El Salvador publishes law allowing life sentences for minors as young as 12

Key Points:

• El Salvador has enacted a new law allowing life imprisonment for minors as young as 12 for severe crimes such as homicide, terrorism, and rape, effective from April 26.
• This law is part of President Nayib Bukele’s hardline policies against gang violence, amid a state of emergency that has expanded police and military powers since March 2022.
• Over 90,000 people have been imprisoned under this state of emergency, with concerns raised about mass arrests, detentions without charges, and mass trials involving hundreds of detainees at once.
• UNICEF and other human rights organizations have condemned the life sentences for minors, warning of severe developmental harm and arguing that such measures violate international child rights standards focused on rehabilitation.
• Human rights experts accuse the Salvadoran government of committing crimes against humanity during the state of emergency, citing evidence of systemic abuses and wrongful detentions, including acknowledgment from Bukele that thousands of detainees were innocent.