United Nations experts warned this Friday of significant backsliding in human rights issues that could be caused by the “law of impunity” recently ratified in the Peruvian Constitution, which allows the commission of crimes against humanity.
“This ruling is a dangerous setback,” the experts stressed, before recalling that “crimes against humanity are sacrosanct under international law” and that “this decision undermines the independence of the judiciary and creates the risk of new reprisals against lawyers and other professionals.”
The so-called “Impunity Law” provides for the possibility of applying the statute of limitations to such crimes if they were committed before Peru ratified the Rome Statute and the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Legal Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. However, the group has stressed that the prohibition on the statute of limitations on crimes against humanity is in no way dependent on the ratification of treaties.
“The principle of legality does not protect the perpetrators of atrocities that were already crimes under international law at the time,” they clarified, explaining that procedural delays “cannot justify impunity for serious violations.”
Both the Court and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have also commented in this direction, agreeing to highlight the importance of the international commitments undertaken by Peru. “Internal interpretations cannot take precedence over norms designed to protect humanity from the worst crimes,” they affirmed.
Both organizations have also warned that “this decision undermines the independence” of the Peruvian judiciary and leads to “new reprisals against judicial officials – from police and prosecutors to judges, public defenders, lawyers and experts – who are already under attack for the application of binding international standards.”
“Justice delayed should not become justice denied,” they decided, calling on the Peruvian authorities to adapt their domestic legislation to international standards, protect judicial actors and ensure accountability.
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