Interim Report - Report No 383, October 2017

Case No 2982 (Peru) - Complaint date: 20-AUG-12 - Follow-up

Allegations: The complainant alleges killings, threats against union leaders and members in the construction sector, inadequacy of the measures taken and ineffectiveness of the investigations, maintenance of the registration of pseudo-unions

1. 489. The Committee last examined this case at its June 2016 meeting, when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body [see 378th Report, paras 629–647, approved by the Governing Body at its 327th Session (June 2016)].
2. 490. The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 25 May and 17 July 2017.
3. 491. Peru has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 492. At its previous meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations [see 378th Report, paras 629–647]:
   • (a) The Committee expresses its concern at the lack of judgments against those responsible for the murders of the four union leaders and firmly hopes that in the near future the criminal proceedings under way will lead to the identification of all the instigators and perpetrators of the murders, that responsibility will be apportioned and that those guilty will be duly punished. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in the criminal proceedings relating to the four union leaders (and to clarify whether the suspected murderer of Carlos Armando Viera Rosales is detained or has been released) and to the three union members.
   • (b) While welcoming the Government’s initiative to convene a tripartite dialogue forum in June 2014, it notes that the forum was postponed owing to a lack of trust between the parties, and requests the Government to inform it of the actions taken to build trust between the parties and foster tripartite dialogue.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to inform it, without delay, of the results of the quantitative and qualitative investigation into the cases of extortion and homicide in the civil construction sector which, according to the Government, the Crime Observatory of the Public Prosecutor’s Office should have carried out in 2014.
   • (d) The Committee draws the special attention of the Governing Body to the extreme seriousness and urgent nature of this case.

