Weak Institutions, Rights Claims and Pathways to Compliance: The Transformative Role of the Peruvian Human Rights Ombudsman

Abstract

This article examines the contribution of the Peruvian human rights ombudsman towards upholding a stable and enforceable rights framework, an important component of an inclusive democratic political regime. It argues that the human rights ombudsman may play a significant role in advancing social transformation through the articulation and facilitation of rights claims in an institutional terrain informed by the politically contested nature of formal rules. The analysis goes beyond formal legal channels of redress to consider innovative mechanisms to increase social accountability, including a variety of non-judicial remedies such as policy initiatives, media advocacy and conflict mediation. The article suggests the human rights ombudsman is well placed to advance rights claims through legal, institutional and social pathways, with particular focus on the question of compliance—understood as a matter of both enforcement and management.

Confronting Racism from within the Guatemalan State: The Challenges Faced by the Defender of Indigenous Rights of Guatemala's Human Rights Ombudsman's Office

“…Important recent scholarship has analyzed how the emergence and evolution of Human Rights Ombudsmen in Latin American countries have affected rights-making and rights claims by vulnerable groups (Uggla, 2004;Pegram, 2010). According to Pegram (2010, p. 28), in the Peruvian context, the Ombudsman has become a "significant human rights reference point" within the state, and has made "an important contribution toward articulating and facilitating rights claims across an entrenched divide between state and society".…”

The Power of the Pen: Human Rights Ombudsmen and Personal Integrity Violations in Latin America, 1982-2006.

“…There have been several high profile instances where ombudsmen have provided this important fire-alarm function and clashed with sitting governments in defense of human rights (see Uggla 2004;Dodson and Jackson 2004;Pegram 2011c). The much studied Bolivian Defensoria, for instance, has demonstrated that the ombudsman can wield influence on government decisions even though it lacks the ability to sanction; here, the desire to protect one's reputation or close ties to other government ministries have yielded high rates of compliance with the ombudsman's rulings on a range of human rights issues (Uggla 2011).…”

The Contributions of the Ombudsman to Human Rights in Latin America, 1982–2011

“…The second way the agency can promote rights is to alter the status quo through its involvement in the legislative process. There are myriad examples in which the defensoría has provided legal analysis, drafted legislation, or vetted policies for their ability to improve human rights provision or stay in compliance with international human rights covenants (Pegram 2011;Reif 2004). Here, ombudsmen serve as expert advisers to the region's legislative bodies, often working with multiple agencies to coordinate the creation of new legal mechanisms or remedies.…”

“…Studies of the human rights ombudsman highlight either the importance of these agencies (Escobar 2011;González Volio 2003;Hill 2002) or their relevance (or lack thereof) in the context of specific case studies (Dodson 2006;Jackson et al 1999). Some studies have highlighted instances in which the ombudsman had significant positive impact on human rights protections, minority rights, and access to government services (Hill 2002;Pegram 2008). Yet others have dismissed the agency as an effort to appease critics of new or consolidating democracies without providing effective oversight (Finkel 2012;Ungar 2002).…”