Peru

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

Last updated: 25 August 2022

Summary

State Party Peru ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 26 September 2012. It voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2021. Peru has participated in every meeting of the convention, most recently in May 2022.

Peru has never used, produced, or exported cluster munitions, but has imported them and possesses a stockpile. Peru destroyed 296 cluster munitions and 3,000 submunitions from its stockpile during 2021, and was granted an extension of its stockpile destruction deadline until April 2024.

Policy

The Republic of Peru signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008 and ratified it on 26 September 2012. The convention entered into force for the country on 1 March 2013.

Peru regards its existing laws as sufficient to guide and enforce its implementation of the convention.[1]

Peru submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the convention on 1 August 2013 and has provided annual updated reports since then, most recently in May 2022.[2]

As part of the core group of nations that took responsibility for the Oslo Process that created the convention, Peru hosted an international conference on cluster munitions in Lima in May 2007.[3]

Peru has participated in every meeting of the convention, including the Second Review Conference held in November 2020 and September 2021.[4] Peru also attended the convention’s intersessional meetings in May 2022, where it provided an update on its progress on stockpile destruction.[5]

In December 2021, Peru voted in favor of the key United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution urging full implementation of the convention.[6] Peru has voted in favor of the annual UNGA resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

Peru has condemned the “alarming” and “horrendous” use of cluster munitions in Syria and other countries.[7] It has voted in favor of Human Rights Council resolutions condemning use of cluster munitions in Syria.[8] Peru has also voted in favor of UNGA resolutions expressing outrage at the use of cluster munitions in Syria.[9]

In September 2017, Peru elaborated its views on the convention’s prohibition on assisting with activities prohibited by the convention, stating that it interprets Article 1 as prohibiting investments in the production of cluster munitions; that is to say, it bans the provision of financial assistance to producers of cluster munitions.[10]

Peru has not commented on other important issues related to the interpretation and implementation of the convention, including the prohibition on transit and foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, and interoperability provisions on participating in joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions.

Peru is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Use, production, and transfer

Peru’s initial Article 7 transparency report, submitted in 2013, formally confirms that it has never produced cluster munitions.[11] Peru is not known to have ever used or exported cluster munitions. However, Peru has imported cluster munitions and possesses a stockpile.

Stockpiling

Peru once held a stockpile totaling 2,012 cluster munitions and 162,417 submunitions, comprised of two types of air-delivered cluster munitions (BME-330 cluster bombs from Spain, and RBK-series cluster bombs from Russia/Soviet Union) plus Alpha bomblets made in South Africa.[12]

Cluster munitions once stockpiled by Peru[13]

Type

Quantity of cluster munitions

Quantity of submunitions

RBK-250-275 AO-1SCh, each containing 150 submunitions (manufactured in 1975)

393

58,950

RBK-500 AO-2.5RT, each containing 60 submunitions (manufactured in 1987)

198

11,880

RBK-250 PTAB 2.5, each containing 42 submunitions (manufactured in 1975)

657

27,594

BME-330 NA, each containing 180 SNA submunitions (manufactured in 1986)

90

16,200

BME-330 AR, each containing 180 SNA submunitions (manufactured in 1996)

53

9,540

Alpha bomblets

-

8,445

RBK 250-ZAB 2.5 bombs, each containing 48 submunitions

621

29,808

Total

2,012

162,417

 

Peru has adjusted its reported total of stockpiled cluster munitions several times since 2013, when it initially declared a stockpile of 676 cluster munitions of three types, and 86,280 submunitions.[14] In 2016, Peru reported an additional 1,331 cluster munitions and 66,894 submunitions.[15] In 2020, it reported that 8,445 Alpha bomblets were discovered during a 2018 inspection of stocks, along with five additional RBK-250-275 AO-1SCh cluster bombs.[16]

Stockpile destruction

Under Article 3 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Peru is required to declare and destroy all stockpiled cluster munitions under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 April 2024.

Until 2019, Peru had pledged to destroy its stocks by the initial deadline of 1 March 2021.[17] Yet in March 2020, it requested an extension to its deadline for stockpile destruction by three years.[18] In 2021, Peru’s stockpile destruction deadline was extended until 1 April 2024.

