Commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty

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]

On 16 May 2011, Peru submitted its 12^th Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report, for the period from March 2010 to March 2011.

Peru attended the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in November–December 2010, as well as the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2011.

Peru served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration in 2010, and as co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on the General Status and Operations of the Convention in 2011.

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

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and retention

Peru is a former producer of antipersonnel mines.[2] The Ministry of Defense has stated that Peru has never exported antipersonnel mines.[3] Peru used antipersonnel mines around its electricity towers and public infrastructure during and after the internal conflict of 1980–1992.[4]

Peru destroyed its stockpile of 338,356 antipersonnel mines between 1999 and December 2001.[5]

In May 2011, Peru reported that it retained 2,040 antipersonnel mines for training purposes, which is 2,050 fewer mines than previously reported.[6] 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.”[7] In 2009, Peru reported a total of 4,047 mines retained for training purposes.[8]  Peru did not report in any detail on the intended purpose and actual use of its retained mines.

Use

Since early 2007, remnants of the non-state armed group Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) have reportedly used victim-activated explosive devices, referred to as “explosive traps.”[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

In October 2009, El Comercio reported that Staff Sergeant Sanchez EP Ipushima Euler was killed by a mine laid by the Shining Path.[12] Minister of Defense Rafael Rey reportedly stated that the mine was laid by the Peruvian Army.[13] Rey later clarified that an investigation into the incident had found the soldier was killed by an IED planted by the “narcoterrorists” (Shining Path).[14] In December 2009, Peru’s Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Néstor Popolizio confirmed that there had been no mine use by Peru.[15]

Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Republic of Peru signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.

Peru’s ratification of the convention has been progressing. During 2009 and 2010, the convention was reviewed by relevant government agencies.[1] In October 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Relations submitted the ratification package to the Cabinet.[2] Ratification legislation, number 4638-2010-PE, was introduced in Congress in late 2010 and referred to a congressional committee for review.[3] On 18 April 2011, the Committee on Foreign Relations issued a report recommending approval of the ratification legislation.[4]

At the First Meeting of States Parties, Peru gave an update on ratification and said that it had started to determine national and international resources required for implementation. Peru also said it had begun the process of preparing a voluntary Convention on Cluster Munitions Article 7 report.[5]

As one of the small core group of nations that took responsibility for the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Peru hosted an international conference on cluster munitions in Lima in May 2007.[6] Since 2008, Peru has continued to support the convention despite the delay in ratifying. Peru attended the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010, as well as intersessional meetings held in Geneva in June 2011.

A local NGO, the Institute for Security and Human Rights (Instituto de Seguridad y Derechos Humanos, ISDH), has been campaigning for Peru to ratify the convention without delay.[7]

Peru is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. Peru is also party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) and its Protocol V on explosive remnants of war, but has not engaged in CCW deliberations on cluster munitions in recent years.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

Peru is not believed to have ever used or produced cluster munitions.

In May 2007, the Peruvian Minister of Defense publicly disclosed that the Peruvian Air Force possesses stockpiles of CB-470 cluster bombs of South African origin, BME-330 cluster bombs of Spanish origin, and RBK-500 cluster bombs of Russian/Soviet origin.[8] The status and precise composition of the current stockpile is not known.

Peru has expressed concerns about the cost and timing of the destruction of its stockpile of cluster munitions.[9] In June 2011, Peru said that it was working on plans for the destruction of its stockpiled cluster munitions.[10]

Contamination and Impact

Mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination in Peru is the result of internal and international armed conflict.

Mines

Peru has two distinct mine problems. One is the Condor Mountain Range in the sparsely populated Amazon basin, where, in 1995, during an armed conflict with Ecuador, antipersonnel mines were emplaced along the border in Amazonas, Cajamarca, Piura, and Tumbes departments.[1] In June 2010, Peru reported 36 mined areas remaining, covering a total of 192,700m² in the sectors of Cenepa (22 mined areas), Santiago (eight mined areas), Achuime (five mined areas), and Tiwinza (one mined area) in Amazonas department, containing 28,514 mines.[2] In May 2011, Peru reported the same number of mined areas after having cleared 36,000m² of contaminated area.[3]

However, there appears to be significant additional contamination. Peru and Ecuador have been exchanging information about mined areas on the border between the two countries since May 2010.[4] In its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for 2010, Peru included 13 mined areas in Ecuador (see Mine Action section of the Ecuador country profile) and 10 previously unreported areas in Peru.[5] The extent of this contamination has not, though, been reported. In August 2011, Ecuador and Peru planned to meet in Chiclayo and Lima in Peru to discuss strategies on how to work together to clear the areas.[6]

