Weekly Report - 14 September 2023 (WR-23-37)

Peru’s discredited congress is seeking to expand its power, threatening the independence of the judiciary, and skewing the balance of power even more firmly towards the legislature. The right-leaning parties that dominate congress adopted a motion last week targeting the seven members of the Junta Nacional de Justicia (JNJ), which has responsibility for naming and removing judges and prosecutors, with dismissal. When the United Nations resident coordinator in the country, Igor Garafulic, expressed concern, the right-wing deputy presiding over the commission charged with carrying out the investigation urged the government to expel him from the country for interference.