The Peruvian Air Force is responsible for destroying the stockpiled cluster munitions, which are held at six air bases that it says are “restricted areas to unauthorized military personnel and civilians.”[19] Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has provided technical support to Peru’s stockpile destruction activities since 2015.[20]

Peru has reported destroying 619 cluster munitions and 15,792 submunitions from its stocks since starting the stockpile destruction process in 2017.[21] This includes 296 cluster munitions and 3,000 Alpha submunitions destroyed in 2021.[22]

Peru reported that the number of cluster munitions and submunitions destroyed in 2021 was lower than planned, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations. Previously, in 2020, Peru destroyed 160 cluster munitions and 8,595 submunitions.[23]

As of the end of 2021, Peru had 1,401 cluster munitions and 112,580 submunitions left to destroy from its stocks.

Retention

Since 2013, Peru has reported that it does not intend to retain any cluster munitions for research or training in detection, clearance, and destruction techniques.[24]  



[1] Peru has reported the 2012 ratification decree and various laws and regulations for its implementation of the convention. Legislative Resolution approving the Convention on Cluster Munitions (Resolución Legislativa que aprueba la Convención sobre Municiones en Racimo), No. 29843, 15 March 2012. On 26 April 2012, Decree 021-2012, approving ratification, was signed and published in the official journal El Peruano. Decree No. 021-2012-RE, 26 April 2012; “Ref. 464960,” El Peruano, 26 April 2012; and Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form A, 1 August 2013. See, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Database.

[2] The initial report covered the period from March–August 2013, while subsequent annual updates have covered the previous calendar year.

[3] For details on Peru’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 142–144.

[4] Peru also participated in the convention’s First Review Conference in 2015, in addition to all Meetings of States Parties, intersessional meetings in 2011–2015, and regional workshops and meetings.

[5] Statement of Peru, Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings, Geneva, 16 May 2022.

[6]Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 76/47, 6 December 2021.

[7] Statement of Peru, Convention on Cluster Munitions Fifth Meeting of States Parties, San José, 3 September 2014. Notes by the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

[8]Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” Human Rights Council Resolution 43/28, 22 June 2020. Peru voted in favor of similar Human Rights Council resolutions in 2018–2019.

[9]Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 75/193, 16 December 2020. Peru voted in favor of similar UNGA resolutions in 2013–2019.

[10] Statement of Peru, Convention on Cluster Munitions Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 5 September 2017.

[11] Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form E, 1 August 2013.

[12] During the Oslo Process, in May 2007, Peru’s Minister of Defense first publicly disclosed that the Peruvian Air Force stocked BME-330 cluster bombs, RBK-500 cluster bombs, and CB-470 cluster bombs. Ángel Páez, “Peru se suma a iniciativa mundial para prohibir y destruir las ‘bombas de racimo’” (“Peru joins global initiative to ban and destroy the ‘cluster bombs’”), La República.pe, 29 May 2007. In May 2007, a member of the national media showed HRW photographs of these cluster munitions. See, Ángel Páez, “Se eliminarán las bombas de racimo” (“Cluster bombs will be eliminated”), La República.pe, 29 May 2007.

[14] Peru reported that the stockpile is “Vencida por tiempo límite de vida,” which translates as “expired,” and stated that there is “no information on the batch numbers for the submunitions.” Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, August 2013.

[15] Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 2016.

[16] Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 4 May 2020.

[17] Statement of Peru, Convention on Cluster Munitions First Review Conference, Dubrovnik, 11 September 2015. Previously, in April 2014, Peru expressed its commitment to destroy the stockpile by the convention’s deadline and sought international cooperation and assistance to do so. Statement of Peru, Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings, Geneva, 7 April 2014.

[18] The request gave various reasons for the deadline extension, including a lack of adequate implementing legislation, lack of trained personnel, and lack of technology necessary to carry out destruction. Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 3 deadline Extension Request, March 2020.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Statement of Peru, Convention on Cluster Munitions Sixth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 6 September 2016; and Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 2017.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form B, 4 May 2020.

[24] Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report, Form C, August 2013. Before 2013, Peru had indicated that it planned to retain cluster munitions for training purposes. See, statement of Peru, Convention on Cluster Munitions intersessional meetings, Geneva, 18 April 2012.


Impact

Last updated: 10 February 2022

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Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country Summary

Landmine contamination in the Republic of Peru is the result of conflict with Ecuador in 1995 that culminated in the month-long Cenepa War, and from internal conflict with non-state armed groups (NSAGs) that ended in 1992.

