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TITLE: EL SALVADOR HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
EL SALVADOR
El Salvador is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with an
executive branch headed by a President, a unicameral National
Assembly, and a separate but politically appointed judiciary.
Alfredo Cristiani of the Nationalist Republican Alliance
(ARENA) was inaugurated President for a 5-year term on June 1,
1989. On January 16, 1992, the Government and the Frente
Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) signed peace
accords ending 11 years of civil war and providing for the
reintegration of government and FMLN ex-combatants into
national life. The ensuing peace process suffered some serious
delays. Both parties were at times slow to implement some
requirements of the accords, most of which applied to the
Government, but compliance with most key elements was achieved
by year's end.
The Truth Commission, mandated by the peace accords to
investigate serious human rights violations in the past decade,
reported its findings on March 15. It recommended removal from
government and military posts of those identified as human
rights violators, as well as reforms of the Salvadoran armed
forces (ESAF) and the judiciary. On March 20, however, the
National Assembly approved amnesty from criminal prosecution
for all those implicated in the Truth Commission report. Among
those freed were the ESAF officers convicted in the 1989 Jesuit
murders and the FMLN ex-combatants who were being held for the
1991 killings of two U.S. servicemen. In October the U.N.
Secretary General reported that while some action had been
taken to implement Truth Commission recommendations, much
remained to be done.
The peace accords also established an Ad Hoc Commission to
evaluate the human rights record, professional competence, and
commitment to democracy of the ESAF officer corps. On June 30,
the last of 103 officers identified by this commission as
responsible for human rights violations were removed from
active duty in the ESAF, and they were formally retired at the
end of December. In July the U.N. Observer Mission in El
Salvador (ONUSAL) declared the Government in compliance with
the Ad Hoc commission recommendations. Although ONUSAL
certified the complete demobilization of the FMLN on December
14, 1992, large undeclared FMLN arms caches were discovered in
El Salvador and neighboring countries during 1993. On June 11,
the U.N. Security Council called the maintenance of these
caches the most serious violation to date of the peace
accords. A new inventory was conducted, and destruction of
arms caches was completed on August 18, after which ONUSAL
declared the FMLN military structure completely dismantled.
Substantial progress was made on electoral registration in
preparation for the March 1994 general election.
The ESAF includes the army, air force and navy. In February
the ESAF completed its downsizing as required under the peace
accords, reducing its manpower from 62,000 to 31,000, and
dismantling the last of its five elite rapid reaction
battalions. Human rights training is now conducted annually
for all enlisted soldiers and is an integral part of the
curriculum at all professional development schools for
officers. In March the new National Civilian Police (PNC)
began replacing the old National Police (PN) on a department-by-
department schedule. At the end of the year, the new PNC was
deployed in 7 of El Salvador's 14 departments, as well as in
parts of the capital. In the fall, the National Assembly
passed legislation integrating personnel of the Special
Investigative Unit (SIU) and the Executive Anti-Narcotics Unit
(UEA) into the PNC, although concerns over the qualifications
of some UEA personnel caused ONUSAL to withhold its approval
pending further review. The PN will be abolished once the PNC
is fully deployed. PNC personnel received human rights
training at the new U.S.-supported police academy.
El Salvador has a mixed economy largely based upon agriculture
and light manufacturing. The Government maintained its
commitment to free market reforms, including privatizing
additional banks and hotels. People are free to pursue
economic interests, and private property is respected. The
1993 rate of real economic growth was 5 percent.
Progress on human rights was uneven in 1993. The greatest
number of human rights complaints filed with ONUSAL were
accusations against members of the PN; a much smaller number
were filed against the ESAF. Institutional improvements
continued in areas mandated by the peace accords, such as the
training and partial deployment of the PNC, expansion of the
Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDDH), and the
implementation of some judicial reforms. However, there
remained an extremely high level of violence, particularly
murder, assaults, and robberies, including crimes against
children. The judicial system continued to be subject to
political influence. The new amnesty law granted immunity to
those who violated human rights during the years of civil
strife.
