The Associated Press

LIMA, Peru -- The government of Peru is apologizing to its Afro-Peruvian population for the first time for centuries of abuse, exclusion and discrimination.

An executive resolution says discrimination against black Peruvians still exists and is "a barrier for social, economic, labor and educational development."

Women's and Social Development Minister Nidia Vilchez says the government hopes its apology will help promote the "true integration of all Peru's multicultural population."

The resolution was published Saturday in the official newspaper El Peruano.

Afro-Peruvians' ancestors first arrived in the 16th century as the slaves of Spanish conquerors. Today they make up an estimated 10 percent of the country's 28 million people.