The mine contamination resulting from the conflict with Ecuador covers a 178km-long section of the border and is situated in the remote Condor mountain range.[1] Since a peace accord was signed in 1998, Peru and Ecuador have emphasized bilateral cooperation, mutual trust, and transparency between their national mine action agencies—the Center for Action Against Antipersonnel Mines (Centro Peruano de Acción contra las Minas Antipersonal, CONTRAMINAS) in Peru, and the Ecuador Demining Center (Centro de Desminado del Ecuador, CENDESMI)—in order to resolve the mine problem. A Binational Humanitarian Demining Unit (Unidad Binacional de Desminado Humanitario, UBDH) was established and started joint operations in 2016.[2]

The extent of landmine contamination in Peru is small, and it seems on target to meet its current Article 5 deadline of 31 December 2024. Peru reported the release 213,912m² from 2017–2019, but said clearance did not take place during 2020 due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Risk education is conducted in the contaminated border areas, in collaboration with Ecuador.

Peru has responsibility for 345 victims of antipersonnel mines, yet has no specific victim assistance mechanism for survivors or their families.

Treaty Status

Treaty status overview

Mine Ban Treaty

State Party (Entry into force: 1 March 1999)

Article 5 clearance deadline: 31 December 2024

Convention on Cluster Munitions

State Party (Entry into force: 1 March 2013)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

State Party (Ratification: 30 January 2008)

 

Since becoming a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty in 1999, Peru has requested two extensions to its Article 5 clearance deadline. Its last extension request, submitted in 2016, was based on new information from Ecuador on the existence of 138 mined areas in the Condor mountain range.[4]

Peru’s Article 5 deadline is 31 December 2024. Given the extent of remaining contamination, Peru should be able to meet this deadline. Land release in Peru increased significantly in 2019 compared to 2018, yet Peru has since reported setbacks to demining progress: a helicopter crash in May 2019 which killed two deminers and wounded a police officer; and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which prevented any clearance operations from taking place.[5]

Peru called for international technical and financial support for clearance in 2021–2024, estimating its total funding requirements at US$1.46 million.[6]

Management and Coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination overview

National mine action management actors

CONTRAMINAS, established 2002

Mine action legislation

Directive No. 006 of the Chair of the Joint Command, February 2001: regulates the compliance of armed institutions with the Mine Ban Treaty

Supreme Decree No. 344-2015 DE/SG, December 2002: led to the establishment of CONTRAMINAS

Law No. 28824, July 2006: outlines penal sanctions for conduct prohibited under the Mine Ban Treaty

Directive No. 001/2009/DIGEHUME-SINGE: outlines standards for the operation of humanitarian demining system

Mine action strategic and operational plans

National Plan for Mine Action 2017–2024

Updated National Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2018–2024

Mine action standards

Binational Manual for Humanitarian Demining

Humanitarian Demining Standard Operating Procedures Manual for Ecuador and Peru

Protocol for Aeromedical Evacuation

 

Coordination

The national mine action program in Peru is managed by CONTRAMINAS, which was formed in 2002 and is chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CONTRAMINAS is responsible for setting strategy and priorities, and for the overall coordination of mine action activities.

Strategies and policies

Peru’s Updated National Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2018–2024 was submitted to the Mine Ban Treaty’s Committee on Article 5 Implementation in May 2018. It reported that the remaining suspected mine contaminated land in Peru, covering 0.49km² across 127 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs), would be released by 31 December 2024. Peru expected to clear 8,089 mines from these areas.[7]

As no clearance was conducted in 2020, Peru provided an updated workplan in November 2020, to clear the remaining 108 minefields over 0.37km² and destroy 5,762 landmines before the end of 2024.[8]

Information management

CONTRAMINAS uses the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA).

Gender and diversity

In 2020, Peru trained 24 women military personnel in demining, and 13 women were reported to have participated in operations.[9]

Cross-border cooperation

Ecuador and Peru established a Binational Cooperation Program in 2000. A Binational Manual for Humanitarian Demining was adopted in 2013 to unify the demining procedures of both states, in accordance with the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).[10]

During a binational meeting in November 2019, Peru and Ecuador agreed to continue cooperation on clearing antipersonnel mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Tiwinza, in accordance with the Brasilia Peace Accords of 1998 and a joint roadmap approved on 7 August 2019.[11]

The Organization of American States (OAS), via its Program of Comprehensive Action Against Antipersonnel Mines (Acción Integral contra las Minas Antipersonal, AICMA), has acted as a coordination platform and monitoring body for demining in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.[12]

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education management and coordination overview

Government focal points

CONTRAMINAS

Coordination mechanisms

Peru coordinates binational risk education campaigns with Ecuador, which are organized by the following bodies:

