent raid of the DINOES, Especial Operations Division (División de Operaciones Especiales in Spanish) ordered by the Peruvian government against the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon region in northern Peru on June 5th, 2009.

Since Colonization, indigenous people have been one of the targeted groups for human rights violations. Indigenous people in Peru are not an exception. Some indigenous groups have integrated a small part of their life style into the modern world most of us live in. However, there are other groups such as the Awajum and Wambis who decided to remain isolated in the depth of the Amazonian rain forest. The land they live in is all they know. They obtain their remedies, food, and livestock from there. Unfortunately, the area where they are is also very valuable for big oil and gas corporations that want to invest and "help" Peru in its development. Thus, when they felt threatened by knowing that President Alan Garcia was willing to take away their lands, they decided to protest and fight for their rights.

The Awajum and Wambis indigenous peoples were conducting a peaceful blockage on the road called the “Curve of the Devil” against a series of decrees that Peruvian President Alan García issued in October of 2007. These decrees state that those who live in “‘voluntary isolation’ (that is, uncontacted or extremely isolated tribes) can be exploited for their natural resources” (Kim MacQuerrie). These decrees or “the law of the jungle” as it is known collectively was enacted in order to attract foreign investment, particularly from the United States, after passage of the Peruvian/North American Free trade agreement of 2006. Additionally, this appears to coincide with the President’s own racist beliefs (publicly quoted referring to indigenous peoples as “not first-class citizens” and “pseudo-indigenous”).

In the same year of the U.S.-Peru North American Free Trade Agreement, “Law [number 28736] for the Protection of Uncontacted Tribes and those in Initial Contact” or “paper reserves” were set up in order to protect the indigenous peoples (Kim MacQuerrie). However, these are not worth the paper they’re printed on as all 5 areas have been repeatedly violated by private interests. This trend has continued since 2004 and now 72 percent of Peru’s Amazonian Rain Forest has been “blocked” or marked for energy and mineral exploration (Gregor McLennan).

Reporting in the area was difficult on the very first days as the government suppressed information under the guise that it incited revolts. In fact, the pervasive censorship of the media resulted in only one radio station (La Voz de Bagua) covering the event and that station was then the target of a law suit by the government. In a sense the government was being run like a corporation that makes its own laws.

During the massacre, police forbade the removal of those who were wounded. In addition, police officials were reluctant to provide information on the numbers of indigenous dead. Nonetheless, they were eager to express their indignation and sadness towards the dead of their comrades. Unsurprisingly, government representatives such as Prime Minister Yehude Simon and Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas made a point to assist funerals of dead officers and reinforce the idea that the protesters were “manipulated savages” and “cowardly killers” (Renzo Pipoli).

The response of Garcia’s administration to the needs of the indigenous peoples of northern Peru was deliberately ignored. Instead, Alan Garcia violated their rights to keep their lands and natural resources by injuring and killing them. The number of total dead recognized by the government is 33 from which 23 are officials and 11 are indigenous peoples (Amnesty International, 259). However, inhabitants and indigenous peoples of the cities close to the Devil’s curve disagree on these numbers. Moreover, Alan Garcia ordered the arrest of Alberto Pizango Chota, the leader of AIDESEP (Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana or Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rain forest), for “inciting” rebellion and violence. As a result, Pizango went into exile to Nicaragua. A year after the massacre, the Peruvian government remains reluctant to come to any agreements or grant any of the rights that correspond to the Awajum and Wambis indigenous peoples of the Amazon Region.

Things that are important to grasp from this event is that first, Garcia's government is not only violating Land and human rights of indigenous peoples, but he and his administration are feeding the idea of racism (which is deeply ingrained in the country). Second, Freedom of speech disappears as a human right when it is sanctioned for vocalizing governmental abuses. Last, by using force and manipulation, Alan Garcia shows his lack of communication and democracy skills that only lead to violence. The following videos portray this.

Films related to the Devil's Massacre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0shiOMiKVM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFzW6O7sFWI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGS-GspCmfw&feature=fvw

Work Cited

Amnesty International Report 2010, The State of the World's Human Rights. Rep. no. 2010. Pg. 259. Web. 30 June 2010. .

McLennan, Gregor. "Bagua Anniversary: One Year After Violent Clashes in Peru, Situation for Indigenous Rights Little Improved." Common Dreams | News & Views. 10 June 2010. Web. 03 July 2010. .

Photo Courtesy Jaén, independent journalist/Amazon Watch

Pipoli, Renzo. "Garcia Denies Massacre and Keeps Laws; Forces Native Chief out." Indian Country Today. 12 June 2009. Web. 3 July 2010. .

Rénique, Gerardo. "Indigenous People Fight Against Peru’s “Law of the Jungle”." Web log post. Kim MacQuarrie’s Peru & South America Blog. June 2009. Web. 3 July 2010. .