Previously unreported mined areas identified in Peru in 2010

The second mine problem is in the center of the country where, in the 1980s, mines were planted to protect infrastructure against attacks from non-state armed groups.[7] In total, 837 electricity pylons, three antenna transmitters, one electricity substation, three high-security prisons, and two police bases were mined.[8] As of June 2011, all of the mined pylons, transmission antennas, and substations had been cleared, as well as Miguel Castro Castro prison on the outskirts of Lima and the prison at Yanamayo, leaving one prison and two police bases to be demined. Mine clearance at the prison in Huacariz in Cajamarca city was underway as of June.[9]

Explosive remnants of war

In 2009, in a speech to the UN General Assembly, Ambassador Gonzalo Gutiérrez said that Peru was fighting the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) in rural areas, and that Shining Path was using explosive devices or booby-traps to protect coca harvests.[10]Casualties in 2008 and 2009 from improvised explosive devices and ERW have been reported in the River Apurímac and River Ene valley (VRAE) region, an area where the armed forces of Peru have been engaged in combat with Shining Path.[11] In November 2010, the police engaged the Shining Path in La Pólvora in northern Tocache province after the rebels had attacked a camp of coca eradicators. The police encountered several ERW; it was reported that police explosive ordnance disposal personnel deactivated “up to 25 mines.”[12]A media report in May 2011 said homemade booby-traps were affecting the coca eradication program in Upper Huallaga Valley in San Martín.[13]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

The national mine action authority is the Executive Council, comprised of representatives of the ministries of defense, education, health, interior, and the National Council for the Integration of Disabled Persons (Consejo Nacional Para la Integracion de la Persona con Discapacidad, CONADIS). The Council, which is chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sets strategy and priorities and approves plans and budgets.[14] Under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Peruvian Center for Mine Action (Centro Peruano de Acción contra las Minas Antipersonales, CONTRAMINAS) coordinates planning and operations to meet Peru’s Mine Ban Treaty obligations, including for clearance.[15]

CONTRAMINAS is responsible for overall management and day-to-day coordination of mine action activities. The Organization of American States (OAS) has assisted Peru in mine clearance since May 2001. The Assistance Mission for Mine Clearance in South America (Misión de Asistencia a la Remoción de Minas en Suramérica, MARMINAS), established by the Inter-American Defense Board in May 2003 to support mine clearance in both Ecuador and Peru, provides technical advice to the OAS and monitors demining operations. OAS provides monitors to support the Peruvian army’s clearance operations.[16]

United States (US) funding through RONCO has provided training and equipment to CONTRAMINAS and refurbished the National Humanitarian Demining Training Center (Centro Nacional de Capacitación en Desminado Humanitario) at Chiclayo—the fourth largest city in Peru and transit city from Lima to the border for demining teams—where both police and army deminers are trained.[17]US funds also supported the improvement of medical evacuation capacity by repairing an existing Peruvian helicopter.[18]

Relations between Peru and Ecuador appear to have improved as a result of addressing the mine problem on the border. Senior officials, as well as the presidents of each country, have met several times since 2007 to discuss progress towards meeting Mine Ban Treaty obligations. In May 2010, at a meeting in Huaquillas, Ecuador between the commanders of each demining program, Peru provided data and sketch maps for 13 mined areas in Ecuador.[19] In August 2011, 10 deminers from Ecuador planned to attend a basic demining training course at Chiclayo.[20]

Land Release

The Peruvian Armed Forces General Directorate of Humanitarian Demining (Director Ejecutivo de la Dirección General de Desminado Humanitario del Ejército de Perú, DIGEDEHUME) is responsible for clearance of the border with Ecuador. A specialized unit of the national police, the Security Division (División de Seguridad, DIVSECOM), is responsible for clearing mines/ERW around the high-tension electricity pylons and other infrastructure.[21]

Mine clearance in 2010

Peru reported that in 2010 it had destroyed 78 mines during 17,349m² of clearance in Cahuide, Chiqueiza, and Pacahacutec in Rio Santiago district on the border with Ecuador. In January–June 2011, clearance continued in these areas and a further 18,636m² of area was cleared and 314 antipersonnel mines destroyed.[22]

 The National Police completed clearance at Miguel Castro Castro prison and the prison at Yanamayo in 2010. During clearance of 4,863m² they destroyed 3,747 antipersonnel mines. In January–June 2011, the police cleared 2,158m² at Huacariz prison while destroying 1,557 antipersonnel mines.[23]

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the eight-year extension request granted in 2008), Peru is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2017.

While Peru has made good progress in clearing the mined areas around infrastructure it is not clear how the 10 newly identified mined areas on the border with Ecuador will affect Peru’s ability to meet its 2017 Article 5 deadline.

