Baroness Coussins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the allegation that up to 300,000 forced sterilisations took place in Peru between 1996 and 1998, in the light of the Presidential Decree in November 2015 that there should be a Registry of Victims.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Former President Alberto Fujimori’s National Family Planning Programme (Programma Nacional de Planificación Familiar) was carried out in Peru from 1996 to 1998. More than 2,000 complaints were brought against the government alleging individuals had been unaware of the permanent nature of these operations or had been financially compensated for being sterilised.

An independent Congressional Committee set up to investigate the programme in 2002 established that 346,219 women and 24,535 men had been sterilised from 1993 to 2000. The committee recommended that victims of forced sterilisations be compensated and the responsible parties subject to legal proceedings.

In January 2014, after nearly 10 years of investigations, the Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against some health professionals involved in the programme; no charges were brought against the government.

On 6 November 2015, a Supreme Decree was published which mandated the creation of a central register of “victims”. This aims to provide free legal advice, psychological support and medical attention to those affected. The Ombudsman will represent individuals in courts and seek reparations for those individuals found to be victims of irregularities in the implementation of this programme.

This Government is working towards eliminating all forms of violence against women. This is part of our work to promote the golden thread of democracy, rule of law, free media and open, accountable institutions. Our Embassy in Lima continues to monitor developments on this issue.