Enforced Disappearance in Peru. Problems and Challenges in the Post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission Justice Process

As the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is aware, the context in which enforced disappearance in Peru is situated is characterized by a structural weakness of the State in protecting fundamental guarantees; a situation exacerbated by still high rates of poverty and social exclusion in the country. Although the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in Peru is not confined to the experience of the internal armed conflict — as illustrated by those who disappeared during the so-called "Operation Condor" under the Morales Bermúdez dictatorship — it was during the period from 1980 to 2000 that the phenomenon multiplied, becoming a central issue for the country's reconciliation and democratic consolidation. According to the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances of the United Nations' own 2002 report, Peru was one of the countries with the highest number of enforced disappearance cases in the world. (Introduction excerpt).