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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

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

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

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

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]

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

*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

Clearance

Land release overview[31]

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]

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]

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]