NEWS

  • State of Emergency Declared in Espinar

    31 May 2012

    On 29th May the Humala administration declared a state of emergency in Espinar, southern Peru, following violent clashes between police and demonstrators. Protest organisers had hoped to highlight local concerns over the activities of Anglo-Swiss mining firm Xstrata, which is seeking to expand its operations in the region.

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  • Oil Firm Agrees to Clean Up Operations

    25 May 2012

    An oil firm engaged in a long-running dispute with indigenous communities in northern Peru last week yielded to demands to remedy environmental damage in its area of operations. Argentina’s Pluspetrol agreed to clean up a lake and connected waterways located near the communities of Pucacuro and Pavayacu in the Corrientes river basin, which had been heavily contaminated with oil.

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  • Ministers Resign over Shining Path Operation

    22 May 2012

    Peru’s interior and defence ministers resigned this month amid criticism over their handling of a recent hostage rescue effort in the south of the country. Interior Minister Daniel Lozada and Defence Minister Alberto Otarola faced allegations of incompetence from a number of politicians over the operation, which saw nine police and military officials killed by Shining Path (SP) rebels.

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  • Shining Path Kidnaps Gas Workers

    02 May 2012

    On 9th April, a group of Shining Path (SP) rebels kidnapped 36 workers from the Camisea natural gas development in the Cusco region, southern Peru. The hostages, employees of Swedish company Skanska, had been building a new gas plant from the Camisea field in a remote region of the Apurimac-Ene valley, one of the last SP strongholds.

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  • Minas Conga Update

    18 April 2012

    The controversy over the £3bn (US$4.8bn) Minas Conga gold mine planned for Cajamarca continued this month. While the high courts overruled local government efforts to block the project, an international review panel recommended substantial changes to minimise Conga's environmental impact.

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  • Oil Firm Criticised for Peru Operations

    16 April 2012

    In mid-April American NGO E-Tech International published a highly critical report of the operations of Anglo-French oil firm Perenco in Loreto, northern Peru.

    The report claims the company’s activities in Lot 67 are damaging the surrounding area and have had negative impacts on indigenous communities living nearby.

  • Government Publishes Consultation Rules

    03 April 2012

    On 3rd April the Humala administration published details of how the Prior Consultation Law - a measure obliging the state to consult with indigenous groups over extractive projects - would be applied in practice. While the passing of the original law in September 2011 was welcomed by a wide variety of groups, the new regulations have faced criticism from several quarters.

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  • PSG News Summary: March 2012

    31 March 2012

    Our summary of the major news stories from Peru in March is now available. This month's edition features the following articles:

    Falklands Dispute Embroils Peru; Humala 'Favoured' Jailed Brother; La Oroya Activists Threatened; Unofficial Review Criticises Conga Study; Campaigners Denounce Threats to Uncontacted Indians 

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  • Event: Mining Investment and Social Conflict in Peru

    05 March 2012

    Date: Monday, 12th March 2012
    Time: 12:00 - 14:00
    Venue: Senate House, Room 104, London, WC1E 7HU

    This Peru Support Group event, kindly hosted by the Institute for the Study of the Americas, will feature analysis of the Conga project, and the wider issues of mining and conflict in Peru, from Peruvian expert JOSE DE ECHAVE. José is director of Lima-based NGO CooperAcción and former vice environmental minister.

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  • 31 NGOs Sign Letter on Minas Conga Protests

    08 December 2011

    Two networks of European NGOs, CIDSE and Plataforma Europa Perú (of which the PSG is a member), today sent an open letter to President Ollanta Humala in response to recent events in the Cajamarca region. The letter expresses concern over the breakdown of talks with locals protesting against the Minas Conga project and over the government's decision to declare a state of emergency in the area. It also requests that the project's Environmental Impact Assessment be re-examined.

    Click here to read the letter [Spanish only]

  • Historical Overview

    Over the past century Peru has suffered a series of autocratic governments and a civil war in which nearly 70,000 people died. Many of the country's ongoing political and social problems are a legacy of its somewhat turbulent past. 

  • Human Rights

    Human rights violations were widespread during the twenty years after the initiation of armed conflict in 1980. Efforts to convict perpetrators since the war's end have made only limited progress. Today, concerns remain over the treatment of those engaged in social protest, particularly against strategically important investment projects.

  • Climate Change

    Two important reports on the impacts of climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC ) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios and the Stern Review, place Peru as one of the countries that will be most affected by the effects of climate change.

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