The first section of the Report analyses the situation of the administration of justice and rule of law in Peru, the international obligations of the State within the inter-American system, the free exercise of political rights and freedom of expression. The section reveals the connection between the deterioration of the rule of law and democratic institutions and the serious restrictions imposed on the exercise of freedom of expression, and the resulting impact on the exercise of political rights in Peru. The Report presents the context in which serious and well founded challenges to the candidacy of President Fujimori to a third presidential term have arisen, in an electoral campaign that was marked by manifest abuses and arbitrary acts.

The consequences of the institutional crisis have lead the IACHR to issue precautionary measures, and present cases and requests for provisional measures to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as well as to issue press releases with the objective of preventing the impact of the crisis on the efficacy of political rights, looking toward the presidential and parliamentary elections of the year 2000. The concern of the Commission with the fairness of the electoral process has been justified by the expressions of disapproval and rejection from the electoral missions sent to Peru by the OAS and other international organisations, as well as by local observers, and those from other countries and the Office of the Ombudsman of Peru.

The second section of the Report covers a wide range of themes including the effectiveness of economic, social and cultural rights in Peru, as well as the rights of women, children and persons deprived of their liberty.

The present executive summary provides a review of some of the themes analysed in the Report that are linked to the enforcement of the rule of law and the protection of certain fundamental rights.

In chapter I of the Report, the Commission presents an overview of the Peruvian legal and political system and the mechanisms of the State for the protection of human rights. Specifically, it analyses the structure of the three branches of government according to the terms established in the 1993 Constitution and, in particular, institutions such as the National Council of the Magistracy, the Attorney General�s Office, the Constitutional Court, the national defence system and the electoral system. Further, it makes reference to the constitutional normative framework and the Office of the Ombudsman. The analysis reveals that, in spite of the fact that the Constitution of 1993 looks toward a republic organised in accordance with the principles of representative democracy with the separation of powers and other fundamental attributes that characterise a state of law, in practice this structure has been weakened as a direct consequence of the measures adopted by the executive with the consent of the ruling party in Congress.

For some years now, the authorities of Peru�s executive have stated their intention to improve the functioning of the judiciary through a process of reform. The IACHR has closely followed the evolution of this process and the report concludes that the reform process, far from strengthening the judiciary has served as a pretext to diminish its autonomy, independence and impartiality and its vital role of controlling government action, thus affecting the balance of powers in Peru.

After eight years of executive intervention in a judiciary which does not enjoy guarantees of permanence in office, more than 80% of the country�s judges and prosecutors have provisional status, which seriously conspires against the independence and autonomy of the judiciary before the government. Further compounding this is the dismantling of the Constitutional Court and other institutions of the judicature, as a consequence of which there is currently no institutional control over acts of government in Peru. The reform process has allowed for the subordination of the judiciary to the government, thereby affecting the balance of powers that characterises democratic states.

The degeneration of the rule of law in Peru affects the fundamental corollary of human rights; that is, the right to come before independent and impartial judicial authorities in order that they ensure respect for fundamental rights, including the essential principles of representative democracy in light of effective � not merely formal � separation of the executive, legislative and judicial powers. This structural weakness is incompatible with the principles under which the judiciary must function in its role as impartial third party to resolve conflicts, to investigate and judge those who break the public order, and to control the constitutionality of the acts of the other two branches of the State.

In response to this situation, the IACHR made the Peruvian State a number of recommendations specifically aimed at ensuring respect for the principle of the separation of powers. The Report calls the State, inter alia, to abstain from continuing to infringe on the autonomy, independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and adopt concrete measures to restore these attributes, such as reestablishing the constitutional authority of the National Council of the Magistracy. The State must also immediately reestablish the normal functioning of the Constitutional Court through the reincorporation of the three members who were separated from their positions, and the adoption of the measures necessary to ensure transparency in the process of constitutional control of the laws in the heart of the Court.

The Report also analyses other norms and practices that violate the guarantees of due process and defence at trial, such as the admission of proof obtained under torture, reprisals against witnesses and legal representatives of persons accused of certain crimes or of victims of acts perpetrated by State agents, and the trying of civilians before military tribunals. The State must also derogate laws that impede the investigation, prosecution and punishment of state agents accused of committing human rights violations and in this way end impunity.

