Interim Report - Report No 270, March 1990

Case No 1478 (Peru) - Complaint date: 09-NOV-88 - Closed

1. 258. The Committee examined Cases Nos. 1478 and 1484 at its May and November 1989 meetings and submitted an interim report to the Governing Body. (See 265th Report, paras. 518 to 549 and 268th Report, paras. 574 to 587, approved by the Governing Body at its 243rd and 244th Sessions (May-June and November 1989), respectively.) The Government subsequently sent certain observations in a communication dated 5 December 1989.
2. 259. Peru has ratified both the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the cases

1. 260. When it examined these cases at its November 1989 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations on the pending allegations (see 268th Report, para. 587):
   • (a) The Committee strongly deplores the violent situation which prevails in Peru. It expresses its concern over the extreme seriousness of the allegations concerning the murder of the mining trade unionists Saúl Cantoral and Consuelo García, and over the disappearance on 14 December 1988 of Mr. Oscar Delgado, a leader of the customs workers, and deplores the fact that the Government has not yet sent additional information on these allegations. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that a judicial inquiry is carried out and to keep it informed of the same;
   • (b) the Committee requests the Government to forward as soon as possible the report of the competent authorities concerning the allegations that 88 peasants were murdered at a meeting of 9 February 1989 which, according to the World Federation of Trade Unions, was peaceful in nature and was brutally repressed by the police, and to ensure that a judicial inquiry into this matter has been carried out;
   • (c) the Committee notes that the Government has not supplied specific information on the alleged search of the headquarters of the Miners' Federation on 24 October 1988. It asks the Government to state whether it was conducted under a warrant issued by the courts.

B. The Government's reply

1. 261. In its communication of 5 December 1989, the Government denies that trade union leader Mr. Oscar Delgado Vera has disappeared, stating that he is now in the United States. The Government adds that an inquiry is being made into the circumstances of the deaths of trade union leaders Mr. Saúl Cantoral and Mrs. Consuelo García, and that it will send additional information on the matter.
2. 262. As regards the alleged death of 88 peasants as a result of a peaceful meeting, the Government states that the allegations failed to indicate the place and circumstances in which these deaths occurred, and it therefore requests the WFTU to send more information on this allegation.
3. 263. Lastly, as regards the alleged search of the trade union offices of the National Mining, Iron and Steel Workers' Federation of Peru, the Government states that this occurred because a meeting was being held without the required authorisation of the police, in violation of Presidential Decree No. 032-88-IN of 7 September 1988, which declared a state of emergency in certain provinces, including Lima and Callao provinces, and suspended individual rights, including the right to hold peaceful meetings; thus, the police intervened in extraordinary circumstances, in which the right to hold meetings had been suspended. According to Article 231(a) of the Constitution of Peru, a state of emergency may be declared in the event of a disturbance of the peace or law and order affecting the life of the nation, in which case constitutional guarantees relating to personal freedom and security, inviolability of the home and freedom to hold meetings are suspended for a period of up to 60 days, which may be extended.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 264. The Committee notes that the Government denies that the trade union leader Mr. Oscar Delgado has disappeared and states that he is now in the United States. The Committee also notes that an inquiry is being carried out into the deaths of trade union leaders Mr. Saúl Cantoral and Mrs. Consuelo García, and hopes that this will make it possible to ascertain the circumstances of these deaths, determine responsibilities and punish those guilty.
2. 265. As regards the alleged death of 88 peasants as a result of a meeting held on 9 February 1989 which, according to the WFTU, was peaceful in nature and was brutally repressed by the police, the Committee notes that the Government requests more information on the subject, in particular as regards the place and circumstances in which these deaths are alleged to have occurred. The Committee requests the complainant organisations and in particular the WFTU, which presented this allegation, to send the information requested by the Government.
3. 266. Lastly, the Committee notes that the alleged search of the offices of the National Mining, Iron and Steel Workers' Federation of Peru on 24 October 1988 was carried out, according to the Government, because a state of emergency had been declared in the Lima and Callao provinces resulting in the suspension of the right to hold meetings, and that a meeting had nevertheless been held in the headquarters of this Federation without the required administrative authorisation. The Committee notes that the period during which individual guarantees such as the right to hold meetings may be suspended is 60 days, although it may be extended. In this respect, the Committee is fully aware that in certain circumstances a government may have to declare a state of emergency. On previous occasions, the Committee has considered that measures taken in a state of emergency may constitute a serious interference by the authorities in trade union affairs contrary to Article 3 of Convention No. 87, except where such measures are necessary because the organisations concerned have diverged from their trade union objectives and have defied the law. (See, for example, 131st Report, Cases Nos. 626 and 659 (Guatemala), para. 113.) In this case the Committee has no information on the specific reasons for which the state of emergency had been declared, nor as regards its actual duration. In these circumstances, the Committee draws the Government's attention to the importance which it attaches to the right of trade unions to hold meetings freely on their own premises for the discussion of trade union matters, without the need for previous authorisation and without interference by the public authorities, which is a fundamental aspect of freedom of association. (See the Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, third edition, 1985, para. 142.)

The Committee's recommendations

1. 267. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress of the inquiry into the death of trade union leaders Mr. Saúl Cantoral and Mrs. Consuelo García;
   • (b) the Committee requests the complainant organisations to supply further information concerning the place and circumstances in which the alleged death of 88 peasants occurred on 9 February 1989 as a result of a meeting held on 9 February 1989 which, according to the WFTU, was peaceful in nature and was brutally repressed by the police; and
   • (c) the Committee draws the Government's attention to the fact that the right of trade unions to hold meetings freely on their own premises for the discussion of trade union matters, without the need for previous authorisation and without interference by the public authorities, is a fundamental aspect of freedom of association.