On April 23, President Luis Lacalle Pou sent to Congress a bill to reform the security and justice system. Among its central features, the bill seeks to broaden the principle of self-defense, extend the maximum penalty for adolescent criminals to 10 years in jail, establish penalties for those who “despise” or “aggravate” members of the security forces, and declare protesters who hinder free movement illegitimate.. UNICEF has responded by stating that the proposed modifications would not only undermine the international commitments assumed by the country in the field of Human Rights, but also jeopardize the progress of the penal system. The bill, which also includes a wide variety of other issues, entered Congress urgently, which implies that it will be tacitly approved if the legislative branch does not debate it within three months. The Senate is slated to complete its study of the bill in June.