Peru's President Dina Boluarte has ignited a firestorm of criticism after enacting a new law granting amnesty to hundreds of soldiers, police officers, and civilian militia members accused of committing atrocities during the nation’s longstanding conflict with Maoist insurgent groups. The law was passed by Congress in July and signed despite a directive from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights urging its suspension for further review regarding its implications for victims of violence.
The legislation specifically benefits individuals accused of crimes committed between 1980 and 2000 and includes a provision that mandates the release of those over the age of 70 currently serving sentences for such offences. The conflict, primarily characterized by brutal insurgencies from groups like the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru, led to tragic losses, with an estimated 70,000 casualties and more than 20,000 individuals disappearing, as reported by Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
Boluarte, who made history as Peru's first female president through her election in 2022, justified the law as a means of honoring the forces that defended democracy from terrorism. However, human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have fiercely criticized the law, describing it as "a betrayal of Peruvian victims" and a significant blow to the long-standing efforts for accountability regarding past atrocities.
Calls for the law's veto have also come from United Nations experts and Amnesty International, who argue that it contravenes Peru's obligations to investigate and prosecute serious violations, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. The repercussions of this law could potentially terminate or reverse more than 600 ongoing trials and 156 convictions linked to the conflict's brutal past.
Moreover, the TRC established that state agents, primarily from the armed forces, were responsible for 83% of the recorded cases of sexual violence during the conflict. Adding to the controversy, last year Peru implemented a statute of limitations for crimes against humanity committed before 2002, effectively curtailing numerous investigations into alleged atrocities from that time. This law particularly benefited former president Alberto Fujimori, who had been sentenced for grave human rights violations, yet was released in 2023 due to humanitarian concerns before passing away in September 2024.
