On June 10, 2009, the Peruvian Congress voted to suspend controversial indigenous land laws in an effort to reduce protests in response to an estimated 650 Peruvian National Police and Special Forces officers attacking several thousand indigenous protesters at a road block the day before. The violence began in November 2008 when the Peruvian government passed a series of laws and executive orders that allowed the government to easily grant indigenous lands to multinational oil, mining and energy corporations. This sparked widespread unrest, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. On June 18, 2009, the Peruvian Congress repealed the controversial land laws and Peruvian Prime Minister Yehude Simon announced his resignation.

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Learn more about Peru and indigenous rights from the JURIST news archive.

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