Human rights groups in Peru have voiced alarm over a controversial anti-NGO law that prevents civil society organisations from taking legal action against the state for human rights abuses – a move that activists say will prevent the vulnerable from accessing justice.
Peru’s deeply unpopular congress added a harsher amendment to an existing bill which was fast-tracked through the chamber with 81 votes in favour, 16 against and four abstentions on Wednesday.
The vote expands the powers of the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI) giving it more oversight of international aid, but, in a way that threatens the independence of non-profit organisations.
The move is the latest in a series of government-backed rollbacks on civil and human rights and attacks on press freedom in Peru that has prompted international concern. Polls show that President Dina Boluarte and the country’s congress have approval ratings of less than 5%.
The law’s backers say it boosts transparency over funding for civil society and augments government oversight of foreign interference in state matters.
Ahead of the vote, Alejandro Aguinaga, a lawmaker for the rightwing Fuerza Popular, accused NGOs of using international cooperation to “fill their pockets at the expense of Peru’s poorest”. Aguinaga, a former health minister, faces allegations he facilitated the forced sterilisation of thousands of rural Indigenous women.
Carlos Rivera, director of the Legal Defense Institute, a Peruvian NGO, called it a “simply brutal” move. He said the law could have a devastating impact for the legal defense of the “victims of human rights violations, almost 100% of whom are handled by NGOs”.
It was particularly concerning, he said, that the law made it a serious offense with a fine of up to $500,000 for NGOs to litigate or even legally support any administrative or judicial cases against the government, both nationally and internationally.
“For me it is the most unconstitutional law passed Peru since the 1995 amnesty laws,” he said.
The 1995 amnesty laws blocked prosecution against military and police for human rights abuses committed during the country’s 1980-2000 internal conflict against leftist armed groups, principally the Shining Path. The abuses included including forced disappearances, torture and massacres. The laws were later declared unconstitutional for violating the right to justice and breaching international human rights standards.
Julia Urrunaga, Peru director at the Environmental Investigation Agency, said it was “absolutely false” that NGOs operated without accountability, insisting they are “subject to the same rules of the game as any other civil society entity” and had been reporting to APCI agency for more than 20 years.
“What is being done is to prevent civil society organisations from being able to act with independence and freedom, to be able to work in the defense of the human rights of citizens,” she said.
The regional organisation for Amazon Indigenous people, Orpio, called the law a “serious step backwards in the defense of our fundamental rights and access to justice for Indigenous peoples”.
Peru’s history of military rule, democratic instability and corruption means civil society organisations have played an important role in national development.
But Peru’s ultra-conservative right has appealed to the narrative that USAid funds are used in Peru for political purposes. In February, Donald Trump cancelled 83% of USAid foreign aid programmes.
President Boluarte has joined the attack against NGOs. Speaking at an event last month, she said: “We cannot allow the discourse of human rights to be used as an ideological weapon to undermine the authority of the state and delegitimise the principle of order.”
Boluarte is under investigation for the death of nearly 50 people in anti-government protests in December 2022 and January 2023. Prosecutors also accuse her of accepting bribes in the form of Rolex watches and jewellery. She has denied any wrongdoing.
