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Amnesty International Report 2000 - El Salvador

Head of state and government: Francisco Flores (replaced Armando Calderón Sol in June)
Capital: San Salvador
Population: 5.7 million
Official language: Spanish
Death penalty: abolitionist for ordinary crimes

Prominent human rights defenders were threatened and harassed. Members of the police were responsible for human rights violations, including ill-treatment of detainees, reportedly contributing to deaths in custody in some cases. The Human Rights Procurator apparently failed to fulfil his mandate. A local non-governmental organization made progress in efforts to discover the whereabouts of children who had "disappeared" during the armed conflict.

Background

There was a sense of institutional crisis throughout 1999. The National Civil Police, the Human Rights Procurator's Office and the judicial system, institutions created by the Peace Accords after the end of the armed conflict in 1992, faced serious problems. Their difficulties arose largely from the government's lack of commitment to these institutions and repeated failures in decision-making.

The Attorney General's position remained vacant for many months as the Legislative Assembly could not come to an agreement about whom to appoint. The lack of leadership adversely affected investigations and judicial procedures.

El Salvador continued to face an extremely high level of criminal activity, leading to widespread insecurity among the population, who had little trust in the police. A number of people suspected of involvement in criminal activity were killed by unidentified groups. There was concern that those responsible could be "extermination groups", performing execution-style killings, as victims were often found with their hands tied behind their back and shot in the head.

A Presidential election was held in March with an abstention rate of more than 60 per cent. The ruling Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA), Nationalist Republican Alliance, won and the elected President, Francisco Flores, former president of the Legislative Assembly, took office in June.

Allegations of corruption regarding the use of aid received after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Mitch, were made against the authorities and public officials.

Human rights defenders

Human rights defenders were subjected to harassment, threats and intimidation throughout 1999. People working on behalf of the poor and church human rights workers were among those targeted. A number of human rights organizations had their premises broken into.

• The President of the non-governmental Comisión de Derechos Humanos de El Salvador (CDHES), Commission on Human Rights of El Salvador, Miguel Montenegro, was abducted in April by several heavily armed men. He was dragged out of his van on a street in San Salvador. His assailants, travelling in two vehicles with darkened windows, drove Miguel Montenegro around for about two hours and finally released him in the east of San Salvador. They insulted him and threatened him with death. The men warned him not to report the abduction, saying that they knew where he worked and lived and would take retaliatory measures against him and his family if he talked. They also claimed to have contacts within the police force. No investigation had been initiated by the end of 1999.

Sexual minorities

Members of sexual minorities and an organization working on their behalf were targets of intimidation and violence. Members of the National Civil Police were reported to have beaten, insulted and made death threats against six homosexual men. Several gay men were reportedly killed or shot at. These incidents were not apparently investigated thoroughly, and no one was prosecuted in connection with them.

• William Hernández, the executive director of the non-governmental organization Asociación Salvadoreña de Desarrollo Integral para Minorías Sexuales, Entre Amigos, Salvadoran Association for the Integral Development of Sexual Minorities, Among Friends, received death threats throughout 1999. The Association has spoken out about human rights violations against sexual minorities and the failure of the authorities to investigate such abuses. In March, August and November unidentified people called William Hernández' office and threatened to kill him. AI called on the authorities to investigate these attacks, and those against other human rights defenders, but no steps had been taken by the end of 1999 to identify and punish those responsible.

Police

Several people were victims of human rights violations by the National Civil Police. By 1999, the force had not reached the levels of professionalism outlined in the Peace Accords, even though hundreds of its members were punished for wrongdoing, some with dismissal.

The police force was reportedly responsible for the ill-treatment of people in custody, including beatings and keeping them handcuffed for extended periods of time. In a few cases such ill-treatment reportedly contributed to the death of the detainee.

Human Rights Procurator's Office

Strong criticisms of the Human Rights Procurator, Eduardo Peñate, whose office was created by the Peace Accords with the aim of "safeguarding human rights protection, promotion and education" , were made by at least 20 local organizations and hundreds of individual citizens. There were indications that the Office had failed even to meet its constitutional and legal obligations. Civil society groups and individuals asked the Legislative Assembly to set up a special commission to investigate alleged irregularities, evaluate the performance of the Human Rights Procurator and consider his removal from office. Criticisms included a marked decrease in the number of reports and recommendations issued and a fall in the number of cases presented to the Procurator's Office, which was seen as indicating a lack of confidence in the Procurator. In December the Legislative Assembly formed a commission to investigate the Procurator's performance. Proceedings were to continue in 2000.

'Disappeared' children

The non-governmental Asociación Pro-Búsqueda de Niñas y Niños Desaparecidos (Pro-Búsqueda), Association Pro-Búsqueda for the Search for Disappeared Children, continued its work to find children who had "disappeared" in the course of military operations during the armed conflict. Many were separated from their parents and taken away. Some were adopted by military officials or by civilians, others were taken abroad. By the end of 1999, Pro-Búsqueda had received information about more than 500 cases and had located 92 children.

Updates

Francisco Manzanares

Four members of the División de Investigación Criminal (DIC), Criminal Investigation Division, were sentenced to prison terms in connection with the death of Francisco Manzanares: two of them to 15 years and two to 10 years. Francisco Manzanares, a member of the Frente Farabundo Martí de Liberación Nacional (FMLN), Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, was shot dead in 1996 by eight heavily armed men. Shortly before his death he had reported to the police that unidentified men had been watching his house and asking about his activities.

Death penalty

In July the Legislative Assembly decided it would not ratify the constitutional amendment approved in 1996 extending the scope of the death penalty to kidnapping, rape and aggravated homicide.

Extrajudicial executions in 1989

In December the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued its decision on the case of six Jesuit priests and two women extrajudicially executed in November 1989. The Inter-American Commission concluded that El Salvador had violated Article 4 (right to life) of the American Convention on Human Rights; that it had failed in its duty to investigate and punish those responsible for the extrajudicial executions, thus maintaining impunity for the crimes; and that the 1993 Amnesty Law contravened the right to justice and the obligations to investigate and bring those responsible to justice, and to provide reparation to the victims. The Inter-American Commission recommended, among other things, that the authorities should take steps to annul the 1993 Amnesty Law.