Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Seventy-seventh session

Summary record of the 8th meeting

Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva, on Thursday, 13 February 2025, at 3 p.m.

Chair:Ms. Crăciunean-Tatu

Contents

Consideration of reports (continued)

(a)Reports submitted by States parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant (continued)

Fifth periodic report of Peru (continued)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

Consideration of reports (continued)

(a)Reports submitted by States parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant (continued)

Fifth periodic report of Peru (continued) (E/C.12/PER/5; E/C.12/PER/Q/5; E/C.12/PER/RQ/5)

At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of Peru joined the meeting.

A representative of Peru, resuming his delegation’s replies to the questions raised at the previous meeting, said that the bills to amend Act No. 29535 that had been submitted to Congress were not intended to revoke the recognition of Peruvian Sign Language under the Act but rather to set out the scope of the Act and to amend the definition of, and require the provision of interpretation services in, Peruvian Sign Language.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion had been taking steps to facilitate the transition of self-employed individuals from the informal to the formal economy and had issued guidelines to that end for use at all levels of government. A list that the Ministry had prepared of jobs and activities that were dangerous or harmful to the physical or moral health of adolescents was being disseminated through the regional offices for labour and employment promotion. The work authorizations issued to adolescents by those offices helped to formalize their employment relationships.

Ten municipalities had implemented a municipal model for the detection and eradication of child labour. The National Labour Inspection Authority had a specialized group of forced labour and child labour inspectors. The authority’s regional offices provided technical assistance in the eradication of child labour and carried out inspections in rural areas. To help keep adolescents out of hazardous work, the Ministry of Education offered alternative education programmes, such as a programme for persons 14 years of age and older who had not finished basic education, and was rolling out different educational models in rural areas, including those that combined on-site and distance learning.

On 24 July 2022, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion had adopted a supreme decree amending the regulations to the law on collective labour relations and bringing them into line with the decisions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association and the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Ministry had also prepared a sectoral plan for the promotion of freedom of association and had made it available for comment by trade unions, employers’ organizations and the general public. Inspectors with the National Labour Inspection Authority were deployed nationwide and engaged in monitoring to ensure that workers’ rights and employers’ legitimate interests were both protected when the right to strike was exercised. The Authority’s Directorate for Inspection-related Intelligence had put together a separate team of specially trained inspectors to address the right to strike, and the Authority had adopted internal guidelines on handling cases involving that right.

Of the 2,331 persons with disabilities who had registered with the job bank of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion in 2024, 370 had found jobs. In addition, 3,929 standard labour certificates had been issued, and the work experience of 2,724 persons with disabilities had been certified through the Ministry’s website. As at November 2024, 12,561 persons with disabilities were working in 6,382 businesses. In 2024, 7,000 persons with disabilities had taken part in the “Llamkasun Peru” temporary employment programme, and 3,472 family members of persons with severe disabilities had participated in the “With You” programme. In 2024, the National Council for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities had inspected 105 public entities, including 12 ministries, 24 regional governments, 42 provincial municipalities and 27 district municipalities, and had imposed 103 penalties for failures to meet the quota set under the General Act on Persons with Disabilities (No. 29973) for the employment of persons with disabilities, with the fines amounting to over 6 million soles (S/.).

Of persons surveyed in the third quarter of 2024, 90.7 per cent – over 93 per cent in rural areas and over 89 per cent in urban ones – had said that they had some form of health insurance, with the most common being coverage under the Comprehensive Health Insurance System.

When the National Labour Inspection Authority became aware of a potential violation of one of the regulations that it was responsible for monitoring, including those on labour formalization, the payment of wages, benefits and freedom of association, it could conduct a documentation-based inspection, removing the need for travel to a remote location, and thereby make more efficient use of its resources. Special operations had been carried out in various areas in the Provinces of Tambopata and Manu to promote labour formalization and to verify compliance with socio-labour regulations in informal mining. The Authority used a compliance management module for managing and resolving complaints efficiently, including in remote areas.

The Government’s official nationwide database on Indigenous Peoples contained sociodemographic and geographic data. Inclusion in the database did not give rise to any rights. Any locality or community not in the database that met the relevant criteria under the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) could exercise its collective rights. The database was updated regularly, and work had begun in the field in 2022 to collect missing information.

