Without conclusive elements in the investigation that prove the alleged forced sterilizations, in the community of Charco la Pava and adjacent indigenous communities of the province of Bocas del Toro, it is as the Ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc said that the investigation he was carrying out the Defender.
According to the complaints issued through the media and by a deputy of the Republic, these alleged sterilizations were carried out by officials of the social security fund and the Ministry of Health; However, in a report delivered today, Leblanc assured that no woman affected by these alleged events came to give statements to the officials of the entity who traveled to Bocas del Toro during the month of February to investigate and perform, free of charge, ultrasound exams that confirm the sterilizations.
“We can close this case and say that there is no human rights violation or systematic sterilization plan in the Republic of Panama,” Leblanc said, assuring that they issued official notices to both the Minsa and the CSS, and according to information provided by In both entities, the salpingectomies (sterilizations) were carried out with the due consent of the women who underwent surgery, which is recorded in the files with the signatures of the patients.
In statements to Radio Panama, the ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc González, said that it was an investigation in which personnel from the Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, psychologists and Human Rights lawyers participated.
The official stressed that, during the investigation, the Ombudsman’s Office made repeated calls where they offered the service of ultrasound examinations to corroborate the practice of salpingectomy procedures, however, without any woman coming to receive care.
The Ombudsman highlighted that the report, which contains at least 30 pages, is available on the entity’s website www.defensoría.gob.pa in the special reports section.
With information from Sergio Rivera
