The Ombudsman's Office of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

is an autonomous constitutional organization created during the presidency of

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

that was added to the 1993 Constitution of Peru. It is based in the city of Lima, capital of Peru, and has representation throughout the Peruvian territory.

Role

According to Chapter XI of the current Peruvian constitution states that the role of the Public Defender or Ombudsperson of Peru and its organization are to protect the constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual and the community; monitor the performance of the duties of the state administration and the provision of public services to the population. The Ombudsman is the head of the National Ombudsman, directing and representing the institution. He's elected by the Congress of the Republic for a five-year period. Following the Constitution and

Organic Law An organic law is a law, or system of laws, that form the foundation of a government, corporation or any other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law. By country France Under Article 46 of the Constitutio ...

, he enjoys complete independence for the fulfilment of the functions that the Constitution confers on him. The Ombudsman looks for a solution to specific problems before accusing anyone. He is not a judge, nor a prosecutor. Hence, he does not pass sentences, nor order arrests. His power rests on persuasion, in behavior modification proposals that he formulates in his recommendations, the development of preventive protection strategies, in the mediation that he assumes to find solutions and in his capacity to publicly denounce in extreme cases.

History

The first Peruvian Ombudsperson was Jorge Santistevan de Noriega, followed by Walter Albán, Beatriz Merino, and Eduardo Vega. The Ombudsperson in 2021 was

Walter Gutiérrez Camacho Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

and in 2022 the acting Ombudsman was Eliana Revollar. In 2023, Fujimorists in Congress, Popular Action and

Free Peru Free Peru (), officially the Free Peru National Political Party (), is a Marxist political party in Peru. Founded in 2008 as the Free Peru Political Regional Movement, the party was officially constituted as a national organization in February 2 ...

allied to appoint former lawyer of

Vladimir Cerrón Vladimir Roy Cerrón Rojas (born 16 December 1970) is a Peruvian neurosurgeon and politician who served as the regional Governor of Junin from 2011 to 2014 and in 2019. His second term was suspended early due to a prior criminal conviction. ...

, Josué Gutiérrez Cóndor, as ombudsman. According to

IDL-Reporteros IDL-Reporteros is an online newspaper based in Lima, Peru, that specializes in investigative journalism against corruption in Peru and to promote transparency with the nation. Since its founding, the newspaper has initiated over 500 investigations ...

, this alliance to appoint Gutiérrez, who lacked previous related experience to the position, occurred during a push by Fujimorists to establish allies within Peru's institutions and to prevent investigations of abuse by the government.

Mission

The Ombudsman's Office protects constitutional and fundamental rights of the person and the community, supervise the fulfilment of country's administration duties and the provision of public services to the people. Therefore, the Ombudsman's Office of Peru is a critical contributor to the country that acts, with autonomy, in the name of common good and in defence of citizenship rights. For this reason, the mandate is exerted with objectivity, professionalism and responsibility, never through arbitrary or unjustified opposition. The Ombudsman cannot accuse nor denounce the State as he searches for solutions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peruvian Ombudsperson Government of Peru Ombudsman posts