IACHR warns of impacts on access to justice following approval of Peru's law on crimes against humanity

September 3, 2024

Washington, D.C. - —The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed grave concern over the recent enactment of the Law Establishing the Application and Scope of Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes in Peruvian Legislation (Law 32.017) and its potential impact on the right to access justice for victims of serious human rights violations, including those committed during Peru's internal armed conflict. The IACHR called for the immediate repeal of this law and urged the relevant judicial authorities to prevent its enforcement.

On August 9, 2024, the Peruvian State enacted Law 32.017, which restricts investigations into and the prosecution of acts that may constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes committed before 2002.

Law 32.017 has faced intense scrutiny from various international legal bodies to which Peru is a party. In its supervision of the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta cases and responding to a request for provisional measures filed by the victims' representatives, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court) urged the Peruvian State to ensure that this law was neither enacted nor enforced. During a public hearing, the IACHR highlighted the importance of truth, justice, memory, and reparation processes in democratic societies and warned of the dangers posed by denialist positions and regressive policies that undermine the rule of law. The United Nations' human rights mechanisms have similarly stated that the approval of this law would place Peru in clear violation of its international obligations.

In a public statement dated August 9, 2024, the prosecutors of the Specialized Subsystem for Human Rights and Intercultural Matters at the Public Prosecutor's Office expressed deep concern that the law would negatively impact numerous cases currently under preliminary investigation, judicial review, or at the indictment stage of oral trials and cases that have already been ruled on. They also warned that Article 5 of the law undermines the independence of the Public Prosecutor's Office by imposing administrative liability on officials who classify acts committed before July 1, 2002, as crimes against humanity or war crimes.

Following the promulgation of Law 32.017, media reports indicated that individuals being investigated for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions during Peru's internal armed conflict have already sought the suspension of criminal proceedings. Human rights organizations have condemned the law as re-victimizing, and the UN Human Rights has emphasized that impunity for crimes against humanity violates the rights to truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of nonrepetition for thousands of victims of gross human rights violations in Peru.

However, the Peruvian State has argued that under the principle of complementarity, it is not the IACHR's role to mandate legislative reforms or prevent the application of legal provisions. The State also reported that the legislative process guaranteed the right of citizen participation, as outlined in Article 23 of the American Convention, through consultations carried out by Congress of the Republic. Additionally, the State noted that the Supreme Prosecutor's Office filed an action of unconstitutionality against Law 32.017 on July 22, 2024, with the Constitutional Court expected to rule on the law's constitutionality.

Under international law, statutes of limitations cannot be invoked to prevent the investigation of serious human rights violations, such as torture, extrajudicial executions, or enforced disappearances. This principle has been reaffirmed by the Inter-American System of Human Rights and is enshrined in the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, to which Peru is a party. The Peruvian Constitutional Court has also confirmed the applicability of this convention. Furthermore, according to the 1969 Vienna Convention, domestic law cannot justify noncompliance with international legal obligations, particularly when these obligations pertain to the human right of access to justice for victims of gross human rights violations and their families.

Regarding the independence of prosecutors, the IA Court has established that authorities responsible for investigating human rights violations must have institutional, hierarchical, and functional independence to carry out their duties effectively. The IACHR reiterated that provisions imposing functional responsibility could create a chilling effect that hinders the autonomous exercise of prosecutorial and judicial functions.

The IACHR strongly urged the Peruvian State to comply with its request concerning Law 32.017 and repeal it, in line with its international and inter-American human rights obligations. The IACHR also called on the competent judicial authorities to refrain from applying the law.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 206/24

6:15 PM