Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Peru
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 2001 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Peru, 2001, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805d72d.html [accessed 1 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
REPUBLIC OF PERU
Mainly covers the period June 1998 to April 2001 as well as including some earlier information.
- Population:
– total: 25,230,000
– under-18s: 10,174,000 - Government armed forces:
– active: 115,000
– reserves: 188,000
– paramilitary: 77,000 - Compulsory recruitment age: no conscription
- Voluntary recruitment age: unknown
- Voting age (government elections): 18
- Child soldiers: indicated in government armed forces; indicated in armed opposition groups in recent past
- CRC-OP-CAC: signed 1 November 2000; does not support "straight-18 position".
- Other treaties ratified: CRC, GC/API+II
- There are indications of under-18s in government armed forces, including some forcibly recruited despite legislation to the contrary. Armed groups used child soldiers extensively in past conflicts.
GOVERNMENT
National Recruitment Legislation and Practice
Law No. 27178, Law of Military Service, published in the official diary on 29 September 1999 eliminated the system of Obligatory Military Service and implemented a voluntary service.1490 Under Article 6 of this law, forced recruitment is explicitly prohibited.1491
Although there is no conscription, young people of the age of 17 are required to present themselves to a Military Institute in order to be evaluated. A Military Ticket (Boleta Militar) and later a Military Passbook (Libreta Militar) are obtained through the process of military registration and selection. The latter document is required to obtain a national identity document which is the only civilian identity document.1492
Supreme Decree No. 004-DE/SG was published in the Official Diary of Peru on 17 March 2000, approving the Regulation of the Military Service Law. In the period 2000-2002, there will be a mandatory call-up if those volunteering for military service are insufficient to meet the minimum quota necessary for the effective functioning of the armed forces. Reserve service will remain obligatory and may possibly be extended for more than 30 days in situations of emergency.1493
Mistreatment of military recruits is reported to be common. Four deaths among recruits in 2000 were reportedly the result of mistreatment, however all appear to have been 18 or older.1494
Child Recruitment
A mission of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights which reported in June 2000 "was informed by experts that although legislation establishes that registration for compulsory military service is required from age 18, in recent years there have been many cases of levies or forced recruitment of persons under 18 years of age in several parts of the country, particularly in border areas or rural areas of the interior."1495
OPPOSITION
Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path): 1500
Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (MRTA): 200
Both the armed opposition movements in Peru have effectively been defeated, although they are thought to retain minimal forces.
Past Child Recruitment
At its peak, Shining Path was believed to have forcibly recruited several thousand children from indigenous communities in areas under its control.1496 The MRTA was also known to recruit child soldiers.1497
Criminalisation of Child Soldiers
One of the consequences of the recruitment of children by armed groups has been the adoption of legislation that lowers the age of criminal responsibility to 16 and establishes up to 25 years imprisonment for anyone threatening the public order.1498 According to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, more than 40 juveniles under the age of 18 have been tried or sentenced.1499 According to another source, 200 adolescents between 15 and 18 years of age had been tried and sentenced as of 1999.1500
DEVELOPMENTS
International Standards
Peru signed the CRC-OP-CAC on 1 November 2000, but does not support a "straight-18" position.
1490 Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos Peru, Informe Annual Peru 2000, www.cnddhh.org.pe/annual100.
1491 Ibid.
1492 Ibid.
1493 Ibid.
1494 US State Department, op. cit.
1495 Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Peru, OEA/Ser.L/V/11.106, 2/6/00.
1496 CEAPAZ, La violencia armada en el Peru y su impacto en la situacion de ninos y adolescents, pp.24-25.
1497 E.g. Salt Lake Tribune, 12/1/97, quoted by RB, Children of War, No.1, 1997, reporting that the MRTA had kidnapped and indoctrinated children between the ages of 11 and 15.
1498 Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Peru, OEA/Ser.L/V/11.106, 2 June 2000.
1499 Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Report on mission to Peru, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1999/63/Add.2, para. 148.
1500 Information provided by Claudia Julieta Duque, UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America at Latin America Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers, 5/7/99.
