Peru: Law on compulsory human rights education

On 29 May 2002 a law (No. 27741) was published in the Peruvian official journal, El Peruano , concerning human rights education policy and the drafting of a national plan for the dissemination and teaching of such rights.    

The law's ten articles provide for compulsory teaching of Peru's Political Constitution, and of human rights and international humanitarian law, at all levels of the civilian and military education systems and in higher education, both within and outside universities. The instrument also requires the executive to draft a national plan to this end within 120 days of the date of publication of the law.

The ICRC welcomes the Peruvian government's initiative. ICRC activities in Peru include providing the armed forces with advice and support in integrating international humanitarian law into their procedures and training programmes, helping introduce international humanitarian law into university courses and running human rights training courses for the national police. Bearing in mind that ICRC is also involved in raising awareness of humanitarian issues among civil society in general, all these activities are likely to make an appreciable contribution to the government's new teaching programmes.