The Peruvian Congress approved Wednesday an amnesty law for members of the Armed Forces, the National Police, and self-defense committees over the age of 80 who were prosecuted or convicted for crimes committed during Peru’s internal armed conflict, despite continuing concern from human rights groups.
Committee President Fernando Rospigliosi stated that the law is not about impunity, but rather a historical and humanitarian necessity:
Today, twenty-five years later, there are hundreds—actually over a thousand—military and police personnel prosecuted or under investigation without a final conviction. Many of them face precarious health and economic conditions, trapped in a judicial limbo that neither resolves their legal status nor allows their families to rebuild their lives.
According to Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR), the armed conflict began with a “People’s War” led by the Marxist-Leninist party Shining Path (PCP-SL), rooted in marginalized rural and urban areas. Their so-called “revolutionary violence” created a period of terror resulting in over 69,000 deaths. The CVR attributed approximately 30,000 of them to Abimael Guzmán, the leader of Shining Path.
The report held state agents responsible for 30 percent of killings, while self-defense committees, paramilitary groups, and other non-state actors are accountable for an estimated 24 percent. Some of these non-state actors were linked to the administration of former President Alberto Fujimori, who was tried for crimes against humanity committed by subordinates under his administration. The state was also implicated in over 4,500 enforced disappearances, more than 6,400 cases of torture and inhumane treatment, and 83 percent of documented sexual violence cases.
International organizations such as Amnesty International have consistently expressed concern over the implementation of an amnesty law. Alongside the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, they argue that such measures are “manifestly incompatible” with the letter and spirit of the American Convention on Human Rights. Nevertheless, the working group convened by the Constitution Committee, composed of Peruvians who experienced the conflict firsthand, strongly defends the proposal.
Supporters argue the law protects the right to fair and timely process, one long denied to elderly veterans who now spend their final years burdened by endless prosecutions. Many, they claim, were convicted without clear evidence at a time when military and police forces lacked legal defense while fighting to defend the nation from terrorism. Now in poor health and advanced age, they relive the trauma of a war they helped end.
“We are being prosecuted for having fought to restore peace in our country,” said Colonel Juan Partida of the National Police. Captain Sixto Jesús Hugas of the National Police added, “For the sunset of those who fought against terrorism, it is essential that this bill is approved”.
As international organizations have not yet issued a statement regarding the implementation of the new law, pressure remains limited to members of Congress with strong opposing views. For now, it appears that the legislature will uphold the law.
