The Salvadoran government has announced a new law that will permit authorities to impose life imprisonment on minors as young as 12 years old for severe crimes, including homicide, terrorism, or rape. The law is set to take effect on April 26 and forms part of a suite of hardline policies aimed at stamping out gang violence in the country. This change occurs against the backdrop of a state of emergency that has been in place since March 2022, suspending certain civil liberties in favor of enhanced police and military powers.

Initially intended to last 30 days, the state of emergency has been renewed dozens of times, leading to a campaign of mass arrests and imprisonment by the Salvadoran government. Over 90,000 people have been detained, with groups like Human Rights Watch estimating that nearly 1.9% of the population is incarcerated, one of the highest rates globally. Some detainees are held without charges, while others face mass trials, a process approved in 2023 to allow for up to 900 individuals to be tried simultaneously.

The life sentences for minors were approved in March as a constitutional amendment, championed by El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. The country's legislative assembly is overwhelmingly controlled by Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party. On social media that month, Bukele denounced opponents of the amendment as being lenient towards violent crime, framing the measure as essential for public safety.

However, following its passage, organizations such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) voiced "deep concern" over the prospect of children being sentenced to life behind bars. UNICEF warned that imprisonment could result in severe, long-term consequences for child and adolescent development and added that such measures are unlikely to reduce overall crime rates. The agency stated that these actions contradict standards enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prioritize rehabilitation and reintegration for youth offenders.

Human rights monitors have repeatedly called on Bukele and the Salvadoran government to end the state of emergency and related anti-crime measures, arguing they violate fundamental human rights. Just last month, the International Group of Experts for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations under the State of Emergency in El Salvador (GIPES) published its final report, alleging that crimes against humanity have been committed over the past four years. The report cited comments from Bukele himself, acknowledging that "at least 8,000 detainees were innocent," with experts describing the situation as a systematic policy of large-scale abuses.

Source: www.aljazeera.com