Within Peru, human rights are protected under the Constitution. The Peruvian Constitution underscores the importance of the state to preserve the dignity of all human beings. The Constitution includes articles that promote the right to self-determination, equality and non-discrimination, and life. Ever since the end of the internal conflict in Peru that occurred from 1980 to 2000, the country has worked to integrate humanitarian regulations and statuses into national law. However, there are still instances of particular rights being challenged. The 2014 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State explains how even with the Constitution protecting these basic human rights, many violations continue to occur despite these laws. In spite of the country's progress since the Maoist insurgency, many problems are still visible and show the continued marginalization and displacement of those who suffered through the systematic violence of the Peruvian conflict. In 2001, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was founded to address the abuses that took place during this conflict.
Background In the 1980s, a decade of systematic violation of human rights occurred in Peru in the war against terrorism, characterized by guerilla groups like the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Army against the Peruvian government. Over 600,000 people were displaced as a direct result of the armed conflict, while many others disappeared. In response to greater land reform and social and economic rights, the conflict instead led to increased human rights violations. As opposition grew towards the Fujimori government, so did violence. However, both the Peruvian security forces as well as the guerrilla insurgencies were responsible for the drastic increase in human rights violations throughout the period of violence. It is estimated that more than 27,000 Peruvians died due to these human rights abuses on both sides of the conflict. Thousands of bombings, assassinations, and instances of torture were carried out against members of the government, as well as civilians, throughout the period of insurgency. The Shining Path was known to attack government leaders, community leaders, trade unionists, ethnic minorities, religious workers, human rights activists, and foreign tourists. Most of the resulting casualties were civilians, making the Peruvian internal conflict one of the most violent in its history.
At the turn of the century, Alberto Fujimori resigned from the Presidency, and the violence came to a halt. As the country began to recover from the decades of conflict, programs like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission emerged, recommending levels of compensation for those individuals and communities in areas such as "mental and physical health, education, economic support and the provision of identification documents, regardless of the resulting financial implications. The Commission worked to look into prosecuting former Peruvian security forces for committing these human rights violations for decades. However, despite these movement towards improving the human rights situation in Peru and accepting the effects of the internal conflict on specific populations, these populations continue to be displaced, evidencing that implementation processes are not occurring at a rate where sustainable solutions can be successful.
The Peruvian Constitution addresses topics of human rights from its first article. It states within the first two articles that every human has a right to their respect and dignity, as well as their life, equality, and various freedoms relating to personal opinions and security.Peru Constitution of 1993 with Amendments through 2009. These "fundamental rights of the person" are delineated throughout the Constitution, and act as a legal resource for human rights. However, despite this legal document and the progression past internal conflict, the country continues to face challenges in the protection of human rights. Peru is also associated with the American Convention on Human Rights, which makes it subject to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Respect for integrity The second article of the Peruvian Constitution states that every person has the right "to life, his identity his normal psychical, and physical integrity, and his free development and well-being." Martha Nussbaum discusses the importance of bodily integrity in her book Creating Capabilities. In many ways, this includes the right to control your own body, and the right to be secure in good health. The Peruvian Constitution protects for these rights. In terms of labor and health rights, the Constitution discusses the instance of equal opportunity without discrimination for all Peruvian citizens.
Labor rights Within the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, "labor law" is defined as those labor rights that are internationally recognized. These rights include "freedom of association; the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced of compulsory labor; the effective abolition of child labor, a prohibition of the worst forms of child labor, and other labor protections for minors; the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health."
In Peru, labor unions are freely organized. However, they must abide by certain rules and requirements set forth in the legislation. The labor movement was originally linked with the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance, allowing for the emergence of the Confederation of Peruvian Workers in 1964. Union activity increased throughout the military years, introducing the Industrial Reform Law, which in turn led to a decrease in formal sector employment. As a result of the armed conflict in Peru in the early 1980s, economic decline increased, removing power from labor unions. Near the turn of the century, many strikes occurred throughout labor and opposition groups against Fujimori's reelection bid. Some believe that these protests were among the most successful pro-democracy mobilizations in Peru.
