Washington DC, Lima, 22 July 2025. At a public hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Peruvian and international human rights organisations and the victims of human rights violations and their relatives warned of the regressionary effects of the amendments made to the law that created the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI), known as the APCI Law.
During the public hearing, the organisations denounced the amended APCI Law as a legal tool used to restrict and criminalise legitimate human rights work, notably by limiting legal representation in cases against the State. The law is presented as a mechanism for transparency despite the fact adequate regulations already exist. In concrete terms, the law imposes arbitrary controls and disproportionate sanctions that directly affect freedom of association and access to justice.
The adoption of the legislation is taking place in a context of progressive weakening of the rule of law and of civic space in Peru. This has raised serious doubts about the ability to hold democratic elections with minimum guarantees next year. We also emphasize the absence of public policy aimed at protecting human rights defenders ; a situation that aggravates the risks, impunity, and stigmatisation affecting defenders.
The Government of Peru supported the amended law, which was passed in April, emphasising that "the law does not prevent funding for litigation against the state", although it clarified that such funding could not come from international cooperation funds. The declaration is a cause for great concern because it implies a significant restriction on the tangible means used for the legal representation of the victims of human rights violations.
For more than four decades, Peruvian civil society organisations have counted on international support to defend human rights. The amended APCI Law jeopardises their work and leaves the victims of serious violations without representation in instances where state agents have committed acts such as enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture, and sexual violence. The effects of the law were denounced by Yovana Mendoza and Francisco Ochoa, leaders of the Association of the Relatives of the 15 December Massacre and the Association of Victims of Accomarca, respectively. "With this law, the state will only succeed in normalising killings and murders, because there will be no one to defend the poor in my country", Mendoza said.
We also underscore the chilling effects of the amended law, before the publication of its regulations, as was pointed out by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights : Peruvian civil society organisations chose not to speak at a hearing for fear of reprisals. At the hearing, we presented documented cases, such as that of the Indigenous leaders in the El Baguazo case, who were ordered to change their legal counsel in order to comply with the law.
In light of this alarming situation, our organisations call on the IACHR to urge the Peruvian State to repeal the APCI Law, denounce the legislation, and recognise the fundamental role of civil society organisations in Peruvian democracy. We also asked the IACHR to have Peru included among the most serious situations in the region in its next annual report and to urge Peru to improve civic space in the country, in addition to other measures. The IACHR expressed its willingness to conduct an in loco visit to Peru. The State indicated that such a request must be submitted through formal institutional channels.
The Inter-American System is the last hope for justice for many Peruvian victims. Concrete measures must urgently be taken to halt the regression of democracy and guarantee respect for and protection of human rights in Peru.