Peru: UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances alarmed by draft bill establishing a statute of limitations on crimes against humanity and war crimes

GENEVA – The bill submitted to the Peruvian Congress which establishes a statute of limitations on atrocity crimes, contravenes international standards, and risks annihilating progress made to combat impunity for human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, and to ensure access to justice, truth and reparation for victims, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances* warned today. Calling for all norms approved by Congress to comply with international human rights law, the Committee issued the following statement:

“The Committee on Enforced Disappearances expresses its grave concern about the draft law submitted to the Peruvian Congress, which provides that no one may be prosecuted, convicted, or punished for crimes against humanity or war crimes committed before 1 July 2002.

In line with the position expressed by the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in their statement dated 14 June 2024, the Committee considers that this draft contravenes international law on the application of the statute of limitations to serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including enforced disappearances.

The adoption of draft law 6951/2023-CR would constitute a clear violation of the Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which was ratified by Peru on 26 September 2012. Since then, Peru had continued its efforts to ensure access to justice, truth and reparation for victims, including victims of enforced disappearance, with measures such as the adoption of the Law on the Search for Persons Disappeared during the 1980-2000 period of violence and of the National Plan for the Search for Disappeared Persons, as well as the creation of the Directorate General and the Genetic Data Bank for the search for Disappeared Persons.

Such measures demonstrated the commitment of Peru to combat impunity for enforced disappearances and to promote the rights of victims. The adoption of Bill 6951/2023-CR would annihilate these progresses and constitute a serious step backwards. It would also go against the recommendations contained in the Concluding Observations transmitted to the State party in 2019, where the Committee stressed the importance for the State party (i) to make it impossible for pardons to be granted in respect of international crimes, including enforced disappearance, and (ii) ensure that all cases of enforced disappearance, without exception, are promptly investigated and that alleged perpetrators are prosecuted and, if found guilty, punished with appropriate penalties that take into account the extreme seriousness of the offence, while ensuring that no act of enforced disappearance is left unpunished.

The Committee reminds the State party of the importance of joining forces to prevent and eradicate past, present and future enforced disappearances, and to fight against impunity. It seconds the appeal sent on 12 June 2024 by Special Procedures to the Peruvian legislature to ensure full compliance of the norms approved by the Congress with international human rights law.”

* In compliance with Rule 48 of the Committee’s Rule of Procedure and the Addis Ababa Guidelines, Ms. Carmen Rosa Villa-Quintana does not join the present statement.