In view of the political and social crisis that Peru has been thrown into since the country’s Congress yesterday voted to oust Martín Vizcarra from the Presidency due to allegations of corruption, the country’s authorities must place respect for human rights at the heart of their immediate response and public policies. The authorities must send a clear message: the role of the security forces is to protect the population, respecting the right to peaceful protest and the right of the judiciary to investigate any act of violence and to establish the corresponding criminal responsibility.