lethal force, contrary to international human metals in Espinar, had yet to be adequately 2 rights law, remained in force. consulted with the communities. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS Thanks to the efforts of the National Platform of Persons Affected by Toxic Metals, Although the Ministry of Justice approved an a special multisectoral plan to ensure Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of medical care for those affected was approved Human Rights Defenders in April, three at the end of the year. defenders were killed during the year. According to the NGO Global Witness, Peru WOMEN’S RIGHTS was the third most lethal country in South Despite the approval of the Gender Parity America for human rights defenders. Law for Political Participation in 2020, the Congress had yet to ratify the Regional composition of the new government’s cabinet Agreement on Access to Information, Public was 87% male, compared to 58% under the Participation and Justice in Environmental previous government. Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean The pandemic exacerbated economic (Escazú Agreement) by the end of the year. inequality by increasing the burden of unpaid RIGHT TO HEALTH care work shouldered by women. According to the National Statistics Institute, economic According to official figures, since the recovery favoured men more than women; beginning of the pandemic, 2,301,177 paid employment increased by 15% for men, people had been infected with Covid-19 and while for women it increased by only 8%. almost 202,741 deaths had been recorded, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS making Peru the country with the highest number of deaths per million people. Lack of According to the Ministry of the Interior’s oxygen and insufficient hospital capacity Missing Persons Register, 12,984 women meant that care could not keep up with were reported missing in 2021, compared to demand. Despite initial scandals over 11,828 in 2020. Women represented 64% of corruption and the failure by government the total number of missing persons, but this officials to respect prioritization in the was not recognized by the government as a vaccination programme, the process form of gender-based violence. continued with clear prioritization criteria and According to the Ombudsperson’s Office, in in accordance with international standards. 2021 146 women were victims of femicide, By the end of the year more than 80% of the compared to 136 in 2020. target population (those over 12 years of age) SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS has been vaccinated. Victims of forced sterilizations more than 25 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS years earlier were still seeking truth, justice In July, the Cusco Regional Health Authority and reparation. In March, the Public shared its Action Plan with Amnesty Prosecutor's Office finally brought charges International and environmental health against former president Alberto Fujimori and specialist Fernando Serrano of Saint Louis several health ministers under his 1 University. The plan had been ordered by a administration as the “indirect perpetrators”. December 2020 court ruling to address the In December, the judiciary ordered a judicial health crisis caused by toxic substances investigation against them. However, the among Indigenous communities in the executive had yet to grant reparations to the mining area of Espinar. By the end of 2021, victims, despite the fact that the official the plan, which is not based on specific registry of victims of forced sterilizations analysis of the risks to human health and the contained more than 7,000 registered cases. environment related to exposure to toxic During the pandemic, the number of births to girls under 10 years of age was Amnesty International Report 2021/22 297