(12)Please provide information on the steps taken to take into account the views of indigenous children and adolescents in matters affecting them and to lift them out of their situation of particular vulnerability, which is especially serious with regard to chronic malnutrition, child and maternal mortality, anaemia and HIV/AIDS. Please also provide information on specific measures to ensure that quality intercultural bilingual education is available at all levels, along with services tailored to students’ particular culture and language.

75.With respect to ensuring the availability of quality intercultural bilingual education, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture are the State bodies responsible for coordinating the application of the measures set out in the guidelines on the implementation of public policies for the Afro-Peruvian population. Guideline 3, which deals with the full enjoyment by Afro-Peruvians of their economic and social rights, provides for measures to ensure that cultural diversity is fostered and that the contribution of Afro-Peruvian culture to the construction of the Peruvian nation is recognized and reassessed within the national curriculum framework, regional curriculums and educational materials.

76.The Ministry of Culture is currently working on the adoption of the National Development Plan for the Afro-Peruvian Population, which envisages the inclusion within the national curriculum framework of activities that highlight the contribution of Afro-Peruvian culture to the construction and development of Peruvian society from the colonial era until the present. The Plan also provides for measures to foster the establishment of forums to recognize, reassess and bring to the fore the contribution of the Afro-Peruvian population to the construction of the Peruvian nation.

77.A guide to culturally appropriate public services was approved by Ministerial Order No. 124-2015-MC of 8 April 2015. In addition, a video library of cultures has been developed as an educational resource for use within the standard basic education system (2015: a total of 1,000 schools nationwide – Agreement No. 018-2015-MINEDU). Furthermore, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture have drafted proposed guidelines regarding the establishment of intercultural universities, which will provide a forum for the promotion of intercultural education.

(13)Please provide information on the measures taken to protect children and adolescents adversely affected by illegal coca cultivation and drug trafficking. In particular, please indicate whether any studies have been conducted on the extent of the problem and what steps have been taken to prevent the use of children and adolescents in the production and transportation of drugs, to protect them from the violence — including sexual abuse — they are subjected to, to provide them with psychosocial support and to make alternative livelihoods available to their families.

78.In 2013, as part of a package of measures to prevent the use of children and adolescents in the production and transportation of drugs, the Executive Anti-Drug Directorate of the Peruvian National Police conducted a series of information and training sessions on preventing drug trafficking and use within the framework of the following programmes: For a Future against Drugs, Together against Drugs, For a Peru without Drugs and Police Officers against Drugs. The sessions were delivered to a total of 100,994 children and adolescents in schools, as well as police officers, neighbourhood groups and the community in general, in Lima, Ayacucho, San Martín, Abancay, Junín, Cusco, Arequipa, Iquitos and La Libertad.

79.In 2014, the number of sessions increased by 120 per cent. They were attended by a total of 230,448 persons, including children and adolescents in schools, teachers, parents, police officers and trainees, neighbourhood watch groups, armed forces personnel, neighbourhood groups and the community in general, in Lima, Aguaytía, Huánuco, Tingo María, Junín, Satipo, Pangoa, Mazamari, La Merced, Huanta, Chimbote and Callao.

80.Steps were also taken to strengthen capacities to prevent illicit drug trafficking. To that end, training was provided for 2,328 police officers in Lima, Tingo María, Cusco, Mazamari, Huanta and Chimbote; 1,692 trainees at police academies and police technical schools in San Bartolo, Chimbote and Lima; 1,717 members of the army’s special forces; and 278 members of neighbourhood watch groups in Lima, San Luis and Callao.

(14)In the light of paragraph 332 of the State party’s report, please provide information on the results achieved thus far in implementing the National Strategy for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour 2012–2021 and provide a current list of jobs prohibited for adolescents. In particular, please provide information on measures taken to combat child domestic labour and child labour in gold mines. Lastly, please also explain whether any steps are being taken to follow up on the situation of children and adolescents rescued from child labour and whether any evaluation is conducted of family support programmes to eliminate child labour.