  • Office of National Defense and Disaster Risk Management (Oficina de Defensa Nacional y de Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres, ODENAGED), within the Ministry of Education
  • CONTRAMINAS division of the Peruvian National Police (PNP)
  • Directorate General for Humanitarian Demining (Dirección General de Desminado Humanitario, DIGEDEHUME), within the Peruvian Army
  • General Directorate of Disaster Risk Management and National Defense in Health (Dirección General de Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres y Defensa Nacional en Salud, DIGERD), within the Ministry of Health

 

Coordination

CONTRAMINAS in Peru and CENDESMI in Ecuador collaborate to implement binational risk education campaigns targeting border communities at risk from mines/ERW. These campaigns are bilingual and multisectoral, involving the ministries of health, education, defense, and interior.[13]

Legislation and standards

Peru has not reported having any national risk education standards or operational plans.

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance management and coordination overview

Government focal points

CONTRAMINAS

Coordination actors

Ministry of Health
Ministry of Education
National Council for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (Consejo Nacional para la Integración de la Persona con Discapacidad, CONADIS)
National Rehabilitation Institute (Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, INR)

Other actors

Ombudsman’s Office of Peru; responsible for implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Plans/strategies

Equal Opportunities Plan for Persons with Disabilities 2016–2021

Disability sector integration

 

CONADIS works in coordination with CONTRAMINAS to incorporate mine/ERW victims into the National Registry of Persons with Disabilities

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

 

Laws and policies

Peru bases its assistance to mine victims on existing laws.

Since 2010, the law protects persons with disabilities serving in the Peruvian Armed Forces and the Peruvian National Police, and guarantees their access to healthcare, employment, and education.[14]

In 2012, the General Law on Persons with Disabilities was enacted to establish a legal framework for the “promotion, protection and realization, on an equal footing, of the rights of persons with disabilities.”[15] The law regulates the adaptation of national legislation in line with the provisions of the CRPD.

Antipersonnel mine victims who were not members of the Peruvian Armed Forces or the Peruvian National Police, but registered in the CONTRAMINAS database, could access health insurance or social security, allowing them free care at Ministry of Health facilities.

The Ombudsman’s Office of Peru is responsible for an independent oversight mechanism for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Peru.[16] The initial report of the Office of Public Defender of Peru focused on antipersonnel landmine victims, and focused on the period 1989–1999.[17] Subsequently, it has released 10 reports on the broader situation of persons with disabilities in Peru.[18]

The Association of Victims and Survivors of Mine Fields (Asociación de Víctimas y Sobrevivientes de Campos Minados, AVISCAM) reported that more coordination mechanisms and activities needed to be developed to reinforce victim assistance in Peru.[19]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination (as of December 2020)[20]

Landmines

0.37km² (across 108 SHAs)

Extent of contamination: small

 

In its Updated National Plan for Humanitarian Demining 2018–2024, Peru estimated remaining contamination of 0.49km2 across 127 SHAs, containing an estimated total of 8,089 mines.[21] As of December 2020, Peru’s remaining contamination comprised 369,212m² across 108 minefields in the sectors of Santiago (42 SHAs), Cenepa (37 SHAs), Achiume (18 SHAs), and Tiwinza (11 SHAs).[22] Peru is expected to clear 5,762 mines from these areas.[23]

Peru has in the past provided conflicting estimates of the extent of remaining mine contamination, but recent estimates have been consistent, citing 0.37km² of SHA remaining for clearance in 2021–2024.[24] However, during the OAS Regional Dialogue in February 2021, Peru reported that 5,967 mines were planned for destruction; 205 more than reported in its Article 7 report for 2020.[25]

The contaminated areas in the Condor mountain range are in heavily-forested areas approximately 2,900 meters above sea level, presenting access difficulties for demining teams.[26]

Casualties

Casualties overview

All known casualties (between 1964 and 2020)

345 (64 killed, 281 injured)

 

Civilian status

150 civilian, 195 military and police

Age and gender*

330 men, 15 women

*Casualty data for Peru is disaggregated by gender but not age.

Peru has recorded no mine/ERW casualties since 2014.[27]

A total of 345 mine casualties (64 killed, 281 injured) have been recorded in Peru since 1964. This includes 150 civilians (135 men, 15 women) and 195 casualties from the Peruvian Armed Forces and the Peruvian National Police, all of whom were men. In all, 95% of mine victims in Peru were men, and 56% of all victims were from state security forces. The survival rate is 79% for victims from state security forces, and 85% for civilians.[28] Peru has not reported age disaggregated data.

