Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • #TheForwardFight
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal

International Human Rights Settlement Expected to Improve Women’s Access to Reproductive Health Care in Peru

Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • #TheForwardFight
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Pro Bono Program
    • Creative Council
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
    • Global Advocacy
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Make a Gift Now
    • Be a Champion
    • Join the Advocates Council
    • Become a Major Donor
    • Give Through Your Donor-Advised Fund
    • Make a Gift In Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Leave a Legacy
    • More Ways to Give
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

Maternal Health, Coercive Policies

Regions:

Latin America & Caribbean, Peru, Accountability Bodies, Inter-American Human Rights System

Work:

In the Courts

Type:

News, Press Releases

Case Archive

For updates on Center cases, explore our case archive here.

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

08.27.2003

In the Courts Maternal Health Latin America & Caribbean News

International Human Rights Settlement Expected to Improve Women’s Access to Reproductive Health Care in Peru

Justin Goldberg

Share this Story

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id
Policy Changes Come After Coerced Sterilization Case that Ended in Death

Yesterday, the government of Peru signed an agreement before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that should bring about sweeping changes in Peru’s reproductive health policies, and improve women’s access to family planning and reproductive healthcare. In a landmark settlement involving the case of a woman who died after being coercively sterilized, Peru agreed to modify discriminatory legislation and policies including those that fail to ensure women’s rights as autonomous decision-makers. Though settlement negotiations were concluded last year, former Minister of Health Fernando Carbone refused to sign the agreement. During his tenure, Carbone was heavily criticized for refusing to provide poor women with contraceptives, opposing emergency contraception and spreading misinformation about condom use. He resigned as Minister of Health earlier this summer.



“This agreement has broad implications for the reproductive freedom of Peruvian women,” said Luisa Cabal, Legal Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights, a co-petitioner in the case. “By signing this agreement, Peru has committed itself to immediately improving the quality of reproductive health care. We hope the government will take this obligation seriously,” added Cabal.



The agreement comes after an international legal battle against the Republic of Peru involving the case of Maria Mamerita Mestanza Chavez, who died in April 1998 from complications after being coercively sterilized. The Peruvian government agreed to the settlement on October 14, 2002, which recognized its international responsibility for violating the victim’s human rights. The rights violated included, among others, the right to life, to physical integrity and humane treatment, to equal protection of the law, and to be free from gender-based violence.



“This agreement is very important for international human rights law, helping create precedent for future cases where reproductive rights violations occur in Latin America and around the world,” said Maria Clara Galvis, Staff Attorney with the Center for Justice and International Law.



The Mestanza case was filed with the IACHR in 1999 after domestic legal remedies in Peru had failed. Mrs. Mestanza, a low-income, indigenous Peruvian woman, was coerced into agreeing to sterilization by government officials and was repeatedly denied follow-up medical care when complications ensued. She died from post-surgical medical complications seven days after her surgery.



In the settlement agreement signed today, the Peruvian government agreed to pay moral damages to Mestanza’s husband and seven children, as well as significant compensation for their health care, education and housing. The government also agreed to conduct an in-depth investigation and to punish those responsible for the violations of Peruvian and international legal standards.



Of most significance to the women of Peru, the government agreed to modify discriminatory legislation and policies and to promptly implement the recommendations made by Peru’s Human Rights Ombudsman. The Ombudsman’s recommendations include:





  • improving pre-operative evaluations of women being sterilized,




  • requiring better training of health personnel,




  • creating a procedure to ensure timely handling of patient complaints within the health care system, and




  • implementing measures to ensure that women give genuine informed consent, including enforcing a 72-hour waiting period for sterilization.





Mestanza’s case was part of a pattern of coercive sterilizations-a few leading to death, as in this instance-that occurred primarily between 1996 and 1998 during the regime of President Alberto Fujimori. The Center for Reproductive Rights, the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM), and the Flora Tristan Women’s Center first documented various forms of violence against women perpetrated in Peru’s public health care facilities in 1996-97 in Silence and Complicity, a report released in 1998. The Human Rights Ombudsman subsequently investigated and affirmed that such violations were occurring as a result of governmental policies. In July 2002, the current Peruvian government apologized for the violations of the predecessor government.



Joining the Center for Reproductive Rights in the petition to the IACHR on the Mestanza case was Estudio para la Defensa de la Mujer (DEMUS), CLADEM, the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH), and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL).


Related Posts

State Petition for Cert: JWHO v. Currier

Abortion, Contraception, Maternal Health,United States, Accountability Bodies, United Nations,In the Courts

Decision: Alyne da Silva Pimentel v. Brazil

In the first maternal death case to be decided by an international human rights body, the United Nations Committee on...

Maternal Health, Access to Quality Care, Maternal Mortality,Latin America & Caribbean, Brazil,In the Courts, At the United Nations

Millicent Awuor Maimuna & Margaret Anyoso Oliele v. Attorney General and others, Constitutional Petition No. 562 of 2012, High Court of Kenya

Download the judgment here.  

Maternal Health, Access to Quality Care, Coercive Policies, Maternal Mortality,Africa, Kenya, Accountability Bodies, African Human Rights System,In the Courts, Engaging Policymakers, Around the World

Sign up for email updates.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2023)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up