UN rights commissioner 'concerned' by decision
Sunday 24 February 2013
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EmailUnited nations human rights commissioner Navi Pillay expressed her concern today after Uruguay's Supreme Court threw out a law investigating human rights abuses.
The law, which the judges ruled ruled unconstitutional, had reversed an amnesty that stopped prosecutors investigating human rights violations by the military regime that ran Uruguay from 1973 to 1985.
"I am deeply concerned that these events can restore the shadow of impunity in a country that has begun to reconcile with truth and justice, for full compliance with its obligations under international law," she said.
"This alarming news comes just days after Judge Mariana Mota, who has been in charge of investigating about 50 cases of human rights violations committed during this period, was abruptly transferred by the Supreme Court in its criminal jurisdiction to a civil court."
The decision, taken by judges four to one on Friday, could seriously hit victims' struggles for truth and justice.
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