Law granting amnesty approved in Peru

Peru's Amnesty Law Sparks International Outcry

Peru's controversial amnesty law, signed by President Dina Boluarte in August 2025, has sparked widespread condemnation from human rights groups and international bodies. The law grants blanket amnesty to members of the Armed Forces, police, and self-defense committees for alleged human rights abuses during the 1980–2000 internal armed conflict, effectively shielding them from prosecution and mandating the release of prisoners over age 70 convicted for crimes from that period [1][2][3].

Critics argue that the law undermines accountability, weakens the rule of law, and betrays victims of serious crimes, including atrocities and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict. It contravenes prior orders from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which had instructed Peru to suspend laws that prevent investigation and prosecution of such abuses [1][4].

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described the law as "an affront to the thousands of victims" and stressed that under international law, amnesties for gross human rights violations are prohibited. Türk called for the immediate reversal of the law [4].

The law's passage drew further criticism because:

It explicitly disregards the rights of victims, many of whom were Indigenous Peruvians caught in the conflict between the Shining Path insurgency and security forces [2][3].
It follows earlier controversial legislation in July 2024 creating a statute of limitations on war crimes, also criticized for violating human rights obligations [1].
It places Peru alongside countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela that defy regional human rights systems [1][2].

Human Rights Watch stated that the amnesty law is a betrayal of Peruvian victims and undermines decades of efforts to ensure accountability for atrocities committed. The IACHR had ordered the Peruvian state to suspend the legislative procedure of the amnesty law and refrain from applying it while it analyzes its effects on the rights of the victims [1][4].

The conflict between the state and Maoist guerrilla groups, Shining Path and Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, resulted in approximately 70,000 deaths and 20,000 disappearances. More than 4,000 clandestine graves resulting from the violence committed between 1980 and 2000 in Peru were recorded by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The amnesty law could affect 156 cases with a final judgment and more than 600 ongoing judicial proceedings for crimes committed during the conflict. Notably, former President Alberto Fujimori, convicted for having ordered two massacres of civilians in 1991 and 1992, benefited from the 2024 law.

In 2005, the Argentine Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the amnesty laws of the 1980s that had allowed approximately a thousand military and police officers responsible for serious human rights violations under the military dictatorship (1976-1983) to escape justice. The UN experts have urged the Peruvian government to veto the amnesty law due to international norms prohibiting amnesties for serious crimes.

In conclusion, Peru’s amnesty law is widely perceived as granting impunity to security personnel accused of serious abuses, contradicting international norms which mandate accountability, justice, and reparations for victims of armed conflicts and human rights violations [1][3][4]. The law thus deepens domestic and international concerns about justice and human rights protections in Peru.