Peru condemned for the death of a woman during a campaign of forced sterilizations

On Thursday, March 5, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found Peru responsible for the forced sterilization and death of Celia Ramos Durand, a woman from northern Peru who was 34 years old at the time of her death.

“On Thursday, March 5, the Inter‑American Court of Human Rights found Peru responsible for the forced sterilization and death of Celia Ramos Durand, a woman from northern Peru who was 34 years old at the time of her death”

Le Monde.fr

The case was brought before international justice by the feminist organization Demus.

Le Monde.fr

Cynthia Silva, a lawyer with Demus, said: "It is a historic decision and a recognition for the thousands of women who were victims of forced sterilizations in Peru."

The court issued a binding judgment that requires Peru to carry out a "serious" investigation "within a reasonable time (...) with a view to judging and convicting those responsible for non-consensual sterilization," and to establish a reparations policy for Ramos Durand's family.

The ruling is described as unprecedented and explicitly paves the way for reparations for victims registered in the national registry of forced sterilization victims.

Le Monde.fr

The article says the more than 7,000 victims registered in the national registry represent only part of the over 300,000 women who suffered the same fate.

“On Thursday, March 5, the Inter‑American Court of Human Rights found Peru responsible for the forced sterilization and death of Celia Ramos Durand, a woman from northern Peru who was 34 years old at the time of her death”

Le Monde.fr

These cases were part of a state policy presented as a family planning and birth control program.

That program was implemented between 1996 and 2000 under the authoritarian presidency of Alberto Fujimori (died in 2024).