2023-12-05 16:30:00
Photo by Camilo Freedman/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Savior is experiencing an alarming regression in the respect and protection of human rights, Amnesty International said today as it published its new report. Behind the veil of popularity: repression and regression in human rights in El Salvador.
“The deterioration in the guarantee of human rights that we have documented in El Salvador in recent years is extremely worrying. The adoption of a highly repressive security approach and the weakening of the rule of law “They have led the country to one of its worst crises since the end of the internal armed conflict,” said Ana Piquer, director for the Americas of Amnesty International.
Based on three research missions and 83 interviews, the report documents the installation of a context marked by the deepening of a punitive and repressive approach to public security; the adoption of a legal framework that puts due process at risk; the systematic use of torture and other ill-treatment against people deprived of their liberty in prisons; and the deployment of a series of government actions that restrict civic space. Under international human rights law, The absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment and the principle of legality can never be suspended, even in an exceptional situation.
The organization also verified the prevalence of factors that increase people’s defenselessness, such as the weakening of the independence of the judiciary; improper use of criminal process; the concealment of public information and the inefficiency of accountability and investigation mechanisms regarding human rights violations committed by state agents.
The other side of the exception regime
Within the framework of the application of a measure of an extraordinary and temporary nature, Amnesty International has verified how the Salvadoran authorities, for 21 consecutive months, have restricted and violated fundamental rights, including the right to life and the prohibition of torture. The measurements of exception regime have given rise to the execution of recurring patterns of violations during the cycles of arrest, prosecution and imprisonment, the main manifestations of which have been massive arbitrary detentions; forced disappearances, the commission of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against people in detention centers; and the deaths of people in State custodyor – some resulting from torture or other ill-treatment.
“What we are witnessing in El Salvador is a tragic repetition of history, where state violence is gradually replacing gang violence, leaving the same vulnerable communities trapped in an endless cycle of abuse and hopelessness.”
In this context, Amnesty International has identified three alarming characteristics: 1) the massiveness with which they are being produced the violations of human rights; 2) the high degree of state coordination in the design and implementation of this measure; and 3) a state response that tends to hide and minimize these facts, refusing to recognize and investigate diligently abuses.
On the other hand, the documented cases show people arbitrarily detainedlife projects truncated by false accusationsthe promoting a climate of revenge and mistrust between people from the same community, and a sector of the population – the most vulnerable – that lives in fear of being a victim of arbitrariness and abuse inflicted by the authorities.
According to the analysis of the databases of civil society organizations to which Amnesty International has had access, the victims of arbitrary detentions share three socioeconomic characteristics: a low educational level, precarious jobs y residence in areas stigmatized by poverty or gang control.
In light of these facts, the organization warns about a gradual substitution of gang violence for state violence, whose main victims continue to be individuals from communities in poverty and historically stalked by crime.
“These cases are not isolated, but part of a pattern of systematic and widespread abuse that primarily affects marginalized and impoverished communities. What we are witnessing in El Salvador is a tragic repetition of history, where state violence is gradually replacing gang violence, leaving the same vulnerable communities trapped in an endless cycle of abuse and hopelessness,” said Ana Piquer.
The report emphasizes the danger posed by permanent legal reforms that have been approved under the pretext of facilitating the implementation of the exception regimewhich allow and give the appearance of legality to the suspension of a set of rights and guarantees of due process.
The main changes introduced include: the concealment of the identity of the judges; the automatic application of preventive detention to crimes linked to empty o gangs, without individual analysis of the need for this measure to – for example, avoid the commission of a serious crime or the risk of flight –; and the elimination of time limits on preventive detention for crimes associated with terrorist or illegal groups. The latter enables its use for an indefinite period of time and violates the right to be tried or released within a reasonable period of time.
According to public statements by state officials, more than 7,000 people detained on suspicion of belonging to gang structures and prosecuted under these reforms, have been “released” through alternative measures to provisional detention. Many of them remained incarcerated for more than a year, and have been publicly recognized as having a margin of error.
In this sense, Amnesty International warns that, even if the Legislative Assembly decides not to prolong the emergency regime, the risk of the human rights crisis deepening and the situation of people’s defenselessness will persist if the reforms that undermine the guarantees of due process.
Finally, based on an analysis of the public statements made by the highest state authorities, civil society reports, as well as the testimonies and documentation collected, the report concludes that, with respect to the situation of people deprived of liberty and the conditions of the detention centers, the Salvadoran State has adopted a policy of systematic torture towards all people detained under the emergency regime with suspicion of being gang members. Among the most serious consequences of the application of this policy are the deaths in state custodysome with obvious signs of violence, and many others as a result of inhumane conditions of confinement or the denial of health care and the deprivation of medication.
As of October 2023, victims’ movements and local human rights organizations recorded more than 73,800 arrests327 cases of forced disappearances, approximately 102 thousand people deprived of liberty – which places El Salvador as the country with the highest incarceration rate worldwide – a situation of prison overcrowding of approximately 236%, and more than 190 deaths in state custody.
Civic space under attack
The organization also verified a increase in state actions that threaten freedom of expression and association and obstacles to the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly, participation in public affairs and access to public information.
Among the main tactics that the authorities have used for these purposes are: 1) a government media discourse, aimed at stigmatizing the work of defense and promotion of human rights and transparency; 2) harassment of the profession of journalism and any form of dissent or criticism; 3) the concealment and manipulation of public information; 4) the use of vague criminal typologies that could put human rights defenders and/or journalists at risk; 5) the exhortation, by state institutions, for reasons of public order or national security, to violate or prevent the exercise of human rights; and 6) the instrumentalization of the powers of some ministries, and the application of excessive controls towards the media and civil society organizations.
The main targets of these tactics have been human rights defenders, the media and independent journalists, civil society organizations, trade unionists and justice operators who have shown independence and adherence to the principles of legality and respect for the rule of law. The most alarming incidents in a context of suspension of rights have involved the use of the emergency regime to criminalize critical voices, to date those linked to the defense of land, territory, natural resources, labor rights and with the strengthening of social cohesion at the community level.
All these elements have generated an environment that favors a increase in misinformation and of a institutional discourse that promotes discrimination, hostility and violence as responses to mere criticism and dissent. Furthermore, the adoption of patterns of self-censorship and self-exile of those who, being victims of violations of their rights, do not find a response in state institutions to guarantee their protection is increasing.
Among its recommendations, Amnesty International urges the Salvadoran State to end repressive security policies. This includes ending human rights violations resulting from the application of the emergency regime and repealing legal reforms that violate due process and annul judicial guarantees. The organization recalls that, in accordance with international human rights law, any measure taken in exceptional situations that threaten the independence or security of the State must be strictly limited to the needs of the situation and respect the principle of non-discrimination. Fundamental rights such as the right to life, the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to liberty and personal security are inalienable and can never be suspended.
It is also recommended ensure an orderly withdrawal of the armed forces in public security tasks and strengthen the capabilities of the National Civil Police. Amnesty International reminds the State of the need to guarantee that judicial institutions operate with full independence and autonomy, ensure the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and cease any form of restriction, stigmatization or criminalization of critical and dissident voices.
Furthermore, the organization calls on the international community to maintain a firm and sustained position regarding setbacks that in terms of human rights are being recorded in El Salvador, urging the authorities to abide by the recommendations issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and other special mechanisms of the United Nations.
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