Overview of anti-torture legislation in Latin America and the Caribbean
In the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic included the crime of torture in its Criminal
Code. The following chart provides an overview of the States in Latin America and the
Caribbean that have incorporated the crime of torture in their Criminal Codes and the dates
of those amendments.
Figure 2. Progress of laws related to the criminalisation of torture in the region
N°
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5
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Country
UNCAT
Ratification
(R)/Accession
(A)
Law/article/year
Argentina
R- 1986
Criminal Code, Article 144 (1958)
Bolivia
R-1999
Criminal Code, Article 295 (1973)
Chile
R-1988
Criminal Code, Article 150 (1998)
Colombia
R-1987
Criminal Code, Article 279 (1980)
Costa Rica
R-1993
Dominican
Republic
R-2012
Ecuador
R-1988
El Salvador
Last amendments
to the provisions of torture
Criminal Code, Article 144 ter
(1984)
Pending20
Criminal Code, Article 150 A
(2016)
Article 178 introduced a new
definition of torture (2000)
Criminal Code, Article 123 bis
(crime of torture added in 2001)
Criminal Code, Article 303
(crime of torture added in 1997)21
New Comprehensive Criminal Code22
Article 151and 119 (2014)
New Criminal Code in discussion
A-1996
Criminal Code, Article 297 (1996)
Criminal Code, Article 366-A
(2011)23
Guatemala
A-1990
Criminal Code, Articles 210 bis and
425 (1993)
-
Honduras
A-1996
Criminal Code, Article 209 A (1985)
Criminal Code, Article 209 A
(1997)
Nicaragua
R-2005
New Criminal Code, Article 486
(2008)24
-
Panama
R-1987
Criminal Code, Article (1982)
Paraguay
R-1990
Criminal Code, Article 309 (1997)
Peru
R-1988
Criminal Code, Article 321
(crime of torture added in 1998)
-
-
Criminal Code, Article 156 -A
(2011)25
Criminal Code, Article 30926
(2012)
Criminal Code article 321 (2017)
20
In 2013, the CAT noted of the existence of a draft bill that would amend article 295 (ill-treatment and torture) of the
Criminal Code.
21
In 1998 the crime of torture was included through Law N° 24-97, available at:
http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Security/citizensecurity/domrep/Leyes/ley24.html
22
In 2014, Ecuador published the Comprehensive Criminal Code, available here: http://www.justicia.gob.ec/wpcontent/uploads/2014/05/c%C3%B3digo_org%C3%A1nico_integral_penal_-_coip_ed._sdn-mjdhc.pdf
23
Congress of El Salvador, Decree N° 575 available here: http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/eparlamento/indicelegislativo/buscador-de-documentos-legislativos/declarase-notable-artista-de-el-salvador-al-senor-miguel-angelramirez/archivo_documento_legislativo
24
CAT, Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture (10 June 2009), UN Doc CAT/C/NIC/CO/1 § 10
25
Panama, Law N° 1 January 2011. Available at: http://bit.ly/2AT59RD
26
Paraguay, Law N° 4614 brought the definition of enforced disappearance and torture under criminal law. Available at:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CED/Shared%20Documents/PRY/INT_CED_ADR_PRY_16937_S.pdf
8