San Salvador, El Salvador. President Nayib Bukele has enacted legal reforms allowing life imprisonment for minors as young as 12 convicted of homicide, terrorism, or rape, according to the country’s official gazette.
Legal reforms and timeline
The measures were published on Tuesday and are scheduled to take effect on April 26. They follow a constitutional amendment approved in March by the government-controlled Congress.
Changes to procedures for minors
The changes eliminate special legal procedures previously available to offenders aged 12 to 18. The reforms include provisions for periodic sentence reviews and potential supervised release.
International scrutiny and human rights criticism
The constitutional amendment came days after an international legal panel reported “reasonable grounds” to suggest El Salvador has committed crimes against humanity during a years-long state of emergency. The United Nations human rights office criticized the reforms for violating children’s rights.
Bukele’s response and state of emergency
Bukele defended the measures, saying the previous legal framework granted impunity to young criminals. The 44-year-old president’s ongoing state of emergency, which suspends various constitutional guarantees, has led to the detention of more than 90,000 people, and humanitarian organizations estimate at least 500 of those detainees have died in state custody.
How do you think these reforms will affect El Salvador’s justice system and children’s rights?