The Ministry of the Environment had implemented the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan and was taking 84 measures in thematic areas such as agriculture, water, fishing and forests. A national climate change strategy had been adopted for the period to 2050. It encompassed both climate change mitigation and adaptation and set out steps for addressing greenhouse gas emissions.

Between 2017 and 2018, the Government’s approach to corruption had shifted from reaction to prevention, as reflected in the National Integrity and Anti-Corruption Policy. The Public Integrity Secretariat was the lead anti-corruption agency. Public entities had adopted an integrity model comprising rules and tools to help them identify risks of corruption, take prevention or mitigation measures and increase their capacity to respond to corrupt or unethical practices, and each entity had appointed an integrity officer to oversee implementation of the model. Special prosecutors and courts were in place to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption and hand down punishment.

A specialized national system of justice for the protection of women and family members from violence and the punishment of perpetrators had been established in 2018, bringing together a variety of services, including those provided through the women’s emergency centres and shelters of the Aurora Programme, the public defender system of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the special family units of the National Police and the special prosecutors’ offices for violence against women and family members. The system had already been implemented in 8 of the country’s 34 judicial districts – primarily with financing from the Results-based Budget Programme for the Reduction of Violence against Women, an intersectoral, intergovernmental tool used to fund measures for the prevention of gender-based violence and the provision of assistance and reparation to victims – and was expected to be implemented in all districts by 2028.

Legislative Decree No. 1470 had been adopted during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to ensure that victims of violence against women and family members received assistance and protection during the public health emergency. It had provided for courts to make use of technology to be able to issue protection orders or, where that was not possible, for judges to travel to police stations for the immediate issuance of such orders. To the extent possible, the National Police, judiciary and Public Prosecution Service applied a risk assessment matrix to the complaints that they received. All complaints were referred immediately to the competent court, regardless of the level of risk involved. No more than 24 hours must elapse between the filing of a complaint and the issuance of a protection order. Furthermore, provisions ensuring the continued availability of services to respond to cases of violence against women and family members had been included in supreme decrees issued in connection with the National Disaster Risk Management System.

The special high-level multisectoral commission responsible for the national system for the prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women and family members had thus far held 52 meetings, and inter-institutional coordination mechanisms had been set up in all regions and provinces and roughly two thirds of districts. In addition, a basic protocol for joint action had been prepared, and a central register of victims and aggressors, a national observatory to combat violence against women and family members and a centre for advanced studies on such violence had been established. The national observatory had, in turn, created 26 regional observatories. A population and family health survey had shown that the rate of intimate partner violence against women had decreased from 70.8 per cent to 52.5 per cent between 2015 and 2024.

Legislative Decree No. 1575 had amended the Code of Criminal Procedure and provided that warrants issued in cases of femicide would not expire until the persons identified in them were placed under arrest. The intersectoral protocol on action against femicide, attempted femicide and high-risk partner violence was being reviewed and updated. The Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups maintained regular, direct contact with the families of victims of femicide through the working group that it had established to strengthen the response by women’s emergency centres to cases of femicide and attempted femicide. Victims of gender-based violence could use the application Yanapp to find police stations and women’s emergency centres and to share their location with trusted contacts. Advice and guidance were available through communication channels such as the “100” chat service of the Aurora Programme, which also referred cases of violence against women and family members to the justice system and the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups. The Government provided financial assistance to the children of femicide victims on a bimonthly basis.

In August 2024, the commission responsible for monitoring the implementation of the 2030 National Multisectoral Policy for Children and Adolescents had adopted an intersectoral action plan, covering areas such as health, education and protection, to address the sexual violence against children and adolescents in the Province of Condorcanqui. Data from the Ministry of Education showed that complaints of sexual violence had been made against 607 teachers and 52 administrative staff members between 2010 and 2024. In 2024, 158 complaints – 142 against teachers and 16 against administrative staff – had been referred to the Public Prosecution Service. In addition, 469 persons against whom judicial or administrative proceedings were pending in Condorcanqui had been blocked from the Nexus system, through which available teaching positions could be consulted. In 2024, over S/. 2 million had been made available to hire teachers to replace those who had been suspended from their posts.

