Landmark Ruling: Peru Ordered to Pay for Forced Sterilization Tragedy
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that Peru must provide reparations to the family of a woman who died due to forced sterilization, a major victory for human rights.
In a landmark ruling, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ordered Peru to pay reparations to the family of a woman who died as a result of forced sterilization. The case shines a spotlight on the devastating human rights abuses committed under the country's family planning program in the 1990s.
The court found that Mamérita Mestanza Chávez, a 33-year-old Quechua woman, was coerced into undergoing a tubal ligation procedure in 1996 as part of the Peruvian government's aggressive family planning initiatives. The program, which disproportionately targeted poor and Indigenous women, led to the forced sterilization of an estimated 300,000 people.
After the procedure, Mestanza Chávez experienced severe complications and died 13 days later. The court ruled that the Peruvian state is responsible for her death and the violation of her human rights, including the rights to life, personal integrity, and equality before the law.
Source: Al Jazeera