81.Regarding measures to combat child domestic labour and child labour in gold mines, mention should be made of a programme to formalize small-scale mining activities that has been developed under the terms of the third final and transitional provision of Act No. 27651 on the formalization and promotion of small-scale and artisanal mining, as amended by article 1 of Act No. 28992, which prohibits the employment of persons under 18 years of age in mining operations. The Ministry of Energy and Mining provides basic training assistance to small-scale and artisanal mining operations, in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 1105 and Ministerial Decision No. 290-2012-MEM/DM. The training programmes, which are intended for operators who are in the process of formalizing their activities in Metropolitan Lima, address the dangers of child labour.

(15)Please provide information on the implementation of the National Plan for the Prevention and Treatment of Adolescents in Conflict with the Law 2013–2018. Please also describe the measures taken to establish a sufficient number of specialized family courts and to create specialized juvenile justice units within the Attorney General’s Office, the Public Defender’s Unit and the police force. Please provide information on mechanisms to monitor the juvenile detention centre, the complaint mechanisms available and the number of complaints of ill-treatment registered and legal proceedings taken. Lastly, please report on the practical application of alternative non-custodial measures and the social reintegration of children in conflict with the law.

82.The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, through the Public Defence Directorate, provides free legal assistance for youth offenders in its 32 district directorates throughout the country. It is currently dealing with cases involving youth offenders in Lima (7 cases), Lima South (1), Lima North (1) and Callao (2).

83.In criminal cases, the Public Defence Directorate coordinates with the Directorate for Criminal Policy of the Ministry of Justice when appointing public defenders to units that deal with youth offenders. To date, public defenders have been appointed in the following districts: El Agustino (Lima East), Villa María del Triunfo (Lima South), José Leonardo Ortiz (Lambayeque) and El Porvenir (Trujillo). Assistance, in the form of consultations, talks and campaigns to help young offenders, is provided across the country in the 10 youth assessment and rehabilitation centres that have been established.

84.Government agencies have also worked in coordination with international cooperation partners to provide training on issues related to youth offenders. For example, under an agreement between the Ministry of Justice and the Swiss branch of the organization Terre des Hommes, public defenders for criminal cases received training on the topic of restorative justice.

85.With a view to preventing antisocial behaviour by raising awareness of risk factors such as the consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs, membership of criminal gangs or pernicious youth gangs, and bullying, in 2014 citizen participation offices, regional offices of the National Police (in La Libertad, Huancavelica, Cusco, Apurimac, Pasco, Ucayali, Huallaga, Callao, Lima North, Huacho) and the National Police units in Puerto Inca and Espinar organized a number of educational, sports, recreational and information events, which were attended by 20,666 pupils, 9,627 parents, 40 members of the National Police and 1,064 community representatives.

86.In January 2015, the National Police, through its Domestic Violence Directorate, ran an introductory workshop on restorative juvenile justice for 40 members of the National Police (23 women and 17 men) in coordination with Terre des Hommes, as part of an inter-institutional agreement with the Ministry of the Interior.

87.The Ministry of the Interior, in coordination with the Public Prosecution Service, has established units for youth offenders in two National Police stations, in the districts of El Agustino (2008) and Villa María del Triunfo (2015). Between 2013 and July 2015, the two stations dealt with 104 young offenders between the ages of 14 and 17 years.

88.The José L. Ortiz National Police station in Chiclayo, in the department of Lambayeque, has been selected to pilot the introduction of youth offender units in police stations in the Lambayeque police region. The pilot unit is in the process of being set up.

Oversight mechanisms for youth detention centres

89.National oversight of youth centres is provided for in the operational plan adopted for each fiscal year. In 2015, under the activity “Policy and administrative oversight for youth centres at the national level”, the plan sets a target of 31 supervisors for youth assessment and rehabilitation centres and youth guidance services. Oversight involves checking policy compliance in each centre, as well as monitoring and follow-up action to ensure that the activities and tasks set out in the centre’s operational plan are carried out and the practical and financial goals are met.

90.According to article 16 of the Organic Act on the Office of the Ombudsman, youth centres are public service bodies that are required to supply any information requested by the Ombudsman and to facilitate inspections of the centres by the latter. They are also subject to the oversight and monitoring of the Public Prosecution Service.

Alternatives to deprivation of liberty, and social reintegration measures

91.Care is provided in an open regime for young people of either sex who are complying with non-custodial socio-educational orders. This type of care is provided in centres called youth guidance centres.