Chapter III of the Report addresses compliance by the State with its obligations pursuant to the Inter-American System. During 1999 the Peruvian State declared its intention not to comply with the decisions of the Inter-American Court by invoking its own domestic law, in flagrant violation of international law. At the same time, despite having voluntarily and unconditionally subjected itself to the Court�s jurisdiction, sought to withdraw permanently from the contentious jurisdiction of the Court in an attempt to avoid a judicial decision in cases referring to the impeding of the proper functioning of the Constitutional Court and the violation of Baruch Ivcher Broinstein�s freedom to express political opinions through the media. Despite the fact that the Inter-American Court has formally and unequivocally rejected the State�s putative withdrawal from its jurisdiction, Peru is still in defiance of the Court�s authority, thus ignoring its international obligations vis � vis the other States Parties to the American Convention and the persons under its jurisdiction.

Chapter IV analyses the growing deterioration of the enjoyment of political rights in Peru which eventually lead to the electoral crisis of May 2000. The Report presents an overview of the lack of effective constitutional review of legislative acts sponsored by ruling party with a view to benefit its own candidates; the legislative and administrative acts aimed at preventing political participation by citizens and the harassment of opposition candidates and other political personalities. In light of the facts analysed in the Report, the IACHR concluded that the Government has clearly manipulated its authority in order to perpetuate itself in power and dissuade other political actors from participating in the electoral process or reduce their chances of success.

Before the elections the Commission made clear to the State its concern with the serious interference in the exercise and enjoyment of political rights in Peru and the lack of guarantees for the holding of transparent elections pursuant to the standards of the American Convention. At that time it recommended that the State adopt measures to secure greater transparency in the electoral process, guarantee the independence of the electoral organs and put an end to the continuous harassment of opposition candidates.

It�s a well-known fact that the electoral campaign was characterised by irregularities publicly denounced by national and international observers and by the Office of the Peruvian Ombusdsman itself. Among other irregularities were the unequal access of the candidates to the media; harassment and efforts to damage the reputation of opposition candidates; and the lack of effective investigation of the serious accusations regarding the forgery of signatures in the list of supporters of a political party. The observers of the election held on April 9, 2000 confirmed that it was gravely affected by multiple irregularities ranging from the mutilation of ballots to the detention of citizens on their way to vote. The electoral tally was also characterised by a series of denunciations of irregularities, including the inconsistency between the number of voters and the total number of votes counted.

It is public knowledge that, after numerous complaints both in Peru and abroad, the ONPE finally released a result indicating that a second electoral round was in order. This second round took place on May 28, 2000 and had Engineer Fujimori as the winner in an atmosphere of mistrust and discredit and in the absence of the OAS Electoral Observer Mission as well as other national and international electoral missions which decided to abstain from participating as observers due to the lack of guarantees for the transparency of the election. The IACHR considers that this situation seriously violates Article 23 of the American Convention which provides for the right to vote in genuine, periodic elections by universal and equal suffrage and by secret ballot that guarantee the free will of the voters.

The enjoyment of freedom of expression is fundamental to the full functioning of democracy as well as the exercise of other human rights. Chapter V of the Report is devoted to analysing the restrictions on the dissemination of information and ideas regarding political dissent in Peru, including the systematic harassment of politicians of the opposition expressing ideas through the press, as well as independent journalists. The Report also addresses the role of the judiciary as a guarantor of freedom of expression and the fact that rather than protecting the enjoyment of this right according to law, Peruvian courts have been employed as a tool to harass those expressing ideas through the press. The Report also reflects the Commission�s preoccupation for the personal safety of journalists and the lack of effective investigation of violent attacks of which they have been victims.

The IACHR�s analysis reveals that the necessary conditions for the full exercise of the freedom to express political ideas by the opposition or criticism of the government through the media without reprisals, do not exist in Peru. The systematic use of intelligence services and security forces as instruments of harassment and persecution of journalists and members of the opposition with the alleged tolerance of the high authorities of the State as well as the passive and active collaboration of the judiciary, constitute a serious obstacle for the normal functioning of democracy in Peru. The right to express dissent regarding acts of government, denounce irregularities and manifest political ideas through the press are fundamental to the existence of a democratic State.

The IACHR and its Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression consider that the lack of access to the media by the opposition candidates constituted one of the factors that affected the transparency of the electoral campaign. Given the seriousness of the situation, the IACHR, through its Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, issued a press release indicating that "the necessary conditions for the full exercise of the freedom to express political ideas by the opposition or criticism to the government through the media, without reprisals do not exist in Peru" and that such limitations "constitute a great obstacle for the normal development of the electoral process". 1

In the meantime, the electoral process in Peru clearly constitutes an irregular interruption of the democratic process. Therefore, the IACHR urges the reestablishment of the rule of law in Peru and, within a reasonable time, the calling of free, fair, authentic and sovereign elections in compliance with the corresponding international standards.