The Constitutional Commission of the Peruvian Congress approved Tuesday the report of Bill No. 6951/2023-CR, which establishes that no one can be prosecuted, sentenced or punished for crimes against humanity or war crimes committed before July 1, 2002. As a result, emblematic cases from the period of internal violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000, which were still awaiting a definitive judicial response, could be closed.
According to the bill, the continuation of open trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, when such trials began before the entry into force of the Rome Statute (2002) and the Convention on the Imprescriptibility of Crimes of War and Crimes against Humanity (2003), is contrary to the principle of non-retroactivity in criminal law. In this regard, Article 7 of the draft law states the following:
The prescription of trials conducted on the presumption of crimes against humanity and/or war crimes is declared in cases where the maximum period established by the applicable criminal law has already been observed.
In contrast to the arguments put forward in the bill, representatives of the Institute of Democracy and Human Rights of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (IDEHPUCP) pointed out that, although the international treaties cited in the bill indeed have their legal effects from the years mentioned, the international obligations of the Peruvian State regarding the investigation and punishment of human rights violations and their reparation to the victims precede them by a long way. In this regard, they stated that “the use of a legal device cannot, under any circumstances, imply the denial of these obligations and their correlative rights.”
The bill has both supporters and opponents in the Peruvian Congress. On the one hand, Congressman Fernando Rospigliosi defended the bill, stating that it seeks to correct the injustices committed against the military and police who defeated terrorism. On the other hand, Congresswoman Sigrid Bazán stated via her X (formerly Twitter) account:
The Constitutional Commission, thanks to Fuerza Popular, has just approved an ‘Amnesty Law’ that is actually a #LawOfImpunity with its own name. This absurdity proposes that no one be prosecuted for crimes against humanity for acts committed before July 1, 2002 (translated from Spanish).
Between 1980 and 2000, Peru faced a non-international armed conflict led by the Communist party Sendero Luminoso (PCP-SL), otherwise known as Shining Path, which sought to wage a “people’s war” against the state. Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR) estimated that the conflict resulted in approximately 69,280 deaths. The PCP-SL used tactics such as selective extermination and forced recruitment, causing 54 percent of the reported deaths. In 1984, the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement joined the conflict and was responsible for 1.5 percent of the deaths reported by the CVR. According to the commission, state agents, mainly the armed forces, were responsible for 37 percent of the reported deaths and disappearances.
Although the Commission recommended that the crimes committed be promptly investigated, there are judicial processes related to crimes committed during the conflict that have been ongoing for more than 20 years. For instance, the Manta and Vilca case, which involves widespread and systematic acts of sexual violence committed by the military.
As for what comes next, following its approval, the next step is for the bill to be debated in the Plenary of the Peruvian Congress for its final endorsement. If passed, the bill would be sent to the President of the Republic, Dina Boluarte, for enactment within fifteen working days. However, the President can object if she deems the bill contrary to the Constitution or international treaties ratified by the Peruvian State.
