COUNTRY OF CONCERN: PERU

At the end of 2022, Peru was launched into a new chapter of its long-lasting institutional crisis when former President Pedro Castillo was removed by Congress on 7 December 2022, directly after his attempt to dissolve the legislature. The move followed months of political instability, with the opposition-controlled Congress often at odds with Castillo during his 15 months in office. The rapid turn of events that brought former Vice-President Dina Boluarte to power sparked protests by Castillo supporters, who saw his removal and arrest as a coup by political elites.

Protests, particularly those in rural areas and led by Indigenous and campesino people, were met with excessive force by law enforcement agencies. Between 8 December 2022 and 27 January 2023, at least 57 people died, including six minors, and over 1,500 were injured. The majority of the deaths were alleged extrajudicial killings perpetrated by law enforcement officers. Civil society has recorded numerous other human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, excessive use of force, sexual violence and attacks on journalists. President Boluarte and other officials have failed to condemn abuses by police and armed forces and sometimes blamed protesters for ‘causing chaos’ and stigmatised them. Amid the turmoil, human rights organisations have been targeted and harassed by radicalised far-right groups.

The violent police response to these protests is shocking but not unprecedented. Just months earlier, a strike led by transport workers against rising fuel, fertiliser and food costs was also met with detentions and excessive force. In recent years, security forces have repeatedly used disproportionate force in response to protests, particularly those led by excluded populations away from the major cities. Rather than pursuing reforms to address police violence, in recent years Peruvian authorities have adopted a law shielding officers from prosecution for abuses.