The number of murders, which had declined early in the year,
started to climb in the summer. Allegations of politically
motivated assassinations by death squads continued. ONUSAL and
the SIU investigated murders that might have been politically
motivated. While there were no confirmed cases of politically
motivated killings, investigations of a number of cases
continued at the end of the year. Concern was sufficient,
however, that, on December 8, the Government, in conjunction
with the United Nations, formed a Joint Group with a 6-month
mandate to investigate illegal armed groups and their possible
involvement with political violence during the 2-year period
since the signing of the peace accords. There was widespread
abuse of women and children.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
The end of hostilities in El Salvador led to an immediate and
significant reduction in extrajudicial killings, though there
were a few unsubstantiated murder allegations directed against
unspecified government forces and the FMLN. The Ministry of
the Presidency's oversight of the PN and the progressive
deployment of the PNC substantially increased government
control over the public security forces; however, there was
some resistance to civilian control among elements of the PN.
Demilitarization of large numbers of ex-combatants, poor morale
among the PN, the incomplete transition to the new PNC, and the
large number of arms in circulation among the citizenry left
the Government unable to prevent or control significant
criminal activity by private armed individuals or groups, some
of whose actions may have been politically motivated.
On May 20, a confrontation developed between PN riot police and
demonstrators representing the "war wounded," including former
ESAF and FMLN combatants, in San Salvador. Five policemen
fired shots in the direction of the crowd and one of the
protesters, Santos Martinez Perez, an FMLN ex-combatant, was
killed in the only fatal government-FMLN incident since the
formal cease-fire period began in February 1992. The judge
investigating the case ordered the policeman who fired the
fatal shot detained on a charge of manslaughter, which the
Attorney General's office sought to reduce to negligent
homicide. Pending resolution of that issue, the PN refused to
relinquish the accused to the judge in charge of the case, an
example of PN resistance to civilian oversight.
There were no confirmed cases of death squad killings in 1993,
but some observers continued to ascribe certain suspicious
deaths to death squads. ONUSAL stated that some of the
criminal armed groups active in 1993 used methods similar to
those of the 1980's death squads, but stopped short of
declaring that death squads still existed. Death threats
remained a method of intimidation. PNC Academy Director Mario
Bolanos received numerous anonymous death threats and had a
bomb placed outside his office, which may have been the work of
rejected academy applicants. A group called "Angels of Death"
was described by the press as administering "street justice" to
delinquents. In September a group called the "Guardian Angels"
threatened to assassinate judges and PN members who did not
administer justice to criminals. Also in September, callers
claiming to represent the National Lawyers Association and the
Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez Brigade made death threats
against Dr. Rene Madecadel Perla Jimenez, a professor at the
University of El Salvador and a member of the new National
Council of the Judiciary (see Section 1.e.).
The Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez Brigade threatened the
family of Jose Maria Mendez, a prominent lawyer, in October and
November. Others threatened included Dr. Juan Mateu Llort,
Director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine; Unity Movement
political candidates in Usulutan; and several prominent
businessmen accused of financing death squads. Unknown persons
threw an incendiary device in October and a grenade in December
at Christian Democratic Party leader Arturo Argumedo's home.
On October 25, Francisco Velis Castellanos, a leader of the
Central American Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRTC) faction of
the FMLN, was killed in San Salvador as he was delivering his
2-year-old daughter to a day-care center. Velis was shot in
the head, and the assailants escaped in a waiting vehicle. The
audacity of the crime, committed on a crowded downtown street,
and the clean getaway, prompted speculation of a political
motivation. A high-profile investigation, led by the SIU which
was assisted by observers from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Scotland Yard, and the Spanish Police, continued
at year's end.
On October 30, a leader of the Renewed Expression of the People
(ERP) faction of the FMLN, Heleno Hernan Castro Guevara, was
killed on a highway in San Vicente department. Two other FMLN
members were killed on October 27 in Guazapa, San Salvador
department. The four deaths in 5 days spawned a number of
allegations of renewed death squad killings. Investigators
concluded, however, that Castro was killed when an argument
escalated following a car accident. The ERP concurred in this
assessment. Police are looking for the murder suspect.
On December 9, another FMLN/PRTC leader, Jose Mario Lopez,
died from a gunshot wound in the leg in San Salvador.
