March 28, 2024
The government of El Salvador continues to ignore its international human rights obligations. Two years after declaring a state of emergency – which should be extraordinary and temporary – and implementing several changes to criminal law that compromise the right to defense and other guarantees of a fair process, the country maintains these measures in its security strategy.
The suspension of rights that, according to international standards, must always be guaranteed – such as the right to a fair trial, the principle of legality in criminal matters and the prohibition of torture and discrimination – is a decision that cannot be justified under any circumstances or context. It is also a decision that has deliberately ignored the numerous allegations of human rights violations reported by civil society organizations in El Salvador. Furthermore, it has also disregarded the repeated concerns of regional and global bodies regarding the disproportionality of emergency measures and the new legal framework, implemented since the end of March 2022.
“The insistence of Nayib Bukele’s government on maintaining the state of emergency, the disproportionate measures and the denial, minimization and concealment of human rights violations reflect the lack of will to respect and promote human rights. It also demonstrates the government’s inability to devise long-term measures that address the root causes of violence and crime, without forcing the population to choose between security and freedom,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s director for the Americas.
“[A decisão em manter o estado de emergência] demonstrates the government’s inability to devise long-term measures that address the root causes of violence and crime, without forcing the population to choose between security and freedom”
Ana Piquer
By February 2024, there had been recorded – by local human rights organizations, media reports and victims – 327 cases of enforced disappearances and more than 78,000 arbitrary detentions, with a total of around https://twitter.com/_SSPAS/status/1714680559538974958?s=20 deprived of liberty in the country. At this time, El Salvador was facing a situation of prison overcrowding of around 148%, with at least 235 deaths in State custody.
“In February 2024, El Salvador faced a situation of prison overcrowding of around 148%, with at least 235 deaths in State custody”
Ana Piquer
Furthermore, there is also the precariousness and increased risk that human rights defenders and dissident voices face, given the regime’s current instrumentalization to criminalize them. At the moment, local organizations register 34 cases of this type. The last one is https://twitter.com/AmnistiaOnline/status/1767707976314265922?s=20a mother searching for her missing daughter, who was arrested on March 11, 2024.
Regrettably, the Salvadoran State’s tendency to hide and delegitimize reports of human rights violations documented in the country suggests that, during Nayib Bukele’s second term, the crisis may deepen. If nothing changes, the instrumentalization of the criminal process and the establishment of a torture policy in the penitentiary system could persist. And this would lead to an increase in deaths in State custody and the precarious situation of people deprived of their liberty.
“Without any type of evaluation and control within the country, and with a timid reaction from the international community, the false illusion was created that President Bukele found the magic formula to solve the complex problems of violence and crime in an apparently simple. However, it is not possible to reduce gang violence by replacing it with state violence. Salvadoran authorities must focus the State’s response on comprehensive policies that respect human rights and seek long-term solutions”, concludes Ana Piquer.
“Salvadoran authorities must focus the State’s response on comprehensive policies that respect human rights and seek long-term solutions”
Ana Piquer
Tags: Salvador Government continues ignore international human rights obligations
