United Nations human rights experts have issued a stark warning to Peru after lawmakers approved a bill that would remove the concept of gender from national legislation and public policy—an overhaul they say could roll back decades of progress on equality and non‑discrimination.
The measure, Bill 8731/2024, endorsed by Congress on 19 November 2025, seeks to replace all references to gender with strictly biological definitions of sex. According to UN special rapporteurs, the shift would “significantly weaken protections” for women and gender‑diverse people by ignoring the social realities and structural inequalities that shape discrimination.
Experts cautioned that eliminating gender from legal frameworks would undermine Peru’s obligations under international human rights law and jeopardize policies designed to address violence, inequality and exclusion. They urged authorities to halt the bill’s enactment and reaffirm commitments to equality and non‑discrimination.
The proposal has sparked growing concern among rights advocates, who argue that erasing gender from public policy risks silencing vulnerable communities and dismantling mechanisms intended to protect them.
