The many faces of impunity: A brief history of Uruguay’s expiry law

Over the past few weeks, the fight against the impunity still surrounding the perpetration of grave human rights crimes (torture, enforced disappearance, and mass prolonged imprisonment) committed during the 1973-1985 military regime in Uruguay has been gathering momentum. Although impunity has many faces – political, judicial, cultural, the focus of the campaign is Law 15,848 on the Expiry of the Punitive Claims of the State (Caducidad de la Pretensión Punitiva del Estado), or simply the Expiry Law. Without a doubt, the Expiry Law symbolically embodies impunity for many in Uruguay.