Between 1995 and 2003, the Peruvian government issued around 1.2 million urban household property titles. These land titles positively influenced economic outcomes for the people of Peru. The government titling program, unlike most other welfare programs, helped to increase employment opportunities in Peru, bringing more people into the labor force.
With respect to child labor, Peruvian children continue to be engaged in industry. The Peruvian government has established laws for child labor. The minimum age for work in Peru is 14 years old, and 18 years old when participating in hazardous work. In 2014, around 68% of child laborers under the legal working age were working in rural areas on farms, while 31% of child laborers worked in the urban service sector in numerous hazardous occupations. Frequently, those children in work settings live in poor, indigenous communities who rely on child labor to survive. Those children who live in extreme poverty are four times more likely to be simultaneously studying and working than those children from non-poor families. Both labor and criminal law enforcement agencies in Peru have worked to combat child labor by suggesting different forms of government action to eliminate it entirely, like expanding access to education and social programs.
Health rights Different areas of Peru have inhabitants who experience varying levels of discrimination and poverty. These differences heighten the discrepancies in morbidity and mortality rates, as well as preventable diseases, within poor, indigenous populations. As of 2011, Peru had an infant mortality rate at 17 per 1,000 live births, and a maternal mortality rate of 98 per 100,000 live births. Although many advances in the health sector have occurred within Peru since the end of the war against terrorism, the health system has not adopted full and equal rights for all citizens of Peru. With regards to race, ethnicity, and gender, there are still visible disparities in health services. Even though Peru's national health plan expresses a clear commitment to universal access, the country still suffers to provide quality health care access to all citizens.
In 2002, a civil-society network labelled ForoSalud was created to act as a space to have conversations regarding health. By uniting 80 member organizations throughout Peru, the program aims to develop new health policies centered on efficiency and extension of health services. The goal of the network is to fully establish health as a universal right for residents of Peru. In order for this to be accomplished, the organization has worked to promote good quality health services to reach those who live in poverty and exclusion from greater Peruvian society. It is estimated that 40% of the Peruvian population has no access to health care and larger health services. ForoSalud has prioritized health participation among citizens in order to impact larger health decisions being made on the national and regional levels. Their proposal promotes a more "bottom-up approach to participation," striving to "promote accountability of government officers for both the achievements and shortcomings of health policy."
Another group of organizations, CARE-Peru and Physicians for Human Rights, have both supported monitoring accountability and maintenance for health rights and access within Peru. Today, CARE works to structure their programs around discriminated and vulnerable populations like women, indigenous groups and rural populations, in order to help them exercise their rights as citizens of Peru. In Peru, CARE focuses on maternal health, working to reduce the high infant and maternal mortality rates, and nutrition, promoting food security and sustainable economic development initiatives to improve the health and well-being of the vulnerable citizens of Peru. All the partnerships within Peru work to help these vulnerable populations be better positioned to advocate for changes in their communities within more national health service contexts.
On June 19, 2020, Swedish public pension fund AP7 blacklisted three firms namely South Korean company SK Holdings, Canadian cannabinoid firm Cronos Group and Egyptian electrical company Elsewedy Electric for alleged human rights abuses in Peru.
Civil liberties The Constitution also protects various civil liberties, which guarantees personal freedoms. Education and freedom of religion are essential liberties that are included within the Peruvian Constitution. Education is a basic human right and within Peru, every individual is entitled to an education without discrimination. Similarly, freedom of religion is a human right that Peru acknowledges in their Constitution, preventing the instance of discrimination for religious differences.
On 11 April 2022, the Human Rights Watch stated that several decrees issued by Pedro Castillo in certain areas of the country suspend basic rights and amount to disproportionate measures that open the door to abuse.
Education rights