Peru's president on August 13 signed an amnesty bill into law, preventing military personnel and police officers from being prosecuted over alleged human rights abuses during the country’s armed conflict decades ago.

Lima

Peru's President Dina Boluarte has signed a law granting amnesty to members of the armed forces, police, and self-defense committees who participated in the country's conflict with the Shining Path and Tupac Amaro Revolutionary Movement. The law covers personnel and civilians not yet convicted of crimes, and also allows for the release of convicts over the age of 70.

The move has drawn criticism from the United Nations and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, as well as human rights NGOs, who argue it undermines justice for civilian victims and could halt hundreds of ongoing legal proceedings. President Boluarte has defended the measure as a recognition of the sacrifices made by security forces and a step towards national reconciliation.

Peru enacts amnesty for military and police in Shining Path insurgency

Despite warnings from the U.N. and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Dina Boluarte persists and signs. The Peruvian president is holding her ground, granting amnesty to Peruvian armed forces who clashed with communist fighters in a bloody 20-year-long conflict. With the enactment of this amnesty law, the Peruvian government recognizes the members of our armed forces, our National Police of Peru, and the self-defense committees who participated in the fight against terrorism. We acknowledge their sacrifice and restore to them the dignity that should have never been questioned. In the 1980s, two armed communist guerrilla groups, the Shining Path and Tupac Amaro Revolutionary Movement, took up arms against the Peruvian government and began to establish themselves in rural areas. Using shock tactics and rejecting electoral processes, the guerrillas took control of several regions, despite fierce opposition by the army. Between 1980 and 2000, official numbers report a total of around 70,000 deaths and nearly 20,000 missing persons. The Peruvian army gradually regained control of the country during the 2000s, but few soldiers were tried for abuses committed during the conflict. The new amnesty law is reopening old wounds for many. It could bury hundreds of ongoing legal proceedings. Human rights NGOs call the measure a betrayal of the civilian victims of the conflict. But President Boluarte dismisses the criticism. If international institutions side with those who violated the human rights of our compatriots, we stand with Peru, with decent Peruvians who only want peace and no more bloodshed. Under the new law, military personnel and civilians not yet convicted of crimes will now be eligible for amnesty. Convicts over the age of 70 will also be released. This move allows the Peruvian president to turn the page on decades of conflict, but also to gain popularity among conservative, pro-military voters ahead of general elections set for April 2026.

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