Peru
According to the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, Peru registered the highest number of enforced disappearances in the world between 1987 and 1990. In 2010, a decade after the end of the general insurgency, there were believed to be as many as 15,000 people whose fate and whereabouts remained unknown.
In addition to political violence, Peru has experienced serious problems with human trafficking. One 2013 report noted that three to five people go missing in the capital city, Lima, every day. About a fifth of the total number who go missing are never found, with most reported cases involving minors between the ages of 14 and 17. An October 2020 BBC report found that “Thousands of people are reported missing in Peru each year. Between January and September 2020, 13,070 missing persons reports were filed. According to official police figures, more than half of those were underage. The women’s rights representative at the Ombudsman’s Office, Eliana Revollar Añaños, says she thinks that the majority of children who go missing are fleeing rape, violence or sexual abuse. Women make up 63% of those reported missing.”
Organizations active in the effort to account for the missing and to take action against those guilty of orchestrating or participating in enforced disappearances include the Legal Defense Institute. In 2020, the government established the National Register of Missing Persons.
