At the request of Castillo, the OAS studies invoking the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Peru

First modification: 10/20/2022 – 04:45

In 2001, during the Summit of the Americas in Quebec, the countries that make up the Organization of American States (OAS) approved the Inter-American Democratic Charter, a document that contains 28 clauses to guarantee institutionality in the countries that recognize the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court , that is, in 20 nations of the 35 that make up the OAS.

The Charter establishes what these nations consider a “democratic rupture”: violations of human rights and freedoms, as well as the lack of independence of the powers of the State.

The Peruvian president, Pedro Castillo, argued article 17 of the document to request the extraordinary meeting of the Permanent Council. The clause establishes that a country could “request assistance (from the OAS) for the strengthening and preservation of democratic institutions.”

Although the Inter-American Charter states that it is governed by the principle of non-intervention, it establishes that “if necessary, it may adopt decisions aimed at the preservation of democratic institutions and their strengthening.”

What this means is that the OAS leaves the door open to its interpretation, but in principle it could send a mission to verify the situation and “adopt whatever decisions it deems appropriate.”

The Rapporteur for Peru of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Edgar Ralón Orellana, and the Peruvian Foreign Minister, César Landa, will participate in the meeting on Thursday, which will take place in the Hall of the Americas of the OAS headquarters in the US capital.

Previously, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had already indicated, after a work visit, that “it observed risks for democratic institutions” and had called for “respect for due process.”

President Castillo summoned his ministers to the Government Palace to discuss the strategy, while the opposition congressmen requested to communicate with the representatives of the Organization of American States to reject Castillo’s request and the consequent extraordinary meeting.

“New form of coup d’état”

Pedro Castillo’s defense argues that the constitutional complaint filed by the Prosecutor’s Office before Congress is unconstitutional, since the country’s Magna Carta only contemplates removing the status of an official to prosecute him in the case of crimes of “treason against the fatherland” or against the democracy, for which he filed an appeal before the Supreme Court to annul it.

Castillo, who is already the target of six investigations by the Prosecutor’s Office, has already survived two vacancy processes for “moral incapacity” against him in the Legislative, which for his supporters confirms that it is a political persecution.

However, the attorney general, Patricia Benavides, was summoned this Wednesday before Congress to expand the complaint against the president, and assured that she has more than 190 evidence of the president’s alleged criminal actions that support a process against him.

The Public Ministry also ruled out this Wednesday, October 19, that it will rectify the case, arguing that it lacked legal grounds in which it accuses Castillo of influence peddling, criminal organization and collusion.

What is he specifically accused of?

The Prosecutor’s Office indicates that President Pedro Castillo; the former Minister of Transportation and Communications, Juan Silva Villegas; and that of Housing, Construction and Sanitation, Geiner Alvarado, as well as five other officials, organized a criminal network to obtain profits through contracts with the State.

This is the case known as “Puente Tarata III”, a million-dollar work tendered in 2021 for which, according to the investigating entity, the president and his entourage would have agreed to receive 0.5% of the total value of the contract.

As of Friday, October 14, Congress had 10 business days to decide whether the complaint was admissible or not. For his part, on Monday, October 17, Congressman Edward Málaga Trillo began a new process of collecting signatures to start the third vacancy motion process against President Castillo, with a view to his removal.