92.Non-custodial care involves a number of organized daytime activities, with a flexible timetable adapted to the needs of the young people concerned. The important thing is that they work together with community networks, which reinforces the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of the young person in conflict with the law. As at 20 August 2015, there were nine youth guidance centres, in Rímac, Lima, Huaura, Tumbes, Iquitos, Cañete, Ica, Arequipa and Lima East.

93.The National Council on Crime Policy adopted the Puedo (“I can”) policy on juvenile justice, which falls under the National Plan for Young People in Conflict with the Law (2013–2018) adopted by Supreme Decree No. 014-2013-JUS. This comes at a time when, according to the Information System for Prosecutors (SIATF) of the Public Prosecution Service, the number of young offenders rose from 14,647 in 2007 to 21,222 in 2011. Most of these offences were crimes against property, which affects the public perception of victimization and insecurity.

94.The main impact sought is to reduce the numbers of young people in conflict with the law. Action is therefore planned in three areas: (1) prevention; (2) the administration of justice; and (3) social reintegration. In each of these areas, the general policy is translated into targeted impacts such as: a reduction in cases of antisocial behaviour; an effective, rights-based justice system; successful social rehabilitation of young people in conflict with the law; and reparations for victims.

95.In the area of prevention, three levels of action are envisaged. The first level concerns the child population, and involves coordinating and directing the National Plan of Action for Children and Adolescents. The second concerns “secondary prevention”, and deals with the young people at greatest risk of falling foul of the law as a result of factors such as domestic violence, school dropout and gang membership. The third level, “tertiary prevention”, deals with young people who have already had a brush with the law and seeks ways to prevent them from reoffending.

96.In 2014, some 250,000 soles were spent on implementing the Puedo policy, to the benefit of a large number of young people between the ages of 15 and 19 in the following districts: El Porvenir (18,849 young people); José Leonardo Ortiz (19,464); El Agustino (18,368); and Villa María del Triunfo (40,236).

97.In 2015, the Puedo policy is due to be implemented in six places. The local plan for Chimbote was started up in June, for the benefit of 19,591 young people between the ages of 15 and 19: the other five places are San Sebastián and Santiago (Cusco), Paucarpata (Arequipa), Chilca (Huancayo), Callao and San Juan Bautista (Huamanga).

98.The National Council on Criminal Policy was established by Act No. 29807 of 30 November 2011 to produce evidence-based policies and guidelines on crime control and reduction. The Council is chaired by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, whose Directorate-General for Crime Policy provides the secretariat.

99.At its meeting on 3 September 2013, the Council approved the conduct of analytical studies as a basis for formulating crime policy, with a focus on the following offences: crimes against property, human trafficking, illegal mining, sexual violence against minors and contract killings. It had previously approved work on a policy guideline on criminal offences committed by juveniles.

100.The Council proposed to approach the study of those offences in a considered fashion, on the basis of analysis that would explain their root causes and the factors that affect their incidence. It also drew up a participative policy in the form of policy prescriptions and guidelines that were proposed to the various sectors and bodies involved in the system of social control and, in particular, those directly involved in the prevention, investigation and punishment of crime, in the criminal justice system and in the application of penalties and security measures, with a view to establishing guiding principles with a common objective.

101.As part of this comprehensive approach, the policies and strategies developed by the Council take a broad-brush approach that places crime prevention front and centre of all the policies drawn up. Peru has the following public policies in place:

(1)The Puedo policy (National Plan for Young People in Conflict with the Law);

(2)National policy on crimes against property;

(3)National policy on human trafficking and related forms of exploitation;

(4)Prison policy.

102.As far as strategies go, the following institutions have been set up:

(1)National Crime Observatory;

(2)Inter-agency Committee on Crime Statistics.

103.In September 2014, under the Accede Programme to Modernize the Justice System, a Teenage Mothers Unit was set up in the youth assessment and rehabilitation centre in Santa Margarita. The unit is for teenage mothers and their young children, and is in line with the reformed system for dealing with young people in conflict with the law. It covers 308 m2 on two floors, and is fully equipped with breastfeeding facilities, nappy-changing table, kitchen, multi-purpose room, cot room, play area and rooms for the teenage mothers.

