Peru

Cluster Munitions

Peru was one of the first countries to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), on 3 December 2008. Peru possessed a stockpile and from 2014 to December 2023, in a joint effort with the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peruvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Peruvian Air Force (FAP), NPA supported Peru to fulfil its obligations to the Art. 3 of the CCM, resulting in Peru successfully destroying 2,012 cluster munitions containing 162,417 submunitions. Therefore, Peru was able to reach its goal of destructing all stockpiled cluster munitions even before the deadline of 1 April 2024.

Anti-personnel mines

NPA has also supported Peru to fulfil its obligations to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) and has been active in Peru since 2012, when the Peruvian and Chilean governments asked for our support in demining activities in Quebrada de Escritos, a landmine-contaminated border territory disputed by both countries. Acting as a third neutral party, NPA performed clearance of the area, removing 333 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines from an area covering almost 70,000 m², which consequently allowed for a conclusion to the long-standing territorial dispute.

Peru’s current deadline under Art. 5 of the APMBC for clearance of contaminated areas is 31 December 2024, but the country has requested a five-year extension of this deadline to allow for sufficient time to clear all remaining areas. The extension request describes approximately 300,000 m² of landmine-contaminated areas remaining to be released, estimated to contain around 4,000 landmines. NPA aims to continue supporting Peru in its endeavour to fulfil its APMBC obligations and becoming mine free.

Stockpile Destruction

Since 1997, Peru has suffered at least seven unplanned explosions at munitions sites (UEMS), killing at least 10 people and injuring hundreds of civilians. Four of these incidents happened in the last three years in Peruvian ammunition storage areas. Consequently, in 2023, the Peruvian MoD launched a Weapons and Ammunition Management (WAM) restructuring project, identifying capacity development and the destruction of obsolete, hazardous and unstable ammunitions in their ammunition stockpiles as a priority.

NPA Peru

NPA currently has one project in the country, working on capacity development for weapons and ammunition management to prevent UEMS. The project started in July 2024 and is funded by the PM/WRA, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. This project aims to strengthen the MoD’s capacity for WAM in accordance with International Ammunition Technical Guidelines, with the objective of preventing unplanned explosions at munitions sites and ultimately protecting civilians from harm. This will be achieved through training courses on WAM for personnel of the Army, Air Force and Navy, responding to previously identified training needs and being framed into the Peruvian MoD’s own strategic plan for weapons and ammunition management.

While capacity development is the main component of the project, it will also support the Peruvian MoD and Armed Services in the final disposal of hazardous and unstable munitions, as well as to assess ammunition storage facilities and strengthen their information management capacity.

This project is the continuation and evolution of previous cooperation between NPA and the Peruvian Air Force in cluster and other munitions destructions. The capacity development component as well as the broader spectrum of actors involved, aim to ensure sustainability to an effective and efficient management of small weapons, munitions and explosive ordnance in the Peruvian Armed Forces.