Canada must suspend arms exports to Peru, speak out against lethal racism

“Jhonatan loved to play volleyball,” Katalina Arias told us about her beloved 18-year-old son. “He dreamed of becoming a police officer when he finished his studies.” Jhonatan’s dream will never become reality. He died at the hands of police amid lethal repression of months-long protests across Peru ignited by the December 2022 impeachment and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo. The Peruvian state’s actions calls for strong measures from Canada. A report released on May 25 by Amnesty International, entitled Lethal Racism: Extrajudicial Executions and Unlawful Use of Force by Peru’s Security Forces, details the findings of our investigation. At least 49 people were killed and 1,200 injured as Peru’s police and military implemented a strategy to sow fear and quash the protests. The strategy included targeted lethal force with assault rifles and live ammunition. Their use in the policing of demonstrations is prohibited under international human rights law. The state’s strategy also included indiscriminate, unlawful use of tear-gas bombs and highly harmful metal pellets, which also caused the deaths of protesters. Amnesty’s research found a racist bias on the part of the authorities. Police did not use live ammunition on protests in the capital and only opened fire in the mostly Indigenous towns of Andahuaylas, Chincheros, Ayacucho and Juliaca, targeting peaceful protesters, bystanders, people providing first aid, and journalists documenting the repression. What happened to Jhonatan is telling. He was on a hilltop in Andahuaylas with others using their cellphones to film the protests below after police shot tear gas at a funeral procession. Video footage verified by Amnesty International shows police snipers firing bullets from a nearby rooftop. Jhonatan was hit and killed. The Peruvian government’s disregard for the lives and rights of their most marginalized people should alarm any country selling arms to Peru. That includes Canada, which exported $82-million in military goods and technology—including guns or gun parts, light armoured vehicles, riot control agents and related equipment—to Peru between 2014-2022. With new protests expected, there is justifiable fear that weaponry like the kind Canada has sold to Peru could be used again in deadly repression. Preventing additional deaths and injuries is of paramount importance. For this reason, Amnesty International Peru and its Canadian counterparts have called on Canada to suspend arms exports to Peru. Under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which Canada has signed, the government must not authorize arms exports if they could be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international human rights law and such risks cannot be mitigated. Two other ATT signatories, Spain and Brazil, have taken this step. In a meeting with officials from Global Affairs Canada, Amnesty International was told that suspending arms export permits to Peru is not feasible at this time. Yet in 2020, Canada suspended export permits to Turkey “to protect civilians.” Export permits to Belarus were also suspended in 2020 amid state-sponsored violence against public protests in that country. There should be no double standards when lives are at stake. Canada’s economic interests should not get in the way of taking a strong stance on human rights. Peru is Canada’s second-largest bilateral trading partner in Central and South America, while Canada is one of the largest foreign investors in Peru’s mining sector. In 2021, Canadian companies invested billions of dollars in the construction, exploration, and operation of top-10 producing mines. In March, Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng met with Peru Prime Minister Alberto Otárola at a mining convention in Toronto and reaffirmed “the positive and longstanding commercial ties between our countries.” The press release and tweets did not mention the continuing human rights crisis. Trade must not trump human rights. We’re counting on Canada to uphold its international obligations by suspending arms exports to Peru and delivering an unequivocal message: Peru must stop racist, lethal repression and the use of inappropriate or prohibited weapons to control demonstrations. Marina Navarro is executive director of Amnesty International Peru. Ketty Nivyabandi is secretary general of Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section. France-Isabelle Langlois is executive director of Amnistie internationale Canada francophone. The Hill Times

Canada must suspend arms exports to Peru, speak out against lethal racism

Trade must not trump human rights. We’re counting on Canada to suspended arms exports to Peru and deliver an unequivocal message: Peru must stop racist, lethal repression and the use of inappropriate weapons against demonstrations.

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Canada must suspend arms exports to Peru, speak out against lethal racism

Trade must not trump human rights. We’re counting on Canada to suspended arms exports to Peru and deliver an unequivocal message: Peru must stop racist, lethal repression and the use of inappropriate weapons against demonstrations.

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