Peruvian state responsible for mother's death in forced sterilisation, court rules
Landmark ruling in Celia Ramos case finds 310,000 women, most Indigenous, were targeted in brutal 1990s campaign
TL;DR
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruled Peru responsible for the death of Celia Ramos, who died in 1997 following coerced sterilization.
- This is the first ruling concerning Peru's forced sterilization program (1996-2000) which disproportionately affected poor, rural, and Indigenous women.
- The court found the Peruvian state responsible for violating Ramos's rights to life, health, personal integrity, family, access to information, and equality.
- Ramos underwent sterilization in a makeshift facility lacking proper equipment, leading to a severe allergic reaction and her death 19 days later.
- The state was also held responsible for delays in investigating the incident and for the impact on Ramos's family.
- The program resulted in over 314,000 female sterilizations and 24,000 male sterilizations, many under coercion and without valid consent.
- Human rights advocates hailed the ruling as a victory for sexual and reproductive rights as human rights.