Peru Human Rights
Human Rights Concerns
Segundo Alberto Pizango Chota, president of an Indigenous People's organization in Peru, is reported to be returning to the country on 26 May after several months in exile in Nicaragua. He is facing charges in Peru which seem to be unsubstantiated, and he may not be given a fair trial.
Alberto Pizango was charged with "rebellion, sedition and conspiracy against the state and the constitutional order", as well as with "apology of crimes against public order". However, at the time of the violence, Alberto Pizango was in Lima, hundreds of kilometers away. The evidence for the charges appears to rest solely on a press conference given by Alberto Pizango on 15 May 2009 where he called for an "Indigenous insurgence" against the government. At the press conference he apparently clarified that the call for insurgency was a call to the government to annul a series of laws which were being passed without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous people, as a first step to initiating a dialogue as equals. He publicly retracted this call the following day in the presence of the Human Rights Ombudsperson and this retraction was posted on AIDESEP’s website as well as being reported in the press.
Relevant Links
Peru Newsroom
February 1, 2021 • Press Release
Fresh Evidence of Police Misuse of Tear Gas Leading to Protesters’ Deaths and Injuries – Updated Investigative Website
Amnesty International today published new evidence of the misuse of tear gas by security forces in several countries in the second half of 2020, including during protests around the election in Uganda, the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, and in the repression of protesters in Lebanon.
February 27, 2020 • Report
Countries cracked down on asylum and the right to protest in the Americas in 2019
As millions took to the streets to protest rampant violence, inequality, corruption and impunity, or were forced to flee their countries in search of safety, states across the Americas clamped …
October 3, 2018 • Press Release
Peru: Decision to overturn Fujimori pardon confirms that victims’ rights must take priority over political decisions
In response to the decision of the Preparatory Trial Court of the Supreme Court of Justice to overturn the pardon granted to former President Alberto Fujimori on December 24, 2017, …
April 11, 2018 • Press Release
Americas: Summit leaders must prioritize solving grave human rights challenges
Regional leaders must prioritize the protection of human rights in their final declaration at the VIII Summit of the Americas and take immediate action to fulfil that commitment in their …
September 13, 2017 • Report
A Toxic State
The Peruvian government is neglecting the health of hundreds of Indigenous people whose only sources of water are contaminated by toxic metals and who lack access to adequate health care, Amnesty International said in a new investigation published today.
February 22, 2016 • Press Release
Amnesty International’s Annual State of the World Report Slams Governments, Including the U.S., for Global Assault on Freedoms
On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.
February 18, 2016 • Report
Amnesty International State of the World 2015-2016
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
February 18, 2016 • Press Release
Your rights in jeopardy, global assault on freedoms, warns Amnesty International
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
May 26, 2015 • Press Release
Peru: The price of protest must not be death
Planned protests against a copper mining project in southern Peru must be allowed to go ahead peacefully and without police repression, said Amnesty International, amid fears of a recurrence of the fatal violence that marred protests in recent weeks
May 6, 2015 • Press Release
Peru: Urgently investigate two deaths in past two weeks amid anti-mining protests
The Peruvian authorities must promptly ensure thorough, independent and impartial investigations into the deaths of two men in the past two weeks amid the policing of anti-mining protests in the south of the country.
