El Salvador’s Congress narrowly approved a controversial law intended to allow the prosecution of crimes committed during the country’s 12-year civil war from 1980-1992. The proposal was put to vote on Wednesday and the 84 seats unicameral National Assembly approved it in a 44-11 vote.
Although President Nayib Bukele said he would veto it as it did not contain the key elements of “truth, justice, and reparation”. Bukele called it “an amnesty law that protects war criminals”. If he does not veto it, it will become law within 60 days of being officially announced.
The country’s Supreme Court struck down a 1993 amnesty law and in 2016 ordered the assembly to draw up a new bill. The latest bill allows the commutation of a sentence due to health and age, regardless of the perpetrator’s complicity and crimes. It only provides investigators with a year to develop their case, which according to the rights groups is not sufficient given the severity and number of crimes. Moreover, the bill establishes a 10-year period in which charges must be brought against the perpetrator. This goes against the United Nation’s recommendation that says crimes against humanity should never have a statute of limitations.
Proponents of the law argue that it ensures that nobody receives amnesty for their crimes during the civil war. Human rights activists, on the other hand, say that the law allows judges to reduce sentences for crimes and violates international norms on human rights trials for crimes against humanity. Irene Gomez, a lawyer who represents victims of the civil war, stated, “We reject this law because it clearly violates the access to justice for the victims.”
The civil war victims did not have any path to justice for years because an amnesty law was signed shortly after the 1992 peace accords. The Supreme Court ruled the amnesty law as unconstitutional in 2016. The 12-year conflict between the leftist guerrillas and the US-funded Salvadoran military killed more than 75,000 people.
Image Source: ElSalvArte