Peru – New Anti-NGO Law Pushes Peru’s Democracy Deeper into ‘Invisible Crisis’
Author: Administrator
Date: May 23, 2025
Peru – New Anti-NGO Law Pushes Peru’s Democracy Deeper into ‘Invisible Crisis’
Victims of rights violations will suffer from law targeting investigative journalism and NGOs offering legal assistance
May 15, 2025 – A constitutional challenge is unlikely to succeed, several sources told openDemocracy, due to the current composition of the Constitutional Court, which is not independent from the government. Congress elected six new justices without debate in 2022 and, as Pariona of the CNDDHH said: “The rulings handed down by the Constitutional Court over the last three or four years have been truly disastrous.”
Instead, she explained, appeals for judicial protection are being prepared “in some specific cases where very specific rights would be affected”, which also involve organisations of victims’ relatives.
Affected groups are also considering challenging the law in international forums, such as the Inter-American system of Human Rights and the UN. Media outlets targeted by the law are also working together to try and find a common strategy and legal ways out of the impasse, according to Salazar.
There has also been international uproar. Four UN human rights special rapporteurs, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Amnesty International, among others, warned against the law. Nearly 300 journalists from 23 countries – including the author of this article – have signed a manifesto of condemnation, Peru: Journalism under censorship, against the law’s attack on independent press.
Ospina said: “This law puts the future of democracy in Peru at stake, and we cannot remain silent.”
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GENEVA – A U.N. expert* expressed grave concern over the approval of the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI) amendments, as well as statements against Peruvian civil society organizations made at the event of its signature and ratification.
“The proposed amendments to the APCI create risks of undue interference in the structure and internal functioning of non-governmental organizations (NGOs),” said Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
New anti-NGO law pushes Peru’s democracy deeper into ‘invisible crisis’ | openDemocracy
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