Quality management

The OAS conducts quality control on all completed clearance tasks.[24]

Other Risk Reduction Measures

In 2010, risk education campaigns were implemented in the towns near the border monitoring post at Nativa de Papayacu in Amazonas region; around the police base at Tulumayo in Amazonas; at the police base and the town center in Uchiza in Santa Lucia and in Tocache district in San Martin region; and in Leoncio Prado in Huanuco province. The OAS and the ICRC provided support through the distribution of education materials.[25]

Casualties Overview

The Monitor identified seven casualties in a single incident in Peru in 2010; two soldiers were killed and five injured after stepping on a victim-activated improvised explosive device (IED) in the River Apurímac and River Ene valley (VRAE) in November.[1] Two casualties were reported for 2009.[2]

The last confirmed casualties caused by factory-made mines occurred in 2007.[3] Since 2007, most of the casualties identified have been caused by victim-activated IEDs in areas of coca cultivation.[4]

The total number of mine/IED and explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties recorded in Peru since 1991 is 434 (52 killed; 378 injured; four unknown).[5]

Victim Assistance

Between 1991 and the end of 2010, there were at least 378 mine/IED/ERW survivors identified in Peru.[6]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In 2010, the Peruvian Center for Mine Action (Centro Peruano de Acción contra las Minas Antipersonales, Contraminas), together with the Polus Center and other Peruvian NGOs, continued to assess the needs of all survivors. By the end of the year, victim assistance survey teams had interviewed and designed individualized social and economic reintegration plans for 70% of the 327 survivors registered with Contraminas. Survivors in need were also connected with medical care and/or physical rehabilitation services.[7]

Victim assistance coordination[8]

In September 2010, Contraminas convened the Victim Assistance Consultative Committee for a national workshop on victim assistance. Other coordination activities included survivor needs assessment and referrals, as well as training medical professionals to identify and register mine survivors. The  Victim Assistance Consultative Committee also gave support to a pilot project to improve community-based rehabilitation (CBR) in the province of Junín, an area with a significant number of mine survivors.[9]

Peru’s National Victim Assistance Plan was finalized in early 2010.[10] The Plan’s objectives include providing individualized support for socio-economic reintegration for all registered survivors and strengthening local healthcare and rehabilitation facilities in mine affected areas.[11] During the year, activities included in the plan were co-implemented by Contraminas and the Polus Center with financing from the Organization of American States (OAS) and other donors.[12]

Survivor Inclusion

The Association of Victims and Survivors of Minefields (Asociación de Victimas y Sobrevivientes de Campos Minados, AVISCAM) and other national NGOs working with mine survivors are members of the Victim Assistance Consultative Committee.[13] As members of the needs assessment interview teams, mine/ERW survivors are directly involved in implementing and monitoring the National Victim Assistance Plan. The interview teams also work with survivors to design and implement socio-economic reintegration programs.[14]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

In 2010, there was an increase in the availability of victim assistance services, especially socioeconomic reintegration programs in Peru. There were also some initial efforts to overcome obstacles to the accessibility of services for survivors living in rural and remote areas.[15]

As in previous years, medical facilities and the country’s main rehabilitation center were centralized in the capital, while most survivors were based in rural communities. The time and expense of traveling to these services prevented most survivors from accessing them.[16] In response to accessibility challenges, multidisciplinary teams including doctors, ophthalmologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers traveled to the provinces of Junín and Huancavelica in May and provided assistance to 27 survivors.[17] In addition, a pilot project developed capacity for the Huancayo hospital in Junín to provide physiotherapy, as well as repairs and adjustments to prosthetics. This was to be duplicated in other areas of the country where CBR programs are in place.[18]

To improve the quality of prosthetics, training was provided to technicians at the National Institute of Rehabilitation (Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, INR) by the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) and by the Polus Center.[19] The cost of prosthetics for survivors referred by Contraminas was covered by the OAS.[20]

The availability of economic inclusion initiatives increased significantly in 2010. The Polus Center provided economic inclusion services to 50 survivors throughout the country, generally either education and training or micro-finance.[21] In 2010 AVISCAM launched a new program in cooperation with the National Institute of Research and Training in Telecommunications (INICTEL) to offer online courses in web and graphic design and telephone repair to mine survivors and other persons with disabilities.[22]

Peruvian law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities, but few resources were dedicated to its implementation and persons with disabilities remained economically and socially marginalized. Few efforts were made to ensure the accessibility of public buildings.[23]

Peru ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 30 January 2008.

In 2010 the United States (US), Norway, Spain, Germany, and Italy contributed US$2,534,825 for clearance and victim assistance activities in Peru,[1] approximately 6% less than in 2009.

The US provided the support through RONCO and the US-based NGO, the Polus Center. Norway, Spain, and Italy made their contributions through the Organization of American States (OAS). Germany made a direct contribution to the government of Peru for equipment.

International contributions: 2010[2]

Summary of contributions: 2006–2010[3]