The organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned about laws approved by Congress in recent years. In his more recent report entitled “Legislate for impunity”The organization argues that Parliament has approved a series of laws that “weakens the fight against organized crime, undermine judicial independence and create a hostile environment for journalists and civil organizations.”
HRW, between September 2023 and December 2024, carried out an extensive investigation that included interviews with 125 people – among them fiscal, judges, police, journalists, indigenous leaders, environmental defenders and government officials – with the purpose of understanding the progress of organized crime in the country and the role that the authorities have played in allowing or facilitating their expansion.
In addition to the testimonies, the organization analyzed 88 laws and measures adopted by Congress and the Executive since Dina Boluarte assumed the presidency in December 2022.
“Our findings indicate that, instead of strengthening public institutions to combat organized crime, Congress, with more than half of its members investigated for corruption or other crimes, has weakened independence and the ability of judges and prosecutors, facilitating the expansion of organized crime,” says the document.
Among the rules questioned, is the one that restricts the figure of effective collaboration, “which weakens efforts to dismantle criminal groups and detect connections with corrupt officials.” It also points out that the definition of “organized crime in the Criminal Code” has been modified to exclude crimes of corruption and created obstacles to the raids. “
The organization also notes that it has “sought to regularize the illegal deforestation of large areas, which prevents the Public Ministry from criminally persecuting those responsible for environmental destruction.” Finally, he says that “judges and high -level prosecutors have been arbitrarily dismissed to block corruption investigations.”
“Although the government of President Boluarte on rare occasions has tried to stop the legislative agenda contrary to human rights, it has frequently allowed Congress to advance, without taking its own initiatives to effectively combat organized crime,” says the report.
Peru: Laws that weaken fight against organized crime
- Reduce the prescription periods for corruption crimes
- Restrict cooperating witnesses and the demand to record their statements on video
- Demand the mandatory presence of defense lawyers during the raids
- Prohibit the confiscation of goods linked to crimes until there is a conviction
- Appoint judges and officials through little transparent mechanisms
- Allow congressmen to sanction or dismiss judges and prosecutors without observance of due legal process
- Limit the NGOs financed abroad to initiate legal actions against the State
- Expand the penalty of defamation and demand public retractions in less than 24 hours
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