Eyewitnesses stated that he was shot by thugs when he attempted
to stop a robbery. His bodyguard, however, who was also shot,
later alleged that the assailants were really waiting for Lopez
and that the attempted street robbery was a ruse.
On December 10, Jose Guillermo Ventura, the brother of an FMLN
local candidate, was killed when three gunmen attacked his
brother's house. The SIU, ONUSAL, and the PDHH initiated
investigations. On December 11, six Santa Ana area peasants
who were walking to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting were
attacked and murdered by three assailants. Within hours, the
PN had arrested two ESAF members and a third person for the
killings. The victims had no apparent political affiliations.
Earlier in the year, on February 13, Juan Carlos Garcia
Panameno and Manuel de Jesus Panameno Garcia were murdered in
Usulutan department. The two young men were associated with
the FMLN-linked Monsignor Oscar Romero Committee of Mothers and
Relatives of Political Prisoners, Disappeared, and Assassinated
of El Salvador (COMADRES). Reports of death threats against
one of the victims and his relatives lent initial credibility
to COMADRES' allegations of military death squad involvement.
A thorough investigation by the SIU, aided by cooperation from
the victims' relatives in COMADRES, concluded that the murders
were connected with a common robbery and not politically
motivated. ONUSAL agreed with the SIU conclusion. A suspect
was apprehended.
On February 21, Freddy Fernando Torres Portillo, an FMLN
municipal leader, was found dead in San Salvador from a gunshot
wound to the head. Torres had earlier reported death threats
to ONUSAL and was the fourth member of a labor or leftwing
organization murdered in an 8-day span. For these reasons,
ONUSAL and the PDDH expressed initial concern over possible
political motives in all four killings. Later evidence
indicated, however, that the Torres murder may have been the
result of a common crime. An ex-PN member who was an
acquaintance of the victim was apprehended and questioned but
released.
On August 19, a pair of gunmen killed a logistical operative,
Oscar Grimaldi, from the Popular Forces of Liberation (FPL)
faction of the FMLN. He was the second FPL logistical
operative murdered within 2 months, which prompted accusations
of death squad responsibility for both the Grimaldi and earlier
killings. Others suggested that elements inside the FMLN had
reason to silence both men for their knowledge about the FPL
arms caches discovered in Nicaragua. The SIU identified both
suspects and issued arrest warrants, but the alleged
triggerman, Salvador Guzman Perez, was killed the day after his
arrest warrant was issued. The SIU is investigating the Guzman
killing. The other suspect in the Grimaldi case was
apprehended, and the SIU concluded that the murder was not
political. ONUSAL, however, still considered a political
motive possible.
On December 29, a group of four assailants killed Ruben Eduardo
Vanegas Escobar and his grandparents in Ochupse, Santa Ana
department. The killers came to his house and asked for him by
name. Vanegas was a member of the ERP and a local FMLN
leader. The nature of the attack and the fact that nothing was
taken from the house led ONUSAL to investigate the crime as a
possible political killing.
Earlier in the year, on January 5, the badly beaten body of
Supreme Court employee Adelmo Lemus was found in San Salvador.
Lemus had worked for former Supreme Court president Francisco
"Chachi" Guerrero, who was murdered in 1989. ONUSAL initiated
an investigation to determine whether Lemus was killed in a
common crime arising from an unresolved financial transaction
or because he may have spoken to the Truth Commission about
Guerrero's assassination. The case had not been resolved at
year's end.
There were several murders of persons with ties to the ARENA
party that government investigators concluded were the result
of common crime. These include the murders of Sebastian
Araniva in San Miguel, Celestino Antonio Cerna Linares and
Elisandro Eusebio Cerritos Duarte in Santa Ana department, and
Melvin Alexis Garcia Urbina in Morazan department. PN agents
Jose Luis Chicas and Jose Alfredo Bonilla Cruz and ESAF
Lieutenant Jose Francisco Rodriguez Melendez were brutally
murdered in San Salvador, but government investigators concluded
that common crime was the motive.
On December 10, PN agent Pedro Vasquez Ramos and his brother,
Rudy Oswaldo Vasquez Ramos, were kidnaped in Cuscatlan
department. Their bodies were later found in a ravine with
hands and feet bound and shot in the head. Bodily bruises and
broken bones suggested the possibility of torture. The PN,
ONUSAL, and the PDDH initiated investigations.
