A Group of Bishops in Peru Send a Letter to the Government in Defense of International Cooperation

This letter was published in Spanish on the CEAS Facebook page. It has been translated and is reproduced here with their permission.

The bishops of Peru’s Amazon vicariates (CAAAP – Amazon Centre for Applied Anthropology)  and the Bishops’ Social Affairs Commission (CEAS) have written to the Peruvian government to express their concerns about new legislation that threatens to impose sweeping restrictions on the organizations of the poor, including Development and Peace partners.

The reforms to the international cooperation law modify laws passed in 2002 that created the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI)  that regulates the oversight of international aid.  The new bill that has been approved in Congress expands the agency’s powers in ways that could threaten the independence and work of non-profit organizations and their capacity to advocate on behalf of the poor.

The bishops underline that the proposed reforms could silence government critics and curtail advocacy work, which they describe as ‘a priority task to achieve public policies in favor of the most vulnerable peoples and populations.’ Such advocacy work by the organizations of the poor, accompanied by partners such as CEAS and CAAAP, is at the heart of Development and Peace’s work to promote citizen participation to advance social justice and human rights for poor communities. 

Letter from a group of Bishops in Peru to their Government

“Defending human rights demands courage and determination. (…) Let us pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis, that they may see their sacrifice and their work bear abundant fruit.”

(Pope Francis, “Video Message: Fundamental Rights,” April 8, 2021)

Lima, March 25, 2025

Ms. President of the Republic
Mr. President of the Congress of the Republic
Mr. President of the Council of Ministers
Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Mr. President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs Committee at the Congress of the Republic

SUBJECT: We request that the Executive Branch observe the bill that modifies Law 27692 of the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation

From our consideration:

As bishops of the Social Pastoral of Peru, the Episcopal Commission for Social Action (CEAS) and the Bishops of the Apostolic Vicariates, members of the Amazonian Center for Anthropology and Practical Application (CAAAP), organizations of the Catholic Church that accompany the poorest peoples and communities of the country, we wish to express our deep concern about the recent approval, in the Congress of the Republic, of the seal of the bill that modifies Law No. 27692 of the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation – APCI; which has been referred to the Office of the Presidency of the Republic for approval, with respect to which, we request the Executive Power to carefully consider the above mentioned bill.

Our fundamental concern is that those truly affected by the legislation will be the peoples and communities, true popular movements, called “social poets” by Pope Francis. Without them, says Francis, “democracy atrophies, turns into a mere word, a formality; it loses its representative character and becomes disembodied, since it leaves out the people in their daily struggle for dignity, in the building of their future.”[1]

From the perspective of the pastoral work of the Catholic church, we consider there is a risk to the continued accompaniment by church and civil society organizations of indigenous peoples, vulnerable communities and their organizations, in support of their right to access to justice in case of human rights and collective rights violations.

The measures established by the recently approved law expand government control and impose unjustified restrictions on civil society organizations, including church organizations that work in essential areas such as the promotion, education and defense of human and collective rights, social justice, the common good and the improvement of living conditions of our peoples.

The approved bill obliges organizations to register with the APCI; however, this aspect of the law has been declared unconstitutional in case N° 0009-2007-PI-TC, dated September 13, 2007.

Likewise, the amendments introduced indicate the obligation of prior approval of the projects, programs and activities financed by international cooperation, which would imply self-censorship on the issues to be addressed, and, in turn, a possible delay of humanitarian aid in responses to social emergencies.

The ban on “advising, assisting or financing, in any form or modality, administrative, judicial or other actions, in national and international instances against the State,” by not expressly defining these actions, would not exclude political advocacy, a priority task to achieve public policies in favor of the most vulnerable peoples and populations. It also implies the risk of censorship and arbitrary sanctions, which could be used to silence critical voices against the actions of the State, thus affecting the exercise of certain fundamental freedoms, a crucial element of a democracy.

We believe that the State cannot silence civil society, since such action only weakens democracy. As Pope Francis affirms, “What is needed is a model of social, political and economic participation “that can include popular movements and invigorate local, national and international governing structures with that torrent of moral energy that springs from including the excluded in the building of a common destiny […] They help make possible an integral human development that goes beyond “the idea of social policies being a policy for the poor, but never with the poor and never of the poor, much less part of a project that reunites peoples.”[2]

The law in its current form affects the exercise of freedom of expression, freedom of association, the right to defend human rights, the right to citizen control, overseeing the actions of the State and the collective rights of indigenous peoples to prior consultation and to choose their modes of development. It imposes inappropriate constraints on organized civil society.

We are concerned that the voices of the different national and international bodies who have questioned the decisions of the Congress of the Republic are not being heard, since such voices raise alerts about non-compliance with international human rights commitments.

Therefore, we consider it essential that your Office considers this preliminary version of the bill that modifies the APCI Law, since, as we reiterate, those who will be most affected by its approval will be the most vulnerable peoples and communities who do not benefit from technical or legal advice and accompaniment.

We pray to the Lord of Life to illuminate, with his truth and justice, the decisions that you must make in the search for the Common Good that will bring greatness to our nation, in which all people will recognize each other as equals in dignity and rights.

Sincerely,

[1] Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti (October 2020), §169 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html

[2] Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti (October 2020), §169 https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html