Opinion: Reopening Investigations of Campaign of Forced Sterilization in Peru

by Laura Cools

Women protesting / Courtesy of Laura Cools

Ollanta Humala, the current president of Peru, pledged to end the prevailing impunity for forced sterilizations performed under President Fujimori’s authoritarian regime. During his electoral campaign, he declared that there can be “no democracy in a country where amnesia and an absence of justice are promoted.” The government of Peru has demonstrated its intention to live up to its claim by announcing that investigations into these human rights abuses have been reopened before/during a session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights this October.

Upon presenting its new human rights policy, the state vowed to mainstream the promotion of human rights throughout its institutions, reverse impunity and accept its responsibilities. All forced sterilizations will be investigated as crimes against humanity, instead of previously as mere common crimes. Peru must now comply with its international obligations and effectively carry out investigations for accountability to be established. Alberto Fujimori–sentenced to 25 years in prison for forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture during the 1990s internal armed conflict– is no longer to be shielded from responsibility.

A Coercive Anti-Poverty Strategy Targeting Peru’s Indigenous Population

The 2054 victims who were affected by the large-scale forced sterilization campaign and whose cases were shelved by the Peruvian judiciary in 2009 only represent the tip of the iceberg. All of the 314,605 women and 24,563 men who were subjected against their will to a tubal ligation or vasectomy in the mid-nineties continue to await justice. President Humala’s electoral promise may now become reality. The Reproductive Health and Family Planning Program was launched in 1995 by former President Fujimori. It was widely hailed as a means of empowerment which sought to foster women’s reproductive rights and alleviate poverty. However, it rapidly became evident that far more obscure motivations were at play. Through “Plan Verde,” ex-President Fujimori mandated the treatment of “surplus beings through a generalized sterilization among those culturally backward and impoverished groups.” Voluntary surgical contraception as family planning was rapidly implemented, but became anything but voluntary. Evidence gathered in 2003 by Congress shows that in exchange for a bag of rice, a piece of cloth or some money, thousands of women underwent operations in subpar medical conditions; while others were deceived, threatened or physically forced to undergo sterilization.

Mamérita Mestanza Chavez: A Fatal Sterilization

In 1996, public health officials in Cajamarca harassed the 33 year old indigenous peasant Mamérita Mestanza, repeatedly visiting her home and threatening to denounce her to the police. They alleged that the government had enacted a law saying that a person who had more than five children would be fined and imprisoned if she did not undergo sterilization. Fearful, her husband acquiesced to the officials’ demands. Prior to surgery, however, no medical examination was carried out and Mamérita Mestanza received no information on the risks and impact of the sterilization surgery. After the surgery was performed, severe complications arose, but when her husband sought assistance, Mamérita was denied medical treatment. This led to her death eight days later, at home. A Ministry of Health investigation later revealed that other women had also died as a result of the surgery, while others continue to suffer from its physical consequences and traumatic impact.

Responsibility at the Highest Levels of Government

The former Minister of Health, Alejandro Aginuagua alleged that stories such as Marmita’s were isolated instances of individual professional misconduct by members of the medical corps, and thus not a cause for investigation. On the contrary, a clearly defined state policy of sterilization was directly orchestrated and controlled at the highest levels of government. Despite death threats against herself and her family, Peruvian lawyer Giulia Tamayo started bringing the crimes to light in 1996. Quotas were imposed upon hospitals across the country and “sterilization festivals” were organized to round up women, she explains. According to Dr. Hector Chavez, president of a medical federation, health care practitioners received a monetary incentive of 5 dollars to 10 dollars per sterilization they performed. Investigations by the Ministry of Health and Congress found that former President Alberto Fujimori and his Health Ministers were directly responsible for the coercive nature of the program. Despite evidence of their crimes, the country has dragged its feet in rendering justice.

Reparations for Victims and Accountability for Perpetrators Still Pending

Peru recognized its responsibility for the violation of human rights before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the emblematic Mamérita Mestanza vs. Perú case. In a 2003 friendly settlement it paid out US $10,000 each in compensation to Mamérita’s husband and children and agreed to prosecute those responsible for her tragic death. Criminal investigations into Mamérita’s case as well as over 2000 others have repeatedly been obstructed and were finally shelved in 2009 by the Peruvian judiciary. As a stinging failure in the pursuit of justice for widespread and systematic violations, the Inter-American Commission condemned the prevailing impunity.

Despite the new government’s declared transition in human rights policy, the Ministers of Defence and Labor have recently called for an end to all prosecutions through a veiled amnesty for all human rights abuses committed during the internal armed conflict, claiming that, “when you enter a process of national reconciliation, there must be pardon and oblivion for all.” Those shielding themselves from responsibility argue that the abuses belong to the past, that differences should be buried and that Peruvians must reconcile. Yet amnesia and impunity do not signify genuine reconciliation. For an inclusive Peruvian nation to head towards a prosperous and united future, justice must be rendered for victims and society alike so that the rights of the indigenous population are upheld and such atrocities do not occur again.

President Humala’s commitment should not remain a lofty electoral promise. The time has come for these investigations to be carried out efficiently and with adequate resources. The time has come for all victims to receive reparations and for those responsible in the Fujimori administration to be held accountable. Francisco Eguiguren, Minister of Justice of Peru, declared at the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights that “the State would not defend human rights violators and murderers.” By reopening investigation into these forced sterilizations, it must show that words are translated into deeds, in the interest of these women victims and society at large.”

Laura Cools is pursuing an MA in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University where she focuses on transitional justice. She has lived in Peru and worked on sexual violence committed during the internal armed conflict for APRODEH, co-petitioner in the Mamérita Mestanza vs. Perú case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Published in RightsNews Volume 30, no. 2, February, 2012.
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