B. The Government’s reply

1. 493. In its communication of 25 May and 17 July 2017, the Government submitted an updated report from the Public Prosecutor’s Office on the status of the investigations and criminal proceedings in respect of the murders of union leaders Mr Ruben Snell Soberón Estela, Mr Miguel Díaz Medina, Mr Carlos Armando Viera Rosales and Mr Guillermo Alonso Yacila Ubillus and of union members Mr Luis Esteban Luyo Vicente, Mr Jorge Antonio Vargas Guillen and Mr Rodolfo Alfredo Mestanza Poma.
2. 494. With regard to union leaders Ruben Snell Soberón Estela and Miguel Díaz Medina, the Government indicates that the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office Specializing in Organized Crime of Lambayeque is currently conducting an investigation under File No. 020-2016, as part of which Mr Wilmer Zegarra Bonilla has been investigated for allegedly instigating these murders.
3. 495. With regard to union leader Carlos Armando Viera Rosales, the Government indicates that on 16 September 2015 the First Transitional Criminal Court of Callao announced that criminal proceedings were dismissed owing to the death of the defendant, Miguel Armando Agurto Moreira. For its part, with regard to union leader Guillermo Alonso Yacila Ubillus, it indicates that, since the suspected perpetrator of the murder had not been identified, on 12 May 2014 the Sixth Provincial Criminal Prosecutor’s Office permanently archived the case by Decision No. 128-2014.
4. 496. With regard to union member Jorge Antonio Vargas Guillen, the Government reports that: (i) by Decision No. 21 of 15 July 2014, the Second Criminal Appeals Chamber of the High Court of Justice of La Libertad upheld the custodial sentence of 20 years handed down to Idelso Amambal Cova for premeditated murder; (ii) by a rehabilitation decision of 2 September 2015, the Court of Preliminary Investigation in San Pedro de Lloc decided to consider the sentence handed down to Ana Cecilia Guevara as having been served; and (iii) by Decision No. 4 of the Collegiate Criminal Court of Trujillo, Alberto Rojas Paucar was acquitted of the charge of being an accessory to premeditated murder. With regard to the murder of Luis Esteban Luyo Vicente, the Government reports that trial proceedings are currently opening before the Collegiate Criminal Court of Cañete (Case No. 00058-2012-30-0801-JR-PE-02). Lastly, with regard to Rodolfo Alfredo Mestanza Poma, it states that the criminal proceedings against Paolo Bustamante Clemente and others are at an intermediate stage before the Third Investigation Bureau of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Huaura, with a request made for dismissal of the proceedings and a hearing relating to the dismissal scheduled for 30 May 2017.
5. 497. Concerning the Committee’s recommendation (c), the Government includes a note from the Public Prosecutor’s Office stating that the investigation into cases of extortion and homicide in the construction sector which should have been conducted by its Crime Observatory in 2014 has been rescheduled for institutional reasons.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 498. The Committee recalls that the present case concerns the murders of union leaders and members against the backdrop of a climate of violence, threats and extortion created by criminal mafia groups in the construction sector. The complainant organizations also allege that the authorities are uninterested and ineffective and that the groups which commit the crimes do so with impunity.
2. 499. The Committee notes the detailed information from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, transmitted by the Government, concerning the status of the investigations and criminal proceedings in relation to the various murders reported in the context of this case. With regard to the murder of union leaders Ruben Snell Soberón Estela and Miguel Díaz Medina, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office Specializing in Organized Crime of Lambayeque is currently conducting an investigation under File No. 020-2016, as part of which Wilmer Zegarra Bonilla has been investigated for allegedly instigating these murders. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
3. 500. In respect of the murder of union leader Carlos Armando Viera Rosales, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that on 16 September 2015 the criminal case was dismissed owing to the death of the defendant, Miguel Armando Agurto Moreira. Furthermore, regarding the murder of union leader Guillermo Alonso Yacila Ubillus, the Committee notes that, since the suspected perpetrator had not been identified, on 12 May 2014, the Sixth Provincial Criminal Prosecutor’s Office permanently archived the case. With regard to this last point, the Committee expresses its deep concern that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has permanently archived the case, and recalls once again that the absence of judgments against the guilty parties creates, in practice, a situation of impunity, which reinforces the climate of violence and insecurity, which is extremely damaging to the exercise of trade union rights [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, fifth (revised) edition, 2006, para. 52]. In the light of the foregoing, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that further investigations are conducted that will allow the perpetrators and instigators of the murder of union leader Guillermo Alonso Yacila Ubillus to be identified and to ensure that the guilty parties are duly penalized. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect.
4. 501. With regard to the murder of the three trade union members, the Committee notes that: (i) by Decision No. 21 of 15 July 2014, the Second Criminal Appeals Chamber of the High Court of Justice of La Libertad upheld the custodial sentence of 20 years handed down to Idelso Amambal Cova for the premeditated murder of Jorge Antonio Vargas Guillen; (ii) with regard to the criminal proceedings for the murder of Rodolfo Alfredo Mestanza Poma, a hearing relating to the dismissal was scheduled for 30 May 2017; and (iii) criminal proceedings in respect of the murder of Luis Esteban Luyo Vicente are at the stage of opening for trial. The Committee takes due note of this information and requests the Government to provide information as soon as possible on the latter two criminal proceedings.
5. 502. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the investigation into cases of extortion and homicide in the construction sector which should have been conducted by the Criminal Observatory of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2014 has been rescheduled for institutional reasons. The Committee notes with concern that this investigation still has not been conducted and urges the Government to take all possible steps to ensure that the Public Prosecutor’s Office conducts a thorough investigation as soon as possible into the reasons and the persons responsible for the violence in the construction sector, and that all the necessary penal action is taken based on the findings of the investigations.
6. 503. Lastly, the Committee previously requested the Government to continue to take measures in the framework of tripartite dialogue to address the issue of violence in the civil construction sector, such as the organization of the tripartite dialogue forum by the Government in June 2014, which was postponed owing to a lack of trust between the parties. Emphasizing that the problem of violence in the civil construction sector and actions to eradicate it must be considered in the context of social dialogue, the Committee once again requests the Government to report on the actions taken to build trust between the parties and foster tripartite dialogue.

The Committee’s recommendations

1. 504. 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 findings of the investigation being conducted into the murder of union leaders Mr Rubén Snell Soberón Estela and Mr Miguel Díaz Medina.
   • (b) The Committee requests the Government to ensure that further investigations are conducted that would allow the perpetrators and instigators of the murder of trade union leader Mr Guillermo Alonso Yacila Ubillus to be identified, and that the guilty parties are duly penalized; the Committee also requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.
   • (c) The Committee requests the Government to provide information as soon as possible on the criminal proceedings relating to the murder of union members Mr Rodolfo Alfredo Mestanza Poma and Mr Luis Esteban Luyo Vicente.
   • (d) The Committee urges the Government to take all possible steps to ensure that the Public Prosecutor’s Office conducts, as soon as possible, a thorough investigation into the reasons and the persons responsible for the violence in the construction sector, and that all the necessary penal action is taken based on the findings of the investigations.
   • (e) Emphasizing that the problem of violence in the civil construction sector and action to eradicate it must be considered in the context of social dialogue, the Committee once again requests the Government to keep it informed of the actions taken to build trust between the parties and foster tripartite dialogue.
   • (f) The Committee once again draws the special attention of the Governing Body to the extremely serious and urgent nature of this case.