The Ombudsman’s Office of Peru has reported that between 1994 and 1999, there were a total of 131 mine/ERW victims, of whom 33 were children. At least 38 accidents were reported to have happened along the border with Ecuador, six along the border with Chile, and 58 around electricity pylons, while 29 were attributed to improvised landmines laid by NSAGs.[29] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported in 2001 that four children had been victims of mines surrounding electric pylons in Peru.[30]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

National

Directorate General for Humanitarian Demining (Dirección General de Desminado Humanitario, DIGEDEHUME), within the Peruvian Army

CONTRAMINAS Security Division of the Peruvian National Police (Division de Seguridad Contraminas de la Policia Nacional del Peru, DIVSECOM)

Ecuador-Peru Binational Humanitarian Demining Unit (Unidad Binacional de Desminado Humanitario, UBDH)

 

Clearance

Land release overview[31]

Landmine clearance in

2016–2020

2016: 18,317m²

2017: 9,246m²

2018: 15,576m²

2019: 81,948m²

2020: 0m2

Five-year clearance total: 125,087m²

Progress

Peru expects to clear the remaining 0.37km² of land and clear 5,762 mines before its deadline of December 2024

 

Land release

No mine clearance took place in Peru in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, there was a significant increase in land cleared, with nearly 82,000m² compared to some 15,000m² in 2018. In addition, the overall land release in 2019 was higher, with 137,078m² released compared to 27,303m² in 2018.[32]

In a statement at the Mine Ban Treaty’s Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties in November 2020, Peru reported that it had not achieved its clearance plan due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A “Sanitary Protocol” had been drawn up to enable demining to resume in 2021.[33]

In November 2019, Peru and Ecuador agreed to continue cooperation on clearance of mines/ERW in Tiwinza, in line with the 1998 Brasilia Peace Accords and the August 2019 roadmap.[34]

In its 2020 update on Article 5 implementation, Peru reported technical survey would be conducted to clarify an additional 10,182m² of SHA, containing around 2,000 mines.[35] Peru planned to use a laser system, LiDAR, to survey this area, known as “PV Gutiérrez;” and to map and conduct joint clearance with Ecuador. The resources needed for this system represent almost half of the budget allocated by Peru for humanitarian demining in 2021 ($330,000 from a total budget of $737,881).[36]

Due to difficult terrain, demining in Peru has been primarily manual clearance, with the demining teams supported by 10 mine detection dogs.[37]

Risk education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators[38]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Governmental

CONTRAMINAS

Coordinates with Ecuador on risk education in border areas

National

Association of Victims and Survivors of Mine Fields (Asociación de Víctimas y Sobrevivientes de

Campos Minados, AVISCAM)

No activities reported in 2020

 

CONTRAMINAS in Peru and CENDESMI in Ecuador have collaborated in running six joint risk education campaigns up until 2019.[39] No campaign was conducted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the seventh campaign was rescheduled for September 2021.[40] The campaigns are bilingual and multisectoral, involving the ministries of health, education, defense, and interior.[41]

The main target groups for risk education in Peru are people living in communities along the border with Ecuador and students.[42]

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the mine risk for some communities. In May 2020, the mayor of Arica in Chile, Gerardo Espíndola Rojas, reported that 600 Peruvian citizens were stranded on the Chilean side of the border after its closure by Peru to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It was reported that some of the Peruvian citizens attempted to cross the border illegally through an area where landmines were present.[43]

Victim assistance

Victim assistance providers and activities

Victim assistance providers[44]

Type of organization

Name of organization

Type of activity

Government

National Council for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (Consejo Nacional para la Integración de la Persona con Discapacidad, CONADIS)

Oversees the Equal Opportunities Plan for Persons with Disabilities 2016–2021

CONTRAMINAS

Maintains the IMSMA database to register mine/ERW survivors, and facilitates access to services including prosthetic devices and legal support

National

Association of Victims and Survivors of Mine Fields (Asociación de Víctimas y Sobrevivientes de

Campos Minados, AVISCAM)

Support to survivors

 

Peru has no specific mechanism in place for the provision of assistance to mine/ERW victims. No progress on victim assistance was reported by Peru in 2020.[45] Peru reported implementing health measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account “the security and protection of vulnerable groups and mine survivors.”[46]

CONTRAMINAS maintains a registry of victims in its database.[47] In 2018, it was reported that of 282 mine/ERW survivors identified in Peru, 151 were not yet registered with CONADIS—which could allow them to access services for persons with disabilities.[48]

