Please find attached some documents that provide information on the subject. This adds to the information already available through your Regional Documentation Centre.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) press release refers to a series of raids on gay and lesbian night clubs in Peru in late January and early February 1996, apparently part of a "campaign aimed at cracking down on prostitution" (3 Mar. 1996). The excerpt from The Third Pink Book updates information provided in the book's previous edition. Although the attached Response to Information Request (COL19862.E of 16 February 1995) refers to Colombia, the oral source cited in the document stated during the telephone interview that homosexual men faced similar situations throughout the region, notwithstanding circumstances specific to Colombia such as death squads and their attacks on what are called there "disposable people" (desechables) (14 Feb. 1995).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), San Francisco. 3 March 1996. "Hundreds Detained in Raids on Gay Bars in Peru." [Internet] [Accessed 27 Mar. 1997]

Lawyer specializing in human rights, Bogota. 14 February 1995. Telephone interview.

The Third Pink Book: A Global View of Lesbian and Gay Liberation and Oppression. 1993. Edited by Aart Hendriks, Rob Tielman and Evert van der Veen. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books.

Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board, Ottawa. 16 February 1995. Response to Information Request COL19862.E.

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), San Francisco. 3 March 1996. "Hundreds Detained in Raids on Gay Bars in Peru." [Internet] [Accessed 27 Mar. 1997]

The Third Pink Book: A Global View of Lesbian and Gay Liberation and Oppression. 1993. Edited by Aart Hendriks, Rob Tielman and Evert van der Veen. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, p. 315)