Institutional framework
Within Peru’s institutional framework, the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) is the permanent government entity responsible for population and development matters. Pursuant to its Organization and Functions Act, Legislative Decree No. 1098 of 20 January 2012, the Ministry is mandated to design, promote, implement and oversee public policies for women and vulnerable populations. These include groups that face discrimination or situations of vulnerability, such as children and adolescents, older persons, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons and internal migrants. The MIMP also serves as the political and technical counterpart of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Stewardship of population policy is exercised through the Population Directorate (DP), an organizational unit within the General Directorate for Population, Development and Volunteering (DGPDV), under the Vice-Ministry for Vulnerable Populations. In accordance with Ministerial Resolution No. 306-2024-MIMP, the DP is responsible for the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the National Population Policy (Legislative Decree No. 346, National Population Policy Act) across all levels of government, with particular attention to vulnerable populations and the inclusion of internal migration as a population-related phenomenon, while ensuring cultural and linguistic relevance. Its key functions include proposing regulatory measures, strengthening institutional capacities, providing technical assistance and promoting the integration of the population perspective into development policies and plans at the regional and local levels. The Directorate also promotes studies and research on population dynamics and trends in coordination with academia, civil society, and public and private sector stakeholders.
The Population Directorate is also responsible for monitoring compliance with the international commitments assumed by Peru in the field of population, including the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Participation
In Peru, a Multisectoral Commission has been established to monitor and evaluate measures adopted in the framework of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. This permanent mechanism was created in 2016 through Supreme Decree No. 051-2016-PCM. The Commission is chaired by the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP), while its Technical Secretariat is entrusted to the General Directorate for Population, Development and Volunteering (DGPDV), with operational support from the Population Directorate (DP). The Commission meets every two months, and its members prepare, approve and implement an annual workplan. One of its recurring tasks is to update information on progress in implementing the Montevideo Consensus and to present those advances during Commission sessions.
In addition to the MIMP, the Commission includes, on an equal footing, sixteen public institutions whose mandates are relevant to the achievement of the objectives established under the Montevideo Consensus. These include the Presidency of the Council of Ministers; the Ministries of Health; Development and Social Inclusion; Labour and Employment Promotion; Transport and Communications; Justice and Human Rights; Education; Culture; Foreign Affairs; Environment; Housing, Construction and Sanitation; Agriculture and Irrigation; Interior; Production; and Energy and Mines; as well as the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI).
The Commission may invite representatives of public and private entities, civil society organizations, international cooperation agencies and academic institutions to provide technical advice and contribute to its work. Within this framework, civil society organizations participate in an informational capacity and may submit non-binding comments and recommendations. Participants include organizations working on sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality, such as the Monitoring Roundtable for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, the Flora Tristán Peruvian Women’s Centre, the Manuela Ramos Movement and Catholics for the Right to Decide. Also participating is the Roundtable for the Fight against Poverty, which contributes observations on population and development issues from a decentralized perspective. In addition, invitations have been extended to the Indigenous Cultures Centre of Peru (CHIRAPAQ) and the Centre for the Development of Black Peruvian Women (CENEMUDEP), organizations dedicated to promoting the rights and cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent, respectively. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also participates in a consultative capacity, providing technical support to the Commission’s activities.
The information on Institutionality comes from the regional survey for the update of the Virtual Platform for the follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, implemented by the technical secretariat in 2023, as well as from the Voluntary National Report submitted by the country in 2023.