Medical care and rehabilitation

Remote indigenous communities in mined areas could access emergency care through local health centers. Rehabilitation and psychological support for mine/ERW victims was reportedly provided with support of private and public institutions in Peru such as the National Rehabilitation Institute, the Daniel Alcides Carrion Hospital, and the Ophthalmologic Clinic.[49]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

Improving socio-economic inclusion is a significant challenge. In 2019, Peru reported on a pension program for persons with severe disabilities living in poverty, aiming to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities in Amazonas, Apurimac, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Huancavelica, Loreto, Pasco, and Tumbes.[50] AVISCAM reported that civilian survivors often could not access pension funds or a minimum wage, and often only had access to initial medical care and rehabilitation.[51]



[1] GICHD, “Evaluation of EC-Funded Mine Action Programmes in Latin America”, Geneva, July 2008, p. 7; and presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, p. 3.

[3] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form C, p. 5. See, Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Database; and presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, p. 3.

[4] International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Leiden University, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) In Action, “Peru, Demining Action,” undated.

[5] Statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020.

[6] Presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, pp. 4–6.

[8] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form F, p. 12.

[11] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru, “Declaración Presidencial de Tumbes” (“Presidential Declaration of Tumbes”), 7 November 2019.

[12] Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), “Organization of American States,” undated; and OAS, “Regional Stakeholders Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining: Peru-Ecuador: A Shared Path,” 10–11 February 2021.

[13] Ecuador Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D, p. 14.

[14] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form A, p. 3.

[15] Office of United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “Combined second and third periodic reports submitted by Peru under article 35 of the Convention, due in 2018,” CRPD/C/PER/2-3, 14 March 2019, p. 2.

[16] Ombudsman’s Office of Peru, “Mecanismo Independiente Convención sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad – MICDPD” (“Independent Mechanism to promote, protect and monitor the application of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – MICDPD”), undated.

[17] Ombudsman’s Office of Peru, “Informe Defensorial: el problema de las minas antipersonales dentro del territorio nacional” (“Ombudsman’s Report: the issue of antipersonnel mines within the national territory”), May 2018.

[18] Ombudsman’s Office of Peru, “Serie Informes Especiales n° 36-2020-DP: el derecho a la educación inclusiva en el contexto de la emergencia sanitaria por el Covid-19” (“Ombudsman’s Special report series n°36-2020-DP: The right to inclusive education in the Covid-19 context”), December 2020.

[19] Humanity & Inclusion (HI), “Buenas prácticas de asistencia a víctimas implementadas por Asociaciones de Sobrevivientes de Minas/REG y otras Personas con Discapacidad en América Latina” (“Good practices in victim assistance implemented by Organizations of mine/ERW survivors and other people with disabilities in Latin America”), September 2019.

[20] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form C, p. 5; presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, pp. 3–4; statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020; Peru Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019 and 2020). See, Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 Database; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1.

[22] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form C, p. 5.

[23] During the OAS regional meeting in February 2021, Peru reported that 5,967 mines were planned for destruction; 205 more mines than reported by Peru in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for 2020. Presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, pp. 3–4; statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1.

[24] Presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, pp. 3–4; statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1.

[25] Presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, pp. 3–4.

[26] Statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020.

[27] Peru has reported 348 landmine victims registered in its victim database. However, this also includes the three deminers who were killed or injured as a result of a 2019 helicopter crash, which are not recorded as casualties in Monitor data. See, Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 21; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Victim Assistance, 18 November 2020, p. 2.

[29] Ombudsman’s Office of Peru, “Informe Defensorial: el problema de las minas antipersonales dentro del territorio nacional” (“Ombudsman’s Report: the issue of antipersonnel mines within the national territory”), May 2018, p. 12.

[30] ICRC, “Peru: Niños víctimas de minas antipersonal” (“Peru: Child victims of antipersonnel mines”), 31 December 2001.

[31] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 11; Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), p. 10; Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1; Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), Form A, p. 3; and presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, p. 3.

[32] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), p. 11; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), p. 10.

[33] Statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020.

[34] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru, “Declaración Presidencial de Tumbes” (“Presidential Declaration of Tumbes”), 7 November 2019.

[35] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1; and statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020.

[36] Presentation of Peru, “Peru: Achievements and Challenges in Mine Clearance,” Regional Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining, held virtually, 10–11 February 2021, pp. 4–5.

[37] José Antonio Vadillo Vila, “Desminado: La tarea pendiente del Perú” (“Demining: Peru’s pending task”), El Peruano, 5 May 2021.