In 2019, the Ministry of Culture had adopted technical guidelines on applying an intercultural approach in preventing sexual violence against Indigenous children, adolescents and women and in assisting and protecting victims. In addition, the Ministry had promoted the multisectoral pact for Indigenous children signed in 2022, under which 20 of the 21 measures set out had already been implemented; held 14 human rights workshops for 653 Indigenous women in Bagua and Condorcanqui and two workshops for public servants; provided leadership training in 2024 for Indigenous women, primarily from 10 Awajún communities in Condorcanqui; and, in coordination with the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups, prepared materials on the prevention of sexual violence against Indigenous women and children, which had then been translated into six Indigenous languages.

Child marriage had been prohibited in 2023 under Act No. 31945. The Act also allowed minors who had married before its entry into force to request the annulment of their marriages and to do so directly, without an intermediary. In 2024, following the passage of the Act, no marriages involving minors had been recorded in the National Identity and Civil Status Registry.

Regulations setting out the conditions for government involvement in the promotion and development of social housing had been adopted. In addition, Legislative Decree No. 1675, published on 28 September 2024, called for the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation to promote the construction of social housing as a means of reducing the housing shortage and for the National Policy on Housing and Urban Management, which covered the period to 2030, to continue to be implemented.

Access to drinking water and sanitation had been improved in recent years, especially in urban areas. In Metropolitan Lima and Callao, 92.8 per cent of the population now had access to drinking water. However, challenges remained in peri-urban areas.

The meeting was suspended at 4.05 p.m. and resumed at 4.15 p.m.

Mr. Hennebel (Country Task Force) said that he would be grateful for responses to the questions that he had posed at the previous meeting regarding illegal mining operations, including with respect to the deforestation and mercury contamination resulting from such operations, the impunity allegedly fostered by recent legislation, and the traceability of illegally mined gold, and for more detailed information on the State party’s efforts to fight corruption. It would also be helpful for the delegation to answer the questions that he had asked at the previous meeting regarding the right to health, including those related to universal access to healthcare, mental health, infectious diseases and sexual and reproductive rights. He also wished to know what steps the State party had taken in follow-up to the Views adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in Camila v. Peru (CRC/C/93/D/136/2021).

Mr. Windfuhr (Country Rapporteur) said that he wished to know how the State party monitored corrupt practices in transfers of land, particularly agro-industrial land, and to what extent there was evidence of corruption in such transfers. He would be grateful for a more detailed description of the procedure for seeking the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples to land transactions. In particular, he wished to know whether the consent was sought prior to the transfer of the land or when the land began to be put to productive use.

The delegation’s responses had seemed to suggest that labour inspectors were able to travel to remote areas to monitor trade union rights but not working conditions. He wondered whether that was correct. Further information on the procedure for carrying out documentation-based inspections would be appreciated.

Mr. Fiorio Vaesken (Country Task Force) said that he wished to know what indicators were taken into account in the multidimensional poverty index used by the State party and whether that index was aligned with the global multidimensional poverty index used by the United Nations. He also wished to find out what measures the State party had put into place to reintegrate the growing number of Peruvian nationals being deported from the United States of America.

Ms. El Yedri Afailal said that she would like to learn about any strategies or plans in place to expand access to water and sanitation in rural areas and among vulnerable populations and to ensure that the water supply met national standards in all areas of the country, including remote areas.

A representative of Peru said that concerns that a provision of domestic law was in violation of an international treaty could be raised before the national courts. While both trade union rights and working conditions were monitored by the relevant government entities, owing to the unique features of the country’s terrain, certain inspections had special characteristics. That approach was entirely in line with the case law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which in the case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre v. Colombia, for example, had emphasized the State’s obligation of due diligence and cited the argument of the European Court of Human Rights that a positive obligation on the authorities to take preventive measures to protect an individual whose life was in danger from the criminal acts of another individual must be interpreted in a way that did not impose an impossible or disproportionate burden on the authorities and that, for a positive obligation to arise, it must be established that the authorities knew or ought to have known at the time of the existence of a real and immediate danger. Due diligence measures included the implementation of relevant protocols by the National Labour Inspection Authority.

Illegal mining was defined as a crime under the Criminal Code and prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service. The Ministry of the Interior oversaw the National Strategy for the Prohibition of Illegal Mining. Small-scale and artisanal mining were in the process of being formalized and were regulated under two legislative decrees which established that such mining was to be carried out in non-prohibited areas by natural or legal persons registered in the Comprehensive Mining Formalization Registry managed by the Ministry of Energy and Mining. To reduce the use of mercury in mining activities, especially in the regions of Madre de Dios, Puno and Arequipa, the Ministry provided capacity-building support for small-scale and artisanal miners in the use of clean technologies for gold processing. With regard to toxic spills, the formalization process initiated in 2012 was the responsibility of the regional governments through the regional energy and mining directorates.

