PERUVIAN NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CONFENADIP PERUVIAN NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (CONFENADIP) REPORT – BALANCE OF THE COMPLIANCE OF PERUVIAN STATE’S OBLIGATIONS WITH A VIEW TO THE CRPD Introduction The entry into force of the Convention of the UN on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter called ―The Convention‖ or ―CRPD‖) and its Optional Protocol1, paved the way for its real implementation and compliance. It also promoted the ardent desire for the opportunity to engage in participation and monitoring by persons with disabilities (PWDs) and their organisations throughout the world, and as expected, also in Peru. Two years after the entry into force of the CRPD, the Peruvian State has provided the Monitoring Committee (hereafter ―The Committee‖) with its official report on the measures adopted to comply with the obligations set forth in the Convention. Persons with disabilities and their most representative organisations are aided by the right to submit alternative reports on their opinions about the compliance of the CRPD. By using this right, the Peruvian National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities (CONFENADIP) hereby submits to the Convention Monitoring Committee this Alternative Report (AR), containing the perspective of persons with disabilities regarding the real and effective exercise of their rights as recognised in the CRPD. This Report contains considerations on the general framework for the promotion and protection of human rights, and specifically the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as the application of the specific mandates of the CRPD in Peru. Given that this is the first alternative report on the compliance with the Convention in Latin America, we took on the challenge of drafting it with the conviction that pointing out problems and proposing solutions, from the perspective of the compliance with human rights, is the primary responsibility of the Peruvian State, with the direct participation of and in close consultation with persons with disabilities and their organisations, as established in Articles 4 and 33 of the Convention. From this point on, the CONFENADIP will work to disseminate this report, seeking commitments to the compliance of the CRPD mandate, with the national, regional and local governments of our country; as well as looking for support and involving more people with disabilities and their families, human rights organisations in the country, and other public and private working to promote sustainable and concerted development, as well as the different collectives of excluded sectors without disabilities. Regarding the methodology used for the drafting of this Optional Report, it has been structured thoroughly in order to grant persons with disabilities the most possible participation; from the capital of Lima, as well as from inside the country, for both urban and rural zones. The developed research has used primary instruments (questionnaires and surveys) validated with the participation of the parties involved; as well as secondary instruments. But particularly, through the review of the national and international laws that obliges Peru in this matter, the review of the official report presented to the UN on the compliance of the CRPD, the review of official documents about 1 The Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed on March 30th, 2007, in New York, United States of America, and approved by the Peruvian Congress through Legislative Resolution No 29127 of October 31st, 2007. Such instruments were subsequently ratified by the Peruvian State in December 2007 through the Supreme Decree No 073-2007-RE. PERUVIAN NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CONFENADIP activities carried out, letters, and interviews of officials, NGOs‘ representatives and human rights organizations of the country. CHAPTER I COUNTRY GENERAL CONTEXT 1. General description The Republic of Peru is located in the Midwest of South America. On the West it is bounded by the Pacific Ocean, on the Northwest by Ecuador, on the Northeast by Colombia, on the East by Brazil, on the Southeast by Bolivia and on the South by Chile. Its territory comprises 1 285 216 km2 or 496 223 miles2. It is the third biggest country in South America, and it has 3 very distinct geographic regions: Coast, Highlands and Jungle. At present, its population amounts to 29 132 013 million of inhabitants3. Its nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is US$ 127 598 millions and a real GDP of 0.9% regarding year 2009, and its per capita GDP amounts to US$ 4 453. The total volume of its exports currently amounts to 2 376 millions of dollars4, which means a percentage increase of 46% regarding the existing values by March 2009. As for its Human Development Index (HDI)5, it is ranked in 0, 806 (taking the 78th place of the scale of 182 countries considered by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which – on the base of standardized values between 0 and 1 – is considered in