A referendum on an amnesty law was held in Uruguay on 16 April 1989.

[1] The amnesty had prevented the prosecution of the military and police who had been responsible for murder, torture and disappearances during the civic-military dictatorship between 1973 and 1985.

In 1986, the ruling Colorado Party passed the Law on the Expiration of the Punitive Claims of the State, guaranteeing amnesty for the former military junta by a vote of 59 to 37.

[1] In 1988 victims of the dictatorship asked the Supreme Court of Justice to declare the law invalid, but the request was rejected by three votes to two.

After public protests a further 24,000 signatures were accepted as valid, passing the threshold.