WUNRN
PERU - COERCIVE STERILIZATION &
MORTALITY CASE HISTORY
María Mamerita Mestanza Chávez v. Peru
(Inter-American Commission on Human Rights)
In 1996, Peruvian public health officials threatened a woman with criminal
sanctions if she did not undergo a sterilization surgery. Her partner
ultimately agreed to the surgery. She was never examined prior to the
procedure. After complications ensued, she was refused medical treatment and
died at home nine days later. After domestic remedies failed, the Latin American
and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM) and two
other Peruvian human rights group filed a petition with the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 1999 and were later joined by the Center
and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL). In 2002, the Peruvian
government agreed in principle to settle the case. An agreement was signed in
2003 in which the government acknowledged international legal responsibility,
agreed to compensate Mestanza’s surviving husband and children, and agreed to
modify and implement recommendations made by Peru’s Human Rights Ombudsman
concerning sterilization procedures in Peru’s government facilities.
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