104.The possibility of obtaining a student grant from the Regional Labour and Employment Directorate was publicized, with five grants being offered to youngsters in conflict with the law from the youth assessment and rehabilitation centre in El Tambo (Junín). The recipients of the grants can take courses on food industries, industrial electronics and auto mechanics, among others.

105.The youth assessment and rehabilitation centre in El Tambo houses over 150 youth offenders, This was made possible thanks to coordination by the judiciary’s Youth Centres Division, which seeks to equip youth offenders with the knowledge and skills needed for a particular trade, to enable them to formulate viable plans for their future.

106.The judiciary is also promoting agreements with regional and municipal authorities on the implementation of various programmes, including youth guidance services, aimed at making custodial sentences a last resort and promoting the rehabilitation of young people in conflict with the law and their reintegration into society.

Part II

Updated information on:

(a)New bills or enacted pieces of legislation and their accompanying regulations

107.Table 1 lists the bills submitted between 1 January and 1 September 2015 that are classed as submitted, assigned to a committee and placed on the legislative agenda; bills that have been shelved, withdrawn or rejected are not included.

Table 1

Bills relating to the rights of the child

Number	Summary	Date of submission
04138/2014-CR	Proposes to amend paragraph (d) of article 248 of the Code on Children and Adolescents (Act No. 27337), with the aim of guaranteeing the well-being and all-round development of children or adolescents who have been abandoned, who are up for adoption and who are covered by article 248 of the Code	26/01/2015
04141/2014-CR	Proposes an amendment to article 183 of the Criminal Code, on obscene displays and publications	26/01/2015
04262/2014-CR	Proposes to regulate entry by children under 18 years of age to hotels, boarding houses or any other establishment providing accommodation of any kind	06/03/2015
04281/2014-CR	Proposes to amend article 7 of Act No. 26872, the Reconciliation Act, as amended by article 1 of Legislative Decree No. 1070, in order to safeguard the best interests of children in receipt of maintenance	11/03/2015
04303/2014-CR	Prohibition of corporal punishment and any other act that might injure or cause physical, spiritual or psychological harm to a child or adolescent	17/03/2015
04420/2014-CR	Proposes to amend article 121-B of the Criminal Code, with regard to increasing the penalties for physical and/or psychological mistreatment of children and adolescents	15/04/2015
04445/2014-CR	Proposes to insert a second paragraph in article 2 of the Code on Children and Adolescents to protect the unborn child and children conceived through rape	23/04/2015
04448/2014-CR	Proposes to amend and insert various articles in the present Criminal Code regarding offences related to prostitution, and especially to the commercial sexual exploitation of minors	23/04/2015
04477/2014-CR	Proposes to insert an article 14 in Act No. 30162, the Foster Care Act	30/04/2015
04485/2014-CR	Proposes to amend article 481 of the Civil Code, regarding the criteria for applying for and setting the level of maintenance	06/05/2015
04517/2014-CR	Proposes to protect pregnant minors who have been abandoned and who are living in extreme poverty	19/05/2015
04518/2014-CR	Proposes to guarantee and establish a framework for the prevention of physical and psychological punishment, as a fundamental part of the rights of the individual recognized in the Constitution	19/05/2015
04521/2014-CR	Proposes to establish a register to provide pregnant minors with legal safeguards; access to the register will be restricted and the confidentiality of the information therein will be guaranteed	19/05/2015
04608/2014-CR	Proposes to amend article 22 and insert articles 108-C and 108-D in the Criminal Code, with the aim of including contract killing and incitement of a minor to engage in contract killing as separate offences, as well as lifting the age-related limitations on criminal liability for both offences	17/06/2015
04627/2014-CR	Proposes a law that would make contract killing an offence and amend the Criminal Code and Decree-Law No. 25475 so as to establish contract killing and human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation and the use of minors in terrorist acts as aggravating factors in the crime of terrorism	19/06/2015
04668/2014-CR	Law amending the Code on Sentence Enforcement by abolishing prison benefits for those guilty of crimes against sexual integrity where the victim is a minor	10/07/2015
04693/2015-CR	Law amending Chapter IX of Title IV of the Second Part of the Criminal Code	04/08/2015

Source: Bills posted on the Congressional website; compiled by the Research Unit.