the High rank6. However, in accordance with available information by year 2008, the 36.2% of its population is under the poverty line, while the 12.6% is in extreme poverty78. Likewise, poverty is distributed regionally in the following way: 21.3% in the coast, 56.2% in the highlands and 40.9% in the jungle.9 The Peruvian economy growth and the reduction of the poverty and extreme poverty rate in the country must not, however, make us ignore the fact that it has a strong inequality. In fact, according to the GINI Coefficient, Peru – with a rate of 0.476 – is in 4th place in income inequality in the whole Latin America.10 2. Politic Regime 2.1 Form of Government The Peruvian State is a republic, structured within a mainly presidential system11. The Head of State and Government is the President, who is elected by popular vote. The executive and legislative 2 Source: National Geographic Institute (IGN) – Geography Direction. 3 Source: National Institute of Statistics and Data Processing (INEI). 4 Source: Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR). 5 The HDI is a synoptical measure of the human development in order to place again people in the development process center, in terms of economical discussions, policies creation and promotion. 6 Source: Report on Human Development 2009. ―For a density of the State at people‘s disposal‖. United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 7 Source: National Institute of Statistics and Data Processing (INEI). 8 According to the XXX of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC or ECLAC) 2008, the rest of the economies of Latin America grew also in a steady way between 2003 and 2008, reducing poverty from 44% to 35% and extreme poverty from 18.6% to 12,7% between 1980 and 2007. Source: 9 Source: National Institute of Statistics and Data Processing (INEI). 10 The Gini Coefficient is a figure expressed in percentages between 0 and 1, in which 0 corresponds to the perfect income equality and 1 corresponds to the perfect income inequality. United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC or ECLAC). Statistics Yearbook 2009. 11 PLANAS Pedro, Regímenes Políticos Contemporáneos, Fondo de Cultura Económica, Lima, 1997, pages 70-82. PERUVIAN NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES CONFENADIP branches are separated. As the President, Congress members are also elected by direct elections, the first one is entitled to making and observing laws12, as well as choosing and dismissing his Ministers.13 2.2 Electoral Regime The politic regime of Peru is in line within a democratic system, in which citizens choose their representatives (President of the Republic, Congressmen, Regional Presidents and local and provincial Municipal Authorities) by direct and free elections. Voting is universal and compulsory until the person is 70 years old, except for the restrictions set forth in the law.14 The electoral system is established in multi-member districts (in other words, where two or more seats are distributed per district). 2.3 State Structure 2.2.1 Horizontal dimension of the State’s structure In order to understand the structure and organization of the Peruvian State, two dimensions must be taken into consideration: a vertical and horizontal dimension. The vertical one refers to the application of the principle of separating public branches in Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. These branches are autonomous at politic, economic and administrative levels; and they are of national competence (in the whole territory). This autonomy is reflected in the faculty of: a) adopting and regulating their plans and programs, as well as other issues of its competence (politic autonomy); b) establishing its internal organization (administrative autonomy), and c) collect and manage its own revenues and income, as well as approving its institutional budgets (economic autonomy). 2.2.1.1 Executive Branch The Executive Branch consists of the President of the Republic, Council of Ministers, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Ministries and public entities of the Executive Branch15. It holds exclusive competences and shared competences with Local and Regional Governments. The first ones are included in article 4 of the Organic Law of the Executive Branch (OLEB), regarding the design and supervision of the national and sectorial plans and policies, as well as other topics, such as: - Safety, Armed Forces and National Defence - Foreign Affairs, Justice (as long as it is not about Justice Administration) - Internal Order, National Police and Frontiers - Tax Administration - Trade Regime and Tariff - Regulation of the Merchant Marines and Commercial Aviation - Public Services of its responsibility - Public Infrastructure The Executive Branch is in charge of law regulation, as well as its application and evaluation; planning and execution of plans and national policies; establishing cooperation mechanisms with entities of Public Administration, etc.16 2.2.1.2 Legislative Branch 12 Article 108 of the Constitution. 13 Idem.