Thank you Madame Chairperson
I’m with Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. We’ve filed a written document under item 3 of the agenda this year, document NGO/18, and we will be making an oral intervention to the Sub-Commission plenary – both on the subject of the current Truth & Reconciliation Commission in Peru. I would like to make some brief remarks to the working group since it applies directly to this item 7 on your agenda. The Peru Truth & Reconciliation Commission was established in 2001 and has been an historic event for the people of Peru, and it will probably have enormous implications for years to come. The Commission by its January 2003 mid-term report had collected more than 13,000 testimonies, analyzed many violations, initiated a campaign on disappeared persons, and advanced significantly towards understanding the causes of the violence and formulating ideas for reparations and institutional reforms. The final report of the Commission is due out this month or early next month. Minnesota Advocates has been involved throughout the Commission’s process, and will be issuing a final report on our recommendations once the final report comes out.
Two problems in particular relate directly to the administration of justice – outstanding arrest warrants which have become stale & clearly unjust, and a pardons process which is not keeping up with the enormous workflow.
Both government and NGO representatives informed Minnesota Advocates that the government still has outstanding arrest warrants on five to six thousand people who are known as "requisitoriados." Judges issued these warrants, often indiscriminately and without solid evidence, for persons suspected of collaborating with armed dissident groups. Although the law has been amended so that the arrest warrants have now been converted to notices to appear before a judge, apparently this is not being done in practice, and people are still being arrested and detained on these warrants.
Many requisitoriados are fearful and subject to blackmail because others are aware of their status. The situation is made worse by inaccurate information.
In 1996, Peru established an ad-hoc pardons commission to review convictions under the anti-terrorism laws and to recommend presidential pardons for persons who were convicted based on insufficient evidence. This commission became a permanent part of the Ministry of Justice within the National Council of Human Rights.
The pardons commission is grossly underfunded and understaffed, making it difficult to evaluate the large volume of cases, particularly those from the provinces. Not only is the review process slow, it is also subject to political will. After the pardons commission recommends a pardon, both the Minister of Justice and the President must sign it. Reportedly, President Toledo has been reluctant to sign any pardons in recent months because he does not want to appear soft on terrorism.
Individuals who receive a pardon are not declared innocent and do not have their convictions overturned. The media perpetuates a negative image by calling them pardoned "terrorists" rather than exonerated innocents. Not expunging the conviction for terrorism could adversely impact pardoned individuals’ legal rights, as well as their ability to receive travel or immigrant visas.
Minnesota Advocates Recommendations:
With regard to outstanding arrest warrants, Minnesota Advocates recommends that the government implement the following procedures consistent with international standards. (1) Review all outstanding arrest warrants by an independent and impartial body such as the Defensoría del Pueblo. (2) A national police database should accurately reflect the status of all warrants. Any warrant that is not acted upon within six months should expire. (3) All outstanding warrants should be changed to "notices to appear," and requisitoriados should be released on their own recognizance or released on bond pending investigation of the charges in the warrant.
With regard to the pardons process, Minnesota Advocates urges the Commission to follow international standards governing persons who have been unfairly convicted and imprisoned.
(1) Additional funding for staff and resources should be secured so that the pardons commission may increase the pace of its work. (2) Persons who are pardoned should have their convictions overturned and expunged from official records. (3) Persons who are pardoned after it is determined that they were convicted because of a miscarriage of justice must be compensated. (4) The President of Peru should review and make a decision regarding all outstanding recommendations from the pardons commission immediately. And (5) The pardons commission should have the authority to recommend a reduction in sentences that are disproportionate to the gravity of the crimes committed.
Thank you Madame Chairperson.
Note: a full copy of the Minnesota Advocates Report on the Peruvian Truth & Reconciliation Commission will be posted at our website in the next couple of weeks www.mnadvocates.org