3. Américas: Las Autoridades deben proteger a la población del COVID-19 en lugar de recurrir a medidas represivas (Press release, 16 May)
PERU Republic of Peru Head of state and government: Francisco Rafael Sagasti Hochhausler (replaced Manuel Arturo Merino de Lama on 17 November, who replaced Martín Vizcarra Cornejo on 10 November) The COVID-19 pandemic exposed shortcomings regarding access to the right to health in Peru. Inequality in access to a fragmented and underfunded health system, coupled with a lack of protection for health workers, contributed to Peru remaining among the 10 countries with the highest per capita death rate in the world. People and communities exposed to toxic metals and other toxic substances continued to demand public policies to ensure medical care. The state failed to respond effectively to continuing high rates of violence against women and girls. The lives of human rights defenders remained at serious risk due to lack of effective protection by the state and of successful criminal investigations into attacks and threats against them. Peru experienced a political, social and human rights crisis following the impeachment of the then President, Martín Vizcarra, in November.
BACKGROUND A new Congress was elected in January. The country reported its first cases of COVID-19 in March and the President declared a state of emergency. Supreme decrees and subsequent laws established mandatory stayat-home orders, among other economic and social measures to deal with the pandemic. As of 31 December, the Ministry of Health had reported 1,017,199 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 37,724 related deaths. According to the National Statistics Institute, the informal employment rate in Peru was 72.6%. In this context, the
Amnesty International Report 2020/21
mandatory measures implemented to deal with the pandemic had a particularly strong impact on livelihoods. On 9 November, Congress voted to remove Martín Vizcarra from the Presidency due to allegations of corruption. A series of demonstrations protested against the actions of Congress. These intensified on 10 November during the inauguration of Manuel Merino as President and continued until his resignation on 15 November. On 17 November, Congressman Francisco Sagasti was sworn in as President.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE In March, Congress passed the Police Protection Law which, among other provisions, establishes a presumption in favour of the police about the reasonableness of the use of lethal force. There were calls for the President to repeal the law as it violates international human rights law and could pave the way for impunity and excessive use of force by the National Police,1 particularly after the November protests. The National Police responded to the protests in November against the impeachment of President Vizcarra using excessive and unnecessary force, which resulted in the death of two young men, Jack Bryan Pintado Sánchez and Jordan Inti Sotelo Camargo, on 14 November and the injury of more than 200 others. Human rights organizations reported that police fired ammunition and tear gas at peaceful demonstrators and beat or otherwise violently subdued people. Plainclothes police officers who refused to identify themselves arbitrarily arrested people, including a human rights defender. There were also reports of illtreatment by the security forces, including of people who were reported missing. Criminal investigations into the deaths and injuries were continuing at the end of the year.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND ASSEMBLY During December, workers from the agroexport sector held protests calling for better salaries, benefits and working conditions.
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