UN Condemns Peru’s Forced Sterilisation Program in 1990s as Abuses Against Rural Women

The report noted the severe mental and physical health impacts of these procedures, describing widespread trauma among the forcibly sterilised women.

In a landmark decision, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) condemned Peru’s state-led sterilisation program of the 1990s, identifying it as a form of sex-based violence and intersectional discrimination against vulnerable Indigenous, rural, and economically disadvantaged women. The findings followed a detailed investigation spurred by a complaint from five victims who suffered forced sterilisation between 1996 and 1997.

"The victims recounted a consistent pattern of coercion and deception by medical practitioners who pressured or misled them into undergoing sterilisation in facilities lacking adequate infrastructure and personnel," noted CEDAW member Leticia Bonifaz. She highlighted the barriers victims faced, especially those from remote areas, who could not speak or read Spanish, and were thus unaware of the procedure's nature and consequences.

In one particularly harrowing case, a victim from Pichgas, Huánuco, recalled being intercepted in the street by medical personnel and taken to a clinic two hours away. Illiterate and unaware of the procedure, she was sedated and sterilised without consent. Upon waking, she was informed that she was “cured” from having children, discharged without post-operative care, and abandoned by her husband upon his discovery of her sterilisation.

The report noted the severe mental and physical health impacts of these procedures, describing widespread trauma among the forcibly sterilised women. The victims initially filed their complaint with CEDAW in 2020, alleging that Peru had violated its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by failing to adequately investigate, hold perpetrators accountable, and provide appropriate reparations.

While the Peruvian government defended the program as part of a broader reproductive health policy, it was revealed that the sterilisation campaign disproportionately targeted women, with over 300,000 women sterilised compared to only about 25,000 men. The Committee underscored that forced sterilisation specifically constitutes sex-based violence against women due to the invasive nature and heightened surgical risks of the procedure.

The Committee condemned the program as intersectional discrimination, explaining that the victims overwhelmingly belonged to Indigenous, rural, and economically disadvantaged communities. Accounts from victims were deeply troubling, with some describing being forcibly transported to makeshift health centres where medical practitioners treated them “like animals,” using crude tools and performing procedures in unsanitary conditions.

CEDAW called on Peru to implement wide-reaching reparative measures for victims, including comprehensive investigations, financial compensation, and access to psychological support. Furthermore, the Committee raised serious concerns about a recent law in Peru preventing the prosecution of crimes against humanity committed before 2002, which could hinder justice for the victims of forced sterilisation. Emphasizing that such forced sterilisation programs could qualify as crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute, CEDAW joined the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Office in urging Peru to rescind this law, which contravenes international human rights standards.

The UN Committee concluded that a comprehensive reparation program and the immediate nullification of impunity measures are essential steps for the Peruvian government to meet its obligations to protect and restore the rights of affected women.