14
26479 and No. 26492 and the violation of the articles of the Convention mentioned
above.
40.
The Court recognizes that Peru’s acquiescence makes a positive contribution
to this proceeding and to the exercise of the principles that inspire the American
Convention on Human Rights.
VII
THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF AMNESTY LAWS
WITH THE CONVENTION
41.
This Court considers that all amnesty provisions, provisions on prescription
and the establishment of measures designed to eliminate responsibility are
inadmissible, because they are intended to prevent the investigation and punishment
of those responsible for serious human rights violations such as torture, extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary execution and forced disappearance, all of them prohibited
because they violate non-derogable rights recognized by international human rights
law.
42.
The Court, in accordance with the arguments put forward by the Commission
and not contested by the State, considers that the amnesty laws adopted by Peru
prevented the victims’ next of kin and the surviving victims in this case from being
heard by a judge, as established in Article 8(1) of the Convention; they violated the
right to judicial protection embodied in Article 25 of the Convention; they prevented
the investigation, capture, prosecution and conviction of those responsible for the
events that occurred in Barrios Altos, thus failing to comply with Article 1(1) of the
Convention, and they obstructed clarification of the facts of this case. Finally, the
adoption of self-amnesty laws that are incompatible with the Convention meant that
Peru failed to comply with the obligation to adapt internal legislation that is
embodied in Article 2 of the Convention.
43.
The Court considers that it should be emphasized that, in the light of the
general obligations established in Articles 1(1) and 2 of the American Convention,
the States Parties are obliged to take all measures to ensure that no one is deprived
of judicial protection and the exercise of the right to a simple and effective recourse,
in the terms of Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention. Consequently, States Parties to
the Convention which adopt laws that have the opposite effect, such as self-amnesty
laws, violate Articles 8 and 25, in relation to Articles 1(1) and 2 of the Convention.
Self-amnesty laws lead to the defenselessness of victims and perpetuate impunity;
therefore, they are manifestly incompatible with the aims and spirit of the
Convention. This type of law precludes the identification of the individuals who are
responsible for human rights violations, because it obstructs the investigation and
access to justice and prevents the victims and their next of kin from knowing the
truth and receiving the corresponding reparation.
44.
Owing to the manifest incompatibility of self-amnesty laws and the American
Convention on Human Rights, the said laws lack legal effect and may not continue to
obstruct the investigation of the grounds on which this case is based or the
identification and punishment of those responsible, nor can they have the same or a
similar impact with regard to other cases that have occurred in Peru, where the
rights established in the American Convention have been violated.