Amnesty International has condemned recent criminal law reforms in El Salvador, warning that they violate children’s rights. Approved on February 12, the amendments to the Juvenile Criminal Law, Prisons Law, and Laws against Organized Crime allow minors as young as 12 to be transferred to adult prisons if convicted of organized criminal offenses. The reforms also eliminate access to parole for minors, which goes against international juvenile justice standards.
The law changes are part of El Salvador’s ongoing state of emergency, declared in March 2022, which has led to over 84,000 detentions, many of which Amnesty describes as arbitrary. The rights group reports widespread abuse, including torture allegations and nearly 300 deaths in custody. Amnesty’s Americas director, Ana Piquer, stated that the reforms institutionalize mass detention and violate international human rights standards, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which mandates a rehabilitation-focused approach for juveniles.
Since the state of emergency began, almost 3,000 children have been convicted, often with little evidence or coerced confessions, according to Human Rights Watch. Amnesty warns that these reforms normalize the state’s heavy-handed approach, undermining due process and consolidating an unchecked repression strategy.
Piquer criticized the use of legislative power to institutionalize a punitive system that disregards children’s rights and the rule of law, with grave consequences for the future of juvenile justice in El Salvador.
National Palace of El Salvador Picture by Tomás Serllic on Wikimedia
