Peruvian President José María Balcázar should veto a bill that would expand the military justice system, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill would effectively open the door to impunity for police officers and members of the armed forces responsible for human rights violations.
On June 23, 2026, Congress passed a bill that would modify the Military Police Criminal Code, expanding the definition of "service-related offenses," which are handled by the military justice system. Military courts lack the independence and impartiality to adequately investigate human rights violations by security forces. Judges and prosecutors, appointed by the president, hold military rank. The changes would benefit, among others, police and military officers responsible for the killings of dozens of protesters and bystanders during demonstrations in late 2022 and early 2023.
"This bill is a recipe for impunity," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "Signing this bill into law would give current members of the police and the military carte blanche to commit new human rights violations."
Under the Peruvian constitution, President Balcázar has 15 days to decide what to do with the bill after Congress sends it to his office for signing. That period ends on July 17. If Balcázar lets the 15 days pass without either signing or vetoing the bill, Congress is allowed to sign it into law. If he returns the bill to Congress, the legislation would be considered by the newly elected bicameral Congress, which takes office on July 28 and would need an absolute majority to pass the law.
The bill expands the definition of "service-related offenses" to include any crime committed by the military or the police "in the context of a state of emergency".
The bill would also require the Supreme Court to "give preference to the military police jurisdiction" when resolving jurisdictional disputes.
The law comes as investigations into the killings of 50 people during anti-government protests between December 2022 and early 2023 remain unresolved. Human Rights Watch found that, as the government declared a state of emergency, the Peruvian military and police committed killings that may amount to extrajudicial or arbitrary executions. Yet as of mid-2026, no police or military officer had been convicted for these crimes. In January 2026, the specialized prosecutorial unit handling these cases was dissolved.
Under international human rights law, extrajudicial executions, torture, and other grave human rights violations should not be tried before military courts. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that "military criminal jurisdiction is not the competent jurisdiction to investigate and, if applicable, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of human rights violations." Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, urged Peru not to adopt the law, emphasizing that alleged human rights violations should be adjudicated by a "competent, independent, and impartial ordinary court, in line with international law."
The bill is part of a broader pattern of congressional actions aimed at shielding security force members from accountability. In August 2024, Congress allowed soldiers accused of crimes against humanity to benefit from statutes of limitations that are inappropriate in the context of such serious international crimes. In August 2025, Congress also passed a law granting amnesty to members of the armed forces responsible for serious crimes committed during the armed conflict that englufled the country from 1980 to 2000. The new bill would considerably worsen this larger context of impunity for past abuse by shielding officers from effective accountability for future violations as well.
The National Board of Justice, a body charged with appointing judges and prosecutors, has opened investigations, often at the request of Congress members, against judges who have argued that the amnesty and statute-of-limitations laws run counter to the Peruvian Constitution and have declined to apply them.
"By creating a new regime of impunity for abusive security forces, this bill would launch a dangerous attack on the rule of law in Peru," Goebertus said.
