A/HRC/45/44/Add.2 had been brought into Peru. The legacy of enslavement and the trade in enslaved Africans, manifested in racism, racial discrimination, Afrophobia, xenophobia and related intolerance, remains evident for Afro-Peruvians in Peruvian society today. 8. The latest national census, conducted by the National Institute of Statistics in 2017, introduced the variable of ethnic self-identification for the first time since the censuses of 1876 and 1940.1 In 2017, 828,894 people (3.6 per cent of the total population) self-identified as Afro-Peruvian. Civil society reports a higher number of Afro-Peruvians (10 per cent of the population, or as many as 3 million). This disparity may have various reasons, such as the forced choice between categories of mestizo and “Afro-Peruvian” that conceals AfroPeruvians and fragments identity. In the census, self-identified Afro-Peruvian were geographically concentrated in six departments: Lima (26.86 per cent), Piura (8.9 per cent), La Libertad (7.4 per cent), Lambayeque (8.45 per cent), Cajamarca (5.82 per cent), Ica (5 per cent) and the Constitutional Province of Callao (4.86 per cent).2 III. Legal framework and steps taken to protect the human rights of people of African descent A. Legal framework 9. Peru has ratified all major international human rights treaties. The binding precedent of the Constitutional Court No. 00025-2005-PI/TC and No. 00026-2005-PI/TC (accumulated) stipulates that international human rights treaties enjoy constitutional status and take precedence over domestic legislation. According to article 2, subsection 2 of the Constitution of Peru, which was promulgated on 29 December 1993 and entered into force on 1 January 1994, everyone has the right to equality before the law. No one may be subject to discrimination based on origin, race, sex, language, religion, opinion, economic condition or any other ground. Peru is a signatory to the Andean Charter for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, which refers to the rights of communities of African descent. It is also a signatory to the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance. Article 323 of the Penal Code establishes racial discrimination as an aggravating circumstance, with sanctioned conduct carrying a suspended sentence of two to three years for civilians and of two to four years for public servants, as well as a lifetime ban on serving in public office. B. Institutional and policy measures 10. In 2009, the State made a historical apology to Afro-Peruvians, asking for forgiveness for the abuses, exclusion and discrimination perpetrated since the colonial period. Codified in supreme resolution No. 010-2009-MIMDES, this symbolic act sought to recognize the legacy of the Afro-Peruvian people. 11. The Ministry of Education recognizes public holidays relating to racial equality, including the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March), National Afro-Peruvian Culture Day (4 June), Indigenous Populations and Intercultural Dialogue Day (12 October) and Abolition of Slavery Day (3 December). The holiday on 4 June also commemorates Nicomedes Santa Cruz, a reputed Afro-Peruvian poet who highlighted the contribution of Afro-Peruvians to national culture. In 2014, the Government, in ministerial resolution No. 182-2014-MC, mandated that Afro-Peruvian culture would be 1 2 See Maribel Arrelucea Barrantes, Jesús A. Cosamalón Aguilar, La Presencia Afrodescendiente en el Peru: Siglos XVI-XX Siglos XVI-XX, Ministerio de Cultura, 2015, p. 118.https://centroderecursos.cultura.pe/sites/default/files/rb/pdf/La-presencia-afrodescendiente.pdf. Censos Nacionales 2017: XII de Población, VII de Vivienda y III de Comunidades Indígenas, Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática.Elaboración : Dirección de Políticas para la Población Afroperuana (DAF), Ministerio de Cultura (www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1642/cap03_03.pdf). 3