Alfonso Arias Schreiber

Alfonso Arias-Schreiber Pezet entered the foreign ministry in 1946 while pursuing studies that culminated in law at San Marcos. Born in Lima in 1926, he served in embassies across the Americas and Europe and as consul-general in Hong Kong and Barcelona. His work in Lima included international organizations, boundaries, and maritime sovereignty. Promoted to ambassador in 1969, he represented Peru at the UN in Geneva and later in the United States and France. ¹

The law of the sea was central to his career. He led Peru’s delegation at most sessions of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea. In a recorded discussion with Henry Kissinger, he defended coastal states’ rights in the proposed economic zone while accepting that military uses were not categorically excluded. He distinguished resource jurisdiction from territorial sovereignty, a central question for the conference. ^{1, 2}

During his Washington ambassadorship, Arias-Schreiber accompanied Foreign Minister Carlos García-Bedoya to talks with Cyrus Vance in September 1979. The meeting addressed Nicaragua, Panama Canal tolls, and Peru’s political transition; Vance also announced the lifting of the American tuna embargo. After retirement from regular service in 1991, Arias-Schreiber continued advising on fisheries development and international law. He led Peru’s delegation in the Brasilia talks with Ecuador until resigning in July 1997. ^{3, 1}