108.Table 2 presents a list of the laws and legislative decisions published between 1 January and 1 September 2015. It should be pointed out that, although every effort was made to check the relevant sources, it was not possible to identify the regulations related to these pieces of legislation.

Table 2 Laws and legislative decisions relating to the rights of the child

Type	Number	Summary	Date of publication	Regulation
Law	30297	Act establishing the use of child restraints in motor vehicles	06/01/2014	-
Law	30300	Act repealing Act No. 30288, promoting access by young people to the labour market and social protection	28/01/2015	-
Law	30311	Act enabling couples living in a de facto union to adopt minors declared by a court to have been abandoned	18/03/2015	-
Legislative decision	30312	Legislative decision adopting the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) of the International Labour Organization	22/03/2015	-
Law	30314	Act on the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment in public spaces	26/03/2015	-
Law	30315	Act amending various articles of Act No. 26300, on the rights to civic participation and control	07/04/2015	-
Law	30323	Act limiting the exercise of parental authority for committing serious offences	07/05/2015	-
Law	30328	Act establishing educational measures and other provisions	29/05/2015	-
Legislative decision	30330	Legislative decision adopting the Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the Republic of Peru and the Government of the French Republic	05/06/2015	-
Law	30332	Act establishing the temporal application of the provisions on prison benefits contained in Act No. 30262, amending the Code on Sentence Enforcement, the Organized Crime Act and the Act on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants	06/06/2015	-

Source: Official Gazette (Diario Oficial El Peruano) and Peruvian System of Legal Information (SPIJ); compiled by the Research Unit.

(b)New institutions, their mandates and funding

109.No new bodies or institutions have been set up.

(c)Newly adopted and implemented policies and programmes and their scope

110.On 28 October 2015, a national plan for a cross-cutting intercultural approach was adopted in Supreme Decree No. 003-2015-MC. The plan is intended to guide, coordinate and establish the mechanisms for State action that will guarantee the exercise of the rights of the country’s culturally diverse population groups, particularly indigenous peoples and Afro-Peruvians, by promoting a State that recognizes the inherent cultural diversity of Peruvian society, acts in a culturally sensitive manner and helps advance social inclusion, national integration and the elimination of discrimination.

111.The application of this national policy is compulsory in all government sectors and institutions, which must align their rules and regulations with it. As far as the private sector and civil society are concerned, the policy serves as a guide.

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments

112.One treaty ratified recently by Peru is the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 30 August 1961, which was ratified in Supreme Decree No. 057-2014-RE of 16 October 2014 and which entered into force for Peru on 18 March 2015.

113.Peru co-sponsored the following the Human Rights Council resolutions: “Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage” (A/HRC/RES/29/8); “Unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents and human rights” (A/HRC/RES/29/12); “Rights of the child: towards better investment in the rights of the child” (A/HRC/RES/28/19); “Preventable mortality and morbidity of children under 5 years of age as a human rights concern” (A/HRC/RES/27/14); “The right of the child to engage in play and recreational activities” (A/HRC/RES/27/15); “Rights of the child: access to justice for children” (A/HRC/RES/25/6); and “Ending violence against children: a global call to make the invisible visible” (A/HRC/RES/25/10).

114.At the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Peru co-sponsored the following resolutions: “Rights of the child” (A/RES/69/157); “Protecting children from bullying” (A/RES/69/158); “Migrant children and adolescents” (A/RES/69/187); “Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls” (A/RES/69/147); “Child, early and forced marriage” (A/RES/69/156); and “Trafficking in women and girls” (A/RES/69/149). It also voted in favour of the resolution “United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice” (A/RES/69/194).

115.In the setting of the Organization of American States, Peru voted in favour of the “Declaration on Violence against and Exploitation of Children” (AG/DEC. 76 (XLIV-O/14)), which stated that “any new post-2015 global development agenda must deal with violence against and exploitation of children”. Peru also supported the adoption of the following resolutions: “Prevention and eradication of sexual exploitation and smuggling of and trafficking in boys, girls, and adolescents of both sexes” (AG/RES. 2828 (XLIV-O14); and “XXI Pan American Child Congress” (AG/ (RES. 2836 (XLIV-O/14)).