A comprehensive multisectoral plan was being implemented for any persons who might have been exposed to heavy metals, metalloids or other toxic chemicals, with a focus on general health management and follow-up based on a culturally and linguistically relevant approach, through monitoring of the quality of water, air and soil and the identification of risk factors for lead exposure. Services were provided to the population living in areas contaminated with lead in order to identify early signs and symptoms potentially associated with exposure. Such services included screening to determine the concentration of lead in the body and specialized treatment. Priority was given to the most vulnerable groups, such as children and pregnant women. Any identified public health risk was communicated to the competent entities so that they could take the corresponding prevention and mitigation measures.

With regard to prior consultation, article 6 of the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) established an obligation on governments to undertake consultations with Indigenous Peoples with the objective of achieving agreement or consent to the proposed measures. That provision was reflected in article 3 of the Act on the Right of Indigenous Peoples to Prior Consultation (No. 29785), which stated that the purpose of consultations was to achieve agreement or consent between the State and the Indigenous Peoples regarding legislative or administrative measures that directly affected them through an intercultural dialogue that guaranteed their inclusion in the State’s decision-making processes and the adoption of measures that respected their collective rights. Article 4 of the Act established the principles governing consultations, which included timeliness and the absence of coercion. The requirement of prior consultation in cases involving displacement and the disposal of hazardous materials on Indigenous Peoples’ lands was recognized. The Ministry of Culture was responsible for guaranteeing the right to prior consultation of Indigenous Peoples. Between 2013 and January 2025, 98 processes of prior consultation had been conducted, with the participation of 1,081 localities belonging to 29 Indigenous Peoples.

Pursuant to the Mental Health Act (No. 3947) of 2019, 288 community mental health centres, 52 hospital mental health units and 94 shelters for persons without family or social support were in operation. A further 1,764 non-specialized primary healthcare facilities employed psychologists, and there were four mobile mental healthcare teams for persons in street situations, seven mobile teams for remote and dispersed populations and six mental health teams in penitentiary facilities. The budget allocated to the Mental Health Directorate had steadily increased from approximately S/. 357,135 million in 2018 to S/. 915,000 million in 2024.

Intimate partner violence was one of the main public health problems in Peru according to the 2023 demographic and family health survey. In response, psychological support measures had been adopted for the victims of violence. Action was taken to promote mental health, create healthy environments free of violence, and protect vulnerable groups, including women and children. Budgetary resources had also been allocated to provide couples counselling to support healthy cohabitation.

From 2013 to 2021, the Government had implemented a multisectoral plan for the prevention of teenage pregnancy. By the end of the implementation period, the teenage pregnancy rate had fallen by 32.5 per cent to 8.9 per cent. The pregnancy rate among 15- to 19-year-olds had decreased from 12.6 per cent in 2018 to 8.3 per cent in 2020. That rate had increased slightly during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic but had fallen in 2023 to 8.2 per cent, the lowest figure since reporting had begun. The pregnancy rate among 12- to 17-year-olds had fallen from 12.9 per cent in 2021 to 12.6 per cent in 2023. The Ministry of Health had produced a technical guide for the standardization of the procedure for therapeutic termination of pregnancy before 22 weeks with the informed consent of the woman, in accordance with article 119 of the Criminal Code. The Supreme Court had ordered the extension and improvement of the guide, once again proving that the Peruvian justice system played a major role in the protection of rights. With regard to obstetric violence, in 2022 the Ministry of Health had introduced technical standards for the elimination of gender-based violence in facilities that provided sexual and reproductive healthcare services. In that context, talks, workshops and other training activities were organized.

In the light of recent immigration measures introduced by the Government of the United States, the Peruvian Government had set up a multisectoral group for the reception of persons repatriated from that country. The Ministry of Labour registered the details of repatriated persons in order to contact them later and provide them with personalized employment services to facilitate their integration into the labour market, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated the logistics for the arrival of repatriation flights and prioritized the provision of basic services to returning Peruvian nationals, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups provided emotional support and shelters for vulnerable groups, and the Ministry of Justice provided legal advice.

The Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation had created a multisectoral working group for the improvement of water quality in 2024, which had produced a final report on strategies and proposals for the improvement of water quality and sanitation.

By supreme decree, the elaboration and approval of the official measurement of multidimensional poverty had been declared a national priority. The measurement would take account of health, education, housing, basic services, employment, social security and connectivity.

With regard to the Camila v. Peru case that had been brought before the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Government had the utmost respect for regional and international forums that dealt with individual communications, and it complied with its obligations to give follow up to the recommendations issued by the relevant bodies in individual cases. As a mark of good faith, the delegation would provide detailed information on the case, in writing, within 48 hours.

Mr. Fiorio Vaesken said that he would appreciate details of public spending on education in 2024 and 2025 as a proportion of gross domestic product or of the overall State budget. He would also be interested to know what specific measures had been taken to reverse the decline in the quality of education since the COVID-19 pandemic, including the decreasing levels of reading comprehension and mathematical reasoning among primary school students. It would be helpful to know how the Government had evaluated the impact of the “Learning at Home” online platform, what steps were being taken to ensure equitable access to education and to bridge the digital divide, and what investment had been made to improve connectivity and access to technological devices in public schools, especially in rural and vulnerable communities.

The Committee would like to know what measures were being taken or were planned in response to the very worrying and sustained levels of violence, including sexual violence, in schools. According to the website of the Ministry of Education, 19,762 cases of school violence had been reported in 2023 and a further 16,684 had been reported in 2024. Were there any protocols or procedures in place for dealing with violence in schools? The systemic sexual abuse of children and adolescents in schools in the Province of Condorcanqui was a matter of extreme concern; over the past 15 years there had reportedly been more than 600 cases of abuse committed by teachers. He wished to know what action was being taken to prevent the systemic sexual abuse of children and adolescents in schools in Condorcanqui, what progress had been made in investigating cases and punishing the perpetrators, beyond removing them from their jobs, what was being done to guarantee access to justice for the victims, including the provision of legal, psychological and social support for their recovery, and how the various government entities were working together to address the crisis.

Recent amendments to Act No. 29944 by means of Act No. 32242 had introduced some worrying new provisions. Article 49 (2) (e) of Act No. 32242, for example, included among the grounds for dismissal of a teacher any physical or psychological mistreatment causing serious harm to a student. He would welcome clarification of the criteria used to determine whether the harm caused was “serious” in any given case and how the authorities dealt with cases that might not be considered serious but that still resulted in a violation of students’ rights. Article 49 (2) (h), meanwhile, established inducing students to participate in political marches as another ground for dismissal. In that context, he wondered how it was ensured that teachers could not be dismissed because their students wished to exercise their right to protest and what criteria were used to distinguish between teaching about human rights and supposed inducement to participate in protests that might be considered political in nature but were ultimately about human rights.

He would welcome information on teachers’ salaries and how they compared with the minimum and average salaries in Peru, whether there was a career path for teachers, and whether any teachers were employed in unpaid positions. In view of the many very serious complaints about the Qali Warma National School Nutrition Programme, he wished to know what oversight mechanisms had been put in place in respect of the purchasing, handling and distribution of food, what improvements had been made or were planned, whether the companies and suppliers responsible for providing spoiled and contaminated foodstuffs had been identified, whether those suppliers continued to receive government contracts as part of either that programme or others, what steps had been taken to hold State authorities accountable to beneficiaries, whether those responsible had been identified and prosecuted, and what measures were being taken to ensure non-repetition.

The meeting was suspended at 5.05 p.m. and resumed at 5.15 p.m.

A representative of Peru said that the Government of Peru took a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of violence against children, especially sexual violence, and was committed to ensuring that the acts committed in Condorcanqui were investigated and the perpetrators punished. The intersectoral action plan for Condorcanqui set out 73 measures, with timelines, aimed at preventing and addressing sexual violence against children and adolescents, organized into five priority areas: healthcare, education, protection, participation and coordination. When it came to monitoring the implementation of the plan, 14 State institutions submitted information on a bimonthly basis for entry into a consolidated matrix managed by the Directorate-General for Children and Adolescents of the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups. In recent months, eight teachers had received training on sexual and reproductive health, two health liaison professionals had been hired, 3,277 people had been screened for HIV and syphilis in more than 30 Indigenous communities, and 16 community managers had been recruited to support the protection network. A report had been drafted on rape cases and offences by teachers identified by the community managers, 18 community protection networks had been set up and campaigns were being conducted in schools to raise awareness about them, and technical assistance had been provided to teachers, community actors and the local education management unit to improve administrative disciplinary processes. The judiciary had trained 46 people working for district and community authorities on violence against women and family members, technical assistance had been provided to the staff and management of municipal ombudsman’s offices for children and adolescents in a number of districts, and a Gesell chamber had been inaugurated in Condorcanqui in 2024.

Also in Condorcanqui, steps had been taken to ensure the continued operation of the women’s emergency centre, and staff at the centre had received additional training. A mobile justice service had provided support to more than 100 Indigenous persons, and two public defenders had been hired for the area, despite the difficulties in filling such posts. An information campaign to raise awareness of sexual violence had been rolled out in primary schools, and 93 cases of sexual violence against children had been recorded. In November 2024, a multisectoral strategy on the prevention of sexual violence against children had been adopted with the aim of reducing the prevalence of such violence and improving children’s safety and well-being. Indigenous public officials had received relevant training, and intercultural advisers had been hired to address sexual violence.

The national education budget for 2025 stood at more than S/. 49 billion, which represented an increase of 73 per cent compared with 2017. In 2022, the Ministry of Education had drafted a plan intended to close the digital gap between rural and urban schools. The PerúEduca 4.0 platform offered virtual classrooms, digital lesson planning tools and educational mobile applications. Mobile educational content was also being developed for use in areas lacking in connectivity. Technical support was provided to ensure the optimal use of technology in both in-person and online educational settings with the aim of guaranteeing quality, inclusive education and achieving the strategic objective of equitable access to comprehensive education.

With regard to the recovery of learning losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, the educational support strategy set out locally-based teaching and management actions to develop students’ competencies in mathematics and communication and foster their soft skills and emotional development. The strategy had been rolled out in all public primary schools in 2022, with positive results. A quantitative study conducted the same year had shown that the majority of primary students were achieving at or above the expected level for their grade. At the secondary level, 73 per cent of schools had met the strategy’s targets by 2023.

A prioritization matrix had been established to determine which rural schools were in the most urgent need of upgrading or repair. It was estimated that an investment of S/. 1.8 billion would be required to carry out the necessary works.

The regulations concerning the political activities of teachers had been designed with the aim of protecting students’ freedom of thought and ensuring that they were exposed to a wide range of views in the classroom. Pursuant to the Constitution, due process was guaranteed in all related judicial proceedings.

Proceedings had been launched against all persons suspected of involvement in acts of corruption connected with the Qali Warma National School Nutrition Programme, which now operated under the name Wasi Mikuna. The Government followed a zero-tolerance policy with regard to corruption and was fully committed to ensuring that justice was served and that the perpetrators were held to account. The Programme now had its own integrity unit, which was responsible for conducting risk assessments, making recommendations and monitoring the follow-up given thereto. Suspected instances of corruption connected to the Programme could be reported via email, a dedicated WhatsApp channel or an anonymous online portal.

Mr. Fiorio Vaesken said that he wished to know to what extent the option of fast-track judicial proceedings, the outcome of which could not be appealed, was unduly promoted to speakers of Quechua who did not understand their rights or the implications of agreeing to enter into such proceedings. He would also like to know whether justice services and free legal assistance were made available in Quechua and other Indigenous languages.

The delegation might comment on the degree to which Act No. 31498 allowed parents to influence the design and delivery of educational materials, as well as on any measures that were in place to ensure that students received a comprehensive, science-based education.

In the light of the high rate of unwanted pregnancies that occurred in the State party, he would be grateful for details of the Government’s efforts to provide quality sexual education.

A representative of Peru said that free legal aid centres offered intercultural services, including to speakers of Quechua. One such centre had recently been opened in Caquibamba following an investment of more than S/. 200,000.

A gender-sensitive approach was mainstreamed in the national curriculum. Guidelines had been drawn up on sexual education.

He wished to reiterate that Peru was a democratic country where human rights and the rule of law were fully respected. His delegation categorically rejected any claims to the contrary.

The meeting rose at 6.05 p.m.