Rosa María Palacios, through her social networks, spoke out about the Unicef statement that criticizes the reform approved by the Congress of the Republic, which will allow young people of 16 and 17 years be prosecuted as adults in Peru’s criminal system. The lawyer reported that there are now four international treaties that the Legislature has violated in less than a year.
“The Peruvian Congress has violated at least 3 international treaties in less than a year. Now there is a fourth. They are a machine to violate international law“, reads his post on ‘X’, formerly Twitter.
The statement that Palacios mentions is the one that Unicef published on the same social network, where the entity showed its concern about the recent approved opinion. Likewise, he recalled that articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) stipulate that adolescents should not be tried or punished under the criminal system for adults.
What is the opinion approved by Congress about?
The Congress of the Republic approved in a second vote a law that allows adolescents of 16 and 17 years be judged and punished criminally for serious crimes such as terrorism, qualified homicide, kidnapping and extortion, among others. The measure, which includes bills 618, 6080, 7771 and 8816, was supported with 44 votes in favor, 24 against and 21 abstentions.
With this decision, the objective is to reduce crime committed by minors under 18 and those over 16, modifying both the Penal Code and the Adolescent Criminal Responsibility Code to make adolescents legally responsible. Consequently, offenders could face sentences of between six and eight years.
The reform also modifies article 20 of the Penal Code, which previously exonerated minors under 18 years of age from criminal liability. Now, headolescents 16 years of age or older They will be considered liable for serious crimes such as hitmen, sexual rape of minors, drug trafficking and trafficking of chemical supplies, among others. In addition, the new regulations cover other crimes, including family violence, serious injuries, human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, child pornography and slavery, establishing socio-educational penalties of up to eight years in cases of particularly serious crimes.