A previously unknown group, the Salvadoran Revolutionary Front
(FRS), threatened retaliation for the May 20 war wounded
shootings by the government riot police, and claimed
responsibility for the murders of an ESAF captain and two PN
policemen the following day. Most observers believe that the
FRS simply claimed responsibility for the murders to enhance
its credibility. The FRS issued sporadic threats throughout
the remainder of the year, including those against U.S.
military civic action deployment and against high-ranking ESAF
officers, but none was carried out.
On May 21, the day following the war wounded demonstration,
ESAF Captain Juan Hernandez Mejia was killed on a highway near
Guazapa by four armed men, dressed as members of the PN, who
stopped his vehicle. When Hernandez called for help, two
legitimate policemen who responded were also killed. Despite
the FRS claim of responsibility for the murders, ONUSAL
determined that the killings were the result of a highway
robbery committed by a band of heavily armed renegade ex-FMLN
and former ESAF members operating near Guazapa.
There was some progress in resolving outstanding incidents of
human rights abuse from earlier years. In January the report
of an international forensic team investigating the 1981 El
Mozote massacre confirmed that a mass murder had occurred. The
team identified the skeletal remains of 143 people, including
136 children and adolescents, and found that at least 24
individual firearms had been used in the massacre. The
evidence clearly showed that the ESAF was responsible.
Three persons were arrested for the 1992 murder of Dr. Jose
Mauricio Quintana Abrego, an ex-FMLN supporter who had become
an ARENA party member. ONUSAL considered this a possible
political crime.
The Truth Commission, in its report issued March 15, identified
the Government or its agents as responsible for extrajudicial
killings in the cases of Monsignor Romero (1980), the Rio
Sumpul massacre (1980), the leaders of the Revolutionary
Democratic Front (1980), the American nuns (1980), the El
Mozote massacre (1981), the Dutch journalists (1982), the San
Sebastian massacre (1988), the Jesuit priests (1989), and 14
other cases that were examined in detail. The Commission
charged the ESAF, National Guard, and other security forces of
the Government with direct responsibility for the great
majority of the 817 instances of alleged death squad kidnapings,
disappearances, and killings it investigated that occurred from
1980 to 1991.
The Truth Commission found the FMLN responsible for the
assassinations of 11 mayors and numerous judges from 1985 to
1988. It also found the FMLN responsible for extrajudicial
killings in the cases of the Zona Rosa massacre (1985), Anaya
Sanabria (1987), Romero Garcia, also known as "Miguel
Castellanos" (1989), Peccorini Lettona (1989), Garcia Alvarado
(1989), Guerrero (1989), and the two U.S. servicemen killed in
1991 after their helicopter was downed by the FMLN. In the
last case, on May 24 a judge ruled that the accused, Ferman
Hernandez Arevalo and Severiano Fuentes Fuentes, were covered
by the general amnesty law. The San Miguel appeals court
upheld that decision, but both rulings were appealed to the
Supreme Court on the grounds that the crimes were common crimes
not covered by the amnesty law.
The Truth Commission recommended that all persons named in its
report as human rights violators be removed from their positions
in the security forces or the Government and be barred from
public office for 10 years. However, the National Commission
for the Consolidation of Peace (COPAZ), composed of
representatives from across the political spectrum, opposed the
ban on public office as an unconstitutional deprivation of
citizens' rights and as antithetical to national reconciliation,
and requested the U.N. Secretary General not to support it.
The Truth Commission sharply criticized the judicial system for
complicity in covering up or ignoring human rights abuses and
called for the resignation of all the Supreme Court magistrates,
most notably the Supreme Court president, Mauricio Gutierrez
Castro, for unprofessional conduct. The magistrates refused to
resign before the June 1994 expiration of their current terms.
The Truth Commission also recommended significant reforms of
the ESAF and the judiciary. In September the United Nations
expressed satisfaction with the Government's progress in
complying with the reforms of the ESAF. Many of the key
judicial reforms recommended by the Commission are in some
stage of implementation. Others, however, conflict with the
Constitution; