On the 28 August 2003 the Truth and Reconcilation Commission (TRC) published its report on the violence in Peru during the period 1980-2000. The Commission had gathered evidence on the violence by Sendero and to a lesser extent by the State, and made recommendations for reparations and improved administration.
In June 2004 two UK parliamentarians, with the assistance of the Peru Support Group (PSG), visited Peru to assess the impact of the work of the TRC; it subsequently issued a report.
This year, the 20th anniversary of the TRC report, the PSG arranged a visit by Lord Alderdice, one of the original parliamentarian visitors, and Ana Reyes-Hurt, the PSG’s Coordinator. Their report ‘Twenty Years on’ is now issue in English and Spanish.
The Peru Support Group (PSG) is deeply concerned by current threats to democratic governance in Peru. Democratic values and institutions have been severely shaken following an extremely close finish to the second round of presidential elections held on 6 June. The election campaigns heightened polarisation in Peruvian society and now the institutions which act as the guardians of democratic electoral processes in the country are threatened. Democracy in Peru is in danger.
PSG HAS ISSUED A COMMUNIQUE IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH.
The Peru Support Group hosted a series of webinars as a substitute for its annual conference which was cancelled because of the Covid-19 crisis:
Webinar 1: The Differing Effects of Covid-19 in Peru
Webinar 2: The Pandemic and its Impact on Indigenous People
Webinar 3: The Challenges of Economic Recovery
Webinar 4: Could anything good come out of the Covid-19 Crisis for Peru?
Webinar 5: Towards Peru’s 2021 elections
Webinar 6: Peru’s 2021 elections: Second round
Webinar 7: Democratic governance and the environment: Prospect for Peru
Webinar 8: ‘Peru Today: Turmoil or Transition’ Politics and Anti-Politics in Pedro Castillo’s Peru
Details of forthcoming events and after each event, recordings of each webinar and summaries of each in both english and spanish can be found HERE
Through the lens of projects that have involved dialogue between mining companies and communities affected by mining, this report seeks to draw some broad conclusions about what constitutes ‘good’ and ‘bad’ practice. It focuses on the results of ‘dialogue tables’ for four mining projects which have proved relatively successful in avoiding outright and violent confrontation.
The mines analysed include two in northern Peru, both in the Cajamarca region, La Granja and Cerro Corona; and two in the south, Quellaveco in Moquegua and San Rafael in Puno.
The project included research carried out in all four of these mine regions as well as information from literature studies on other mines. The results are presented in a relatively short and synthetic report (2019, 32 pages).
The Peru Support Group submitted to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) our assessment of some of the most pressing human rights concerns in the country.
The UPR is a State-driven process where each Member State has the opportunity to talk about their human rights record.This year, Peru (and many other countries) will be assessed in November through the UPR by UN Member States on their human rights record. During the sessions, the Human Rights Council will provide the opportunity to the Peruvian State to report on the actions they have taken to implement the recommendations they accepted during the previous review in 2012 and other measures they have taken to improve the human rights situation in the country.
Very importantly, the UPR mechanisms also allows other stakeholders, including civil society organizations, to submit information of their assessment of the human rights situation in a particular country, which becomes part of the information assessed by the UPR Working Group during the UPR sessions, taking place in Geneva. The outcome of the sessions is a report agreed by the working group, which contains a series of recommendations, which are the responsibility of the State to fulfill.
In our submission, we highlighted some of the issues that we found of concern, including: rights abuses and judicial harassment against people taking part in social protests, including human rights defenders, in the context of projects related to the extraction of natural resources; Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent, and issues related to the right to effective remedy. We also highlight the continued barriers facing women’s access to justice and reparation, including in relation to forced sterilisations. The document also contains a list of recommendations to the Peruvian state.
The Peru Support Group was present at the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Global Conference, held in Lima on 24 and 25 February. Prof. Anthony Bebbington, for the PSG, chaired a side event on the shrinking space for civil society. The issue of civil society and its participation in the EITI proved to be a fractious issue, with some civil society groups walking out of the conference in protest. Here we summarise the work of the conference in terms of the EITI itself (and its importance for Peru), alongside the results of two side events: one held by Oxfam on the need for free, informed and prior consent (FPIC) for all extractive projects, and the other (written by Anthony Bebbington) on the role of civil society as an indispensable element within the EITI.
This PSG case study, published by King’s College London and other universities, details the escalating conflicts and human rights violations associated with the Rio Blanco mining project from 2003. It differs from previous analyses in that it explains events in Piura, and subsequent efforts to obtain justice for the victims, principally through primary source material, including court documents, diplomatic cables, videos, photos and victim testimony. In so doing, it seeks to explain why many in Piura continue to oppose the project to date, and to highlight the potential for future conflict over the issue. (2012)
This report, available in both English and Spanish, critically examines the extent to which artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is responsible for the various problems often attributed to it. The report argues that a shortcoming of much analysis of the phenomenon thus far has been the failure to make a clear distinction between the size of mining (artisanal, small, medium or large-scale) and its mode of operation (illegal, informal or formal). This has often resulted in misconceptions about what the precise characteristics of ASM operations are. (September 2012)
This report, which was published to commemorate International Women’s Day 2009, presents a snapshot of the themes with regard to gender relations and women’s situation in Peru (April 2009).
This evaluation by the Peru Support Group of the five years since the publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report and recommendations on the period of internal armed conflict suffered by Peru between 1980 and 2000, is a timely reminder to the international community that despite the economic dynamism that the country has experienced over recent years at the macro level, exclusion continues to be prevalent. The actors may have changed, but the political landscape remains unchanged (February 2009).
This report addresses the relationships between mining and development in Peru, focusing on a particular experience in the Northern highlands of Piura – the Río Blanco Project, executed by Minera Majaz, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British company Monterrico Metals. The report is the work of an independent delegation organised and coordinated by the Peru Support Group (PSG). (March 2007)
This report by Lord Alderdice and John Battle (MP) is the result of a UK Parliamentary Delegation to Peru 21-25 June 2004. It supports the implementation of the Report of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
This report summarising the findings of Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was sponsored by CAFOD, CIIR, Christian Aid, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Save the Children and Tearfund and was prepared by the Peru Support Group. It was first published in 2004 and republished with some small changes in 2006.
This report sponsored by WOMANKIND Worldwide looks at how Peruvian women have been claiming their rights. The last few decades have been very difficult, particularly during the Sendero period. They, as well as men and children, suffer from the consequences of political instability, violence, poverty exclusion and environmental degradation.