[38] Statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020; OAS, “Regional Stakeholders Dialogue on Humanitarian Demining: Peru-Ecuador: A Shared Path,” 10–11 February 2021, p. 20; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1.

[39] Ecuador Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D, p. 14.

[40] Statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Eighteenth Meeting of States Parties, held virtually, 16–20 November 2020; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Article 5 Implementation, 18 November 2020, p. 1.

[41] Ecuador Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form D, p. 14.

[42] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), p. 31.

[43] Ernesto Suárez, “Alcalde de Arica se queja ante instancia de la ONU por situación de peruanos varados en distrito fronterizo” (“Mayor of Arica complains to the UN instance about the situation of Peruvians stranded in the border district”), El Commercio, 15 May 2020.

[44] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form J, p. 20; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), p. 31.

[45] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), pp. 33–35; and Peru Mine Ban Treaty Update on Victim Assistance, 17 November 2020, p. 2.

[47] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2019), Form J, p. 21.

[48] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), Form J, p. 24.

[49] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2020), pp. 33–35.

[50] Peru Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2018), Form J, p. 20.

[51] HI, “Buenas prácticas de asistencia a víctimas implementadas por Asociaciones de Sobrevivientes de Minas/REG y otras Personas con Discapacidad en América Latina” (“Good practices in victim assistance implemented by Organizations of mine/ERW survivors and other people with disabilities in Latin America”), September 2019.


Mine Ban Policy

Last updated: 18 December 2019

Policy

The Republic of Peru signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified on 17 June 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 March 1999. Peru enacted domestic legislation to penalize violations of the Mine Ban Treaty on 22 July 2006.[1]

Peru consistently attends meetings of the treaty, including the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014, and more recently the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018, where it provided statements on victim assistance and Article 5 mine clearance efforts.[2] Peru also attended the intersessional meetings of the treaty in Geneva in May 2019, where it provided an update on Article 5 clearance.[3] Peru previously served on the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration (2010), the Committee on the General Status and Operations of the Convention (2011–2012), and the Committee on Cooperative Compliance (2015–2016).

Peru is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and its Amended Protocol II on landmines. It is also party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and retention

Peru is a former producer of antipersonnel mines.[4] The Ministry of Defense has stated that Peru has never exported antipersonnel mines.[5] Peru used antipersonnel mines around its electricity towers and public infrastructure during and after the internal conflict of 1980–1992.[6]

Peru destroyed its stockpile of 338,356 antipersonnel mines between 1999 and December 2001.[7]

As of December 2018, Peru retained 2,015 mines for training purposes.[8] In May 2011, Peru reported that it retained 2,040 antipersonnel mines, which is 2,050 fewer mines than previously reported.[9] In April 2010, Peru reported a total of 4,090 mines: 2,060 antipersonnel mines for training purposes and 2,030 mines retained for training that had been transferred for use “in the education and training of military personnel in basic and new techniques for demining.”[10] In 2009, Peru reported a total of 4,047 mines retained for training purposes.[11] Peru has never reported in any detail on the intended purpose and actual use of its retained mines.

Use

Remnants of the non-state armed group Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) have reportedly used victim-activated explosive devices, referred to as “explosive traps.”[12] Victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty.

In November 2010, local media reported that police had found 25 mines or explosive booby traps that it attributed to the Shining Path.[13] In June 2010, media reported that a Peruvian soldier lost his leg after stepping on a mine while on patrol near the perimeter of the Cerro San Judas army base.[14]

In October 2009, El Comercio reported that Staff Sergeant Sanchez EP Ipushima Euler was killed by a mine laid by the Shining Path.[15] Minister of Defense Rafael Rey reportedly stated that the mine was laid by the Peruvian army.[16] Minister of Defense Rey later clarified that an investigation into the incident had found the soldier was killed by an IED planted by the “narcoterrorists” (Shining Path).[17] In December 2009, Peru’s Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Néstor Popolizio confirmed that there had been no mine use by Peru.[18]



[1] Law No. 28824 imposes penal sanctions of five to eight years imprisonment. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, April 2007; and statement of Peru, Seventh Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 21 September 2006. The text can be found in the Boletín oficial de normas legales (Official Bulletin of Legal Norms) of the legal newspaper El Peruano.

[2] Statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 27 November 2018; and statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 29 November 2018.

[3] Statement of Peru, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, Geneva, 22 May 2019.

[4] The police produced the DEXA mine until production facilities were closed in 1994, while the navy produced the CICITEC MG-MAP-304 and the CICITEC MGP-30 mines until production facilities were closed in 1997. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form H, 2 May 2005; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Forms E and H, April 2003.

[5] Telephone interview with Gen. Raúl O’Connor, Director, Information Office, Ministry of Defense, 19 April 2000.

[6] Peru has denied mine-laying during the 1995 border conflict with Ecuador. Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form C, 6 May 2004.

[7] Two destructions of a total of 11,784 antipersonnel mines between March 2000 and March 2001 are sometimes not included in Peru’s destruction totals. Peru destroyed the bulk of its stockpile, 321,730 mines, between 30 May and 13 September 2001. Peru declared stockpile destruction complete in September 2001, but then destroyed a further 926 mines in December 2001 that it had intended to retain for training.

[8] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2019.

[9] Ibid., 16 May 2011.

[10] Ibid., 29 April 2010.

[11] Ibid., 29 April 2009.

[12] One article cited use of “explosive traps” in 24 attacks. “Las minas artesanales y trampas explosivas. Asesinos silenciosos en el Alto Huallaga” (“Artisanal mines and explosive traps. Silence murders in the Alto Huallaga”), InfoRegion (Lima), 28 October 2008, www.inforegion.pe. In the past decade, the only other reports of use of antipersonnel mines or antipersonnel mine-like devices by Shining Path came in June and July 2003. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 657. There were isolated reports of incidents involving explosive devices in subsequent years. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2005, p. 476; and Landmine Monitor Report 2006, p. 588.

[13] “Ataque senderista contra campamento del Corah al norte de Tocache mata a un policía y hiere a otro” (“Shining Path attack against Corah camp north of Tocache kills a policeman and wounds another”), IDL-Reporteros, 6 November 2010.

[14] Miguel Gutiérrez R., “Mina que mató a sargento fue colocada por las FFAA” (“Mine that killed sergeant was placed by the armed forces”), La República (Lima), 15 October 2009.

[15] “Muere sargento EP en Vizcatán al pisar mina senderista” (“EP sergeant dies after stepping on Shining Path mine”), El Comercio (Lima), 13 October 2009.

[16] Original text: “Desgraciadamente fue una mina nuestra. Toda esa zona está minada para evitar ataques externos, y (Euler Sánchez) no tuvo la precaución de ir por los lugares que estaban indicados. Pisó una mina nuestra; eso le ocasionó la muerte.” Miguel Gutiérrez R., “Mina que mató a sargento fue colocada por las FFAA” (“Mine that killed sergeant was placed by the armed forces”), La República (Lima), 15 October 2009.

[17] Letter from Rafael Rey, Minister of Defense, to the ICBL, 27 November 2009.

[18] He also said the Ministry of Defense had sent instructions to ensure the armed forces have the right information on legal obligations and international commitments, and that the Ministry of Defense had checked the stockpile of retained mines and none were missing. Notes from ICBL meeting with Néstor Popolizio Bardales, Vice Minister of Foreign Relations, and Wilyam Lúcar Aliaga, Contraminas, in Cartagena, 3 December 2009.


Support for Mine Action

Last updated: 11 December 2017

In 2016, international funding toward mine action in the Republic of Peru remained very low, with just one contribution reported from Norway totaling some US$100,000.[1]

The government of Peru provided $1.4 million in 2015 to its mine action program.[2] In 2012–2015, Peru contributed three-quarters of its total mine action budget ($6.6 million). No information on any national contribution was available for 2016.

Since 2012, international support toward mine action activities in Tajikistan has totaled some $2.3 million, and dropped by more than 95%.

In its second extension request, Peru estimated that a budget of $39 million would be needed to support its mine action program from 2017 to 2024.[3]

Summary of contributions: 2012–2016[4]

Year

National contributions (US$)

International contributions (US$)

Total contributions (US$)

2016

N/R

101,268

101,268

2015

1,433,532

123,945

1,557,477

2014

1,609,211

79,782

1,688,993

2013

1,600,000

153,192

1,600,000

2012

2,000,000

2,025,490

4,025,490

Total

6,642,743

2,330,485

8,973,228

Note: N/R = not reported.



[1] Email from Ingrid Schoyen, Senior Adviser, Section for Humanitarian Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31 May 2017.

[2] Peru’s Second Article 5 Revised deadline Extension Request, August 2016, p. 11. Average exchange rate for 2015: PEN3.1391=US$1, Oanda.com, Historical Exchange Rates.

[3] Peru’s Second Article 5 Revised deadline Extension Request, August 2016, p. 11.

[4] See previous Monitor reports.