On 12 March, Congress approved amendments to the bill that established the Peruvian International Cooperation Agency. The amendments will strengthen government control and scrutiny over the work of civil society organizations that receive international funding. Controversially, the amendments establish sanctions for NGOs for activities that could be detrimental to public order or national security. The vagueness of the provisions would allow for their discretional application, prompting concern among human rights practitioners. The amendments would classify the financing by an NGO of legal action against the government as an aggravating circumstance, meaning that organizations could be sanctioned for legally challenging government policies with which they disagree. Analysts assert that they restrict civic space and serve as a hurdle to access to justice for victims of human rights violations. Proponents of the bill allege that the amendments will strengthen transparency and accountability in the work of NGOs. President Dina Boluarte is expected to either make observations or sanction the amendments. 

 Sources: Congreso de la Republica, Wola, Infobae, Amnesty International 

A special prosecutor for trafficking in persons, and the congressional leadership have launched inquiries into an alleged prostitution ring in the legislature. Investigations claim that the former head of the Legal and Constitutional Office of Congress hired women to pose as assistants and office workers, to provide sex services to Congress members. Allegedly, the objective was to maintain a sex for votes scheme. The scandal came to light after a former adviser at the Legal and Constitutional Office was killed in an apparently targeted attack while she was travelling in a taxi. Media reports suggest the adviser recruited, on behalf of the former head of the Legal and Constitutional Office, the alleged victims of the trafficking ring. The former head and politicians accused of having participated in the scheme have denied wrongdoing. The special prosecutor is expected to continue its investigation to determine whether charges should be brought against those allegedly involved.

Sources: CNN, Voz de América, The Guardian, El Pais

In its decision on a complaint raised by five women victims of forced sterilization in the 1990s, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommended that the Peruvian State provide comprehensive forms of reparations to the complainants, and that it conducts all necessary inquiries into the practice of forced sterilization and implement a broader reparations program for all people affected. The Committee found that the practice of forced sterilization in Peru in the 1990s ‘amounted to sex-based violence and intersectional discrimination’, and recognized that rural, Indigenous and economically marginalized women were particularly affected by the State’s reproductive health and family planning program implemented during those years. Pursuant to the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women, Peru has six months to inform the Committee of the measures adopted to address CEDAW’s decision and recommendations. 

Sources: OHCHR, El Comercio Peru 

Former President Alejandro Toledo was convicted and sentenced on 21 October for the crimes of laundering of assets and collusion, in the context of the ‘Lava Jato’ scandal that originated in Brazil. It is the first conviction of a high-level Peruvian official related to this corruption scandal. He was accused of receiving over USD 35 million in bribes from the Odebrecht construction company in exchange for contracts to build sections of the Interoceánica Sur highway. During the hearing, in which he was found guilty, he was sentenced to 20 years and six months imprisonment, after a lengthy process that required his extradition from the United States. Toledo has denied all accusations, and his lawyer announced he would appeal. 

Sources: La Republica, Infobae, El Pais, The Guardian

A chamber of the National Specialized Criminal Court convicted Alberto Rivero Valdeavellano, who in 1984 acted as chief of military command in Huanta, of crimes tantamount to crimes against humanity, committed in the context of Peru’s internal armed conflict (1980-2000). The chamber determined his responsibility as direct perpetrator of the enforced disappearance of journalist Jaime Ayala and 45 other people, including peasants from the Culluchaca community. He was also found responsible as indirect perpetrator of the murder of 17 people. Rivero was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. The resolution regarding Augusto Gabilondo García del Barco, another former official charged in the same case is pending, as he is a fugitive. In an exercise of constitutional control, in García del Barco’s case, the chamber disapplied recently enacted legislation that introduced a statute of limitations on crimes against humanity, considering it is contrary to the constitution and Peru’s international obligations, upholding the charges against him. The judgment has been appealed.

Sources:  Estado Peruano, La República , APRODEH, Infobae, LatAm Journalism Review, El País,  International IDEA