Other victims told the committee that they were intercepted and forced onto trucks like cattle before being taken to temporary health centres, where, as one of them described, “medical practitioners sharpening knives and cutting us like animals”.
The victims say they have also suffered severe and permanent consequences for their physical and mental health. Eighteen women died shortly from the operations, after the programme failed to ensure minimum health standards or provide proper pre- and post-operative monitoring, rights groups have said.
Peru has argued the sterilisation programme was part of a broader reproductive health policy, with officials previously saying the policy would decrease poverty, reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, and lower fertility. “Peruvian women should be the owners of their destiny,” Fujimori, who died in September, had declared at the time.
Dr Ñusta Carranza Ko, an associate professor of global affairs and human security, and an expert on indigenous Peruvians, said Fujimori’s supporters have rejected the UN’s ruling with “hate and denial”.
“They reject that this is a crime tied to the former president, noting that ‘not even in death, they leave him in peace’. Their reaction resembles many authoritarian leader’s supporters who develop a cult following of the leader,” she said.
The UN concluded its finding by raising concerns about a law promulgated by the State party in August, which prevents the prosecution of crimes against humanity committed before 2002. It warns such a decision contravenes international law.
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