UN human rights experts have strongly condemned Peru’s new amnesty law, enacted on 13 August 2025, which grants immunity to members of the Armed Forces, the National Police, and Self-Defense Committees accused of crimes committed between 1980 and 2000. The legislation also extends to individuals over the age of 70 who have already been convicted but whose verdicts are not final. According to the experts, this law violates international standards by allowing amnesty for crimes against humanity and other grave human rights abuses, effectively creating impunity and undermining decades of progress in truth, justice, and reparations for victims.
The law, formally known as Law No. 32419, came into effect on 14 August 2025. UN experts stressed that it contravenes several international instruments to which Peru is bound, including the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance ratified in 2012, the American Convention on Human Rights ratified in 1977, and international principles aimed at combating impunity. The move follows the 2024 approval of Law No. 32107, which introduced a statute of limitations on war crimes and crimes against humanity committed before July 2002.
The experts reaffirmed that under international law, crimes against humanity are not subject to statutory limitations. They warned that Peru’s legislative changes represent a serious setback in the country’s pursuit of justice and reconciliation. The state, they emphasized, has an obligation to investigate, prosecute, and punish perpetrators of gross human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, during the period of internal armed conflict. Victims’ rights to justice and redress, they noted, cannot be restricted by amnesties, statutes of limitations, or similar legal mechanisms.
The experts also urged Peru to recognize enforced disappearance as a continuing crime against humanity, both in law and practice. They stressed that efforts to uncover the truth about victims’ fates and whereabouts must continue until full accountability is achieved. They recalled that their concerns echo earlier warnings issued by the Committee on Enforced Disappearances in 2024 and follow-up statements in 2025, as well as positions taken by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and various UN Special Rapporteurs.
Finally, the experts confirmed ongoing engagement with the Peruvian government and reiterated their willingness to provide technical assistance and cooperation to help the country address enforced disappearances and uphold its international human rights obligations.
