[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20595-20596]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  PERU

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about the unfolding 
political crisis, which is also a crisis for justice, in Peru.
  Peru transitioned to democracy in 2000, after two decades of internal 
armed conflict and authoritarian rule. The country has made important 
strides in rebuilding its democratic institutions, consolidating the 
rule of law, and combating impunity, but today, efforts by a majority 
in the Peruvian Congress to arbitrarily remove judges from the 
country's highest court, the Constitutional Tribunal, and

[[Page 20596]]

to oust the attorney general for courageously doing his job, threaten 
to undermine those gains and reverse Peru's democratic progress.
  As a former prosecutor and the senior Democrat on the Senate 
Judiciary Committee, I am especially concerned about the attempt by the 
majority in Peru's Congress to impeach Attorney General Pablo Sanchez 
in the midst of his office's investigation into allegations that the 
Presidential campaign of Keiko Fujimori received illegal contributions 
in 2011. The effort to remove Attorney General Sanchez strongly 
suggests a deliberate strategy to obstruct justice and to undermine the 
autonomy of the attorney general's office. This would represent a grave 
setback for hard-fought gains to reestablish an independent judiciary 
and the rule of law in Peru. It would have serious ramifications for 
U.S.-Peruvian relations.
  Credible allegations of corruption must be thoroughly investigated, 
without prejudice to party or power, and with due process for the 
accused. I urge members of Peru's Congress to support those who are 
acting on behalf of the Peruvian people in the pursuit of truth and 
justice. Key to this is respect for the autonomy of the office of the 
attorney general and of the Constitutional Tribunal, institutions that 
are guarantors of human rights and the rule of law.

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