GENEVA - An amnesty law enacted in Peru violates international standards and is a backward step in the search for justice for the gross human rights violations committed during the country's internal armed conflict, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Thursday.
The Peruvian President on 13 August signed into law legislation that grants amnesty to members of the security and armed forces and self-defence committees for crimes committed during the internal armed conflict that took place between 1980 and 2000. Hundreds of cases, both concluded and ongoing, will be affected by the new law.
"I am dismayed by the promulgation of this amnesty law. This is an affront to the thousands of victims who deserve truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence, not impunity," said the High Commissioner.
"International law, to which Peru is bound, clearly prohibits amnesties and statutes of limitations for gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law," he added.
"This backward step in the pursuit of justice and reconciliation in Peru must be immediately reversed," Türk stressed.
