A/HRC/45/44/Add.2 60. Reportedly, few options exist for outstanding Afro-Peruvian students. In one rural area, civil society representatives reported the case of a family that had saved a full year’s wages to send their child to university. After the first year, the Government withdrew accreditation of the university without making any provisions for matriculated students to remain at university, to transfer their credits or to recover their investments. While the quality of university education should remain high, the closure of a university serving the poorest residents should be accompanied by efforts and assistance, including financial assistance, to ensure that capable students with potential are not lost in the process, or that the extreme sacrifices of families concerned are not squandered. 61. Land tenure and security are elusive for Afro-Peruvians. Although the presence of people of African descent in Peru dates back to the period of enslavement, their land titles have never been properly formalized. Conflicts between communities of African descent and large industrial companies relate to hydroelectricity and development projects that disregard the use of water by communities where drinkable water is scarce. Nor has the historical presence of Afro-Peruvians in these areas protected their rights. For example, many oilfield projects negotiated in Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad were conducted without consultation with or consideration of Afro-Peruvian communities. 62. The Working Group identified home ownership as a major problem for people of African descent, particularly in places like Piura. In coastal areas, ownership was also affected by natural disasters, such as the earthquakes, which are common occurrences owing to the country’s location in a seismic zone. In 2004, 5.3 per cent of Afro-Peruvians had inadequate housing, a percentage that had risen to 8 per cent by 2014. On the south coast, during the same time period, the proportion of Afro-Peruvian households affected by inadequate housing rose from 3.7 per cent to 17.6 per cent, an increase associated with the impact of the earthquake that struck the Ica region in 2007.16 63. According to a study published in 2015, 37 per cent of Afro-Peruvians received less than the minimum living wage, while 43.3 per cent stated that they had been the victim of discrimination. 17 Racial discrimination is particularly evident in areas where subjective decision-making empowers misconduct, as has been confirmed by research on the fairness of the hiring process; Peruvian academic researchers have in fact demonstrated that fictitious white applicants received 19 per cent more callbacks for interviews than similarly qualified fictitious Afro-Peruvian applicants, and noted that discrimination dynamics in employment were largely overlooked in existing employment research.18 Similarly, the National Institute for the Defence of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property reported having determined that Afro-Peruvians were being denied access or charged inappropriately to enter social venues. 64. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights is designing a national action plan on business and human rights that could offer explicit protection for the rights of Afro-Peruvians, although stakeholder consultations have yet to create an enabling environment, enhance national partnerships to prevent racial discrimination or sought to provide effective remedies to victims. 65. Disaster relief, disaster recovery, disaster risk reduction and reconstruction strategies have lacked an understanding of the human rights obligations to eradicate racial discrimination. Peru is vulnerable to climate change. In Piura, climate change has had an impact on Afro-Peruvian farmers, as rising temperatures and lack of rain and irrigation threatens agricultural production. In 2019, the State adopted a framework law on climate change, which aims to promote public policies, such as measures to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change to reduce vulnerability. Afro-Peruvian communities, however, stated that their concerns might not be adequately prioritized by the Government. 16 17 18 12 Benavides, Estudio Especializado sobre Población Afroperuana. Ibid. Francisco B. Galarza and Gustavo Yamada, “Afro-descendants in Peru: Do beauty and race matter in the labor market?”, Review of Development Economies, 27 August 2018.