Peru: Information on the areas under a state of emergency in 1995
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1995 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PER21983.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Peru: Information on the areas under a state of emergency in 1995, 1 October 1995, PER21983.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aca95f.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| 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. |
The information that follows was provided in a 6 October 1995 telephone interview by a researcher at the Andean Commission of Jurists (CAJ). The original source of the information was a limited-circulation report (Reporte Especial No. 50) published by the non-government organization DESCO in June 1995. The researcher added that more recent overviews of the areas under state of emergency are currently unavailable to the CAJ; however, major changes in the areas covered by the state of emergency have not been reported.
The departments that include areas under a state of emergency as of June 1995 are Huánuco, Loreto, Lima, Ucayali, Cusco, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Junín, Pasco and San Martin.
The provinces under a state of emergency as of June 1995, by department, are as follow:
Huánuco: Puerto Inca, Ambo, Huacaybamba, Huamalíes, Huánuco, Leoncio Prado, Pachitea and Marañón (the whole province except the district of Huacrachuco).
Loreto: Ucayali and Alto Amazonas (only the district of Yurimaguas).
Lima: Lima, Barranca and Huarochirí.
Ucayali: Coronel Portillo and Padre Abad.
Cusco: La Convención (only the district of Quimbiri).
Ayacucho: La Mar, Lucanas, Cangayo and Huamanga.
Huancavelica: Castrovirreyna, Huaycará and Huancavelica.
Junín: Huancayo, Concepción, Jauja, Satipo and Chanchamayo.
Pasco: Oxapampa.
San Martín: the entire department.
In all, 37 provinces and 2 districts were under a state of emergency as of June 1995. This area covered 265,788 square kilometres with a population of 9,407,000.
In addition to the above, various sources refer to the areas under a state of emergency in 1994 in general terms, naming only some of them.
Country Reports 1994 states that the government "lifted emergency zone status, which provides for the suspension of certain constitutional guarantees, in six provinces in November [1994], but this status continued in Lima and other provinces, affecting 48 percent of Peru's 22 million people" (1995, 481).
Human Rights Watch World Report 1995 states that in 1994 "over one-third of the country remained under emergency legislation and the de facto control of the military" (1995, 115).
Keesing's Record of World Events reports that on 13 November 1994 "the government extended for 60 days the existing state of emergency in the department of Lima, including the capital and the neighbouring port of Callao, because of continued terrorist activities there" (Nov. 1994, 40275). The report adds that "the next day, however, the state of emergency was lifted in four provinces in Puno department, and one province each in Huánuco and Piura departments" (ibid.). According to the same source, on 12 January 1995 Peruvian state radio reported that "the government had extended by another 60 days the state of emergency in Lima and neighbouring Callao" (ibid. Jan. 1995, 40356-57).
The attached documents are reports of the extension or lifting of a state of emergency status in various specific areas of Peru, January to May 1995.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Andean Commission of Jurists (CAJ). 6 October 1995. Telephone interview with researcher.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1995. Human Rights Watch World Report 1995. New York: Human Rights Watch.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. January 1995. Vol. 41, No. 1. "Peru."
_____. November 1994. Vol. 40, No. 11. "Peru."
Attachments
Agence France Presse (AFP) [Paris, in Spanish]. 14 January 1995. "Government Extends State of Emergency in Cusco." (FBIS-LAT-95-010 17 Jan. 1995, p. 55)
EFE [Madrid, in Spanish]. 10 June 1995. "State of Emergency Extended in Several Provinces." (FBIS-LAT-95-114 14 June 1995, p. 27)
_____. 11 May 1995. "State of Emergency Extended for 60 Days in 8 Provinces." (FBIS-LAT-95-092 12 May 1995, pp. 43-44)
_____. 25 March 1995. "No Need for State of Emergency in Elections Seen." (FBIS-LAT-95-059 28 Mar. 1995, pp. 44-45)
_____. 11 March 1995. "State of Emergency Extended in Ucayali, Loreto, Huanuco." (FBIS-LAT-95-049 14 Mar. 1995, p. 52)
Radio Programas del Peru [Lima, in Spanish]. 10 April 1995. "Government Extends State of Emergency in Several Provinces." (FBIS-LAT-95-070 12 Apr. 1995, p. 55)
_____. 14 March 1995. "Government Extends State of Emergency in Cusco." (FBIS-LAT-95-050 15 Mar. 1995, p. 37)
_____. 13 March 1995. "State of Emergency Extended in Lima, Callao, Huarochiri." (FBIS-LAT-95-049 14 Mar. 1995, p. 52)
_____. 7 February 1995. "State of Emergency Extended in Huanuco, Loreto." (FBIS-LAT-95-028 10 Feb. 1995, p. 44)
_____. 12 January 1995. "State of Emergency Extended 60 Days in Lima, Callao." (FBIS-LAT-95-009 13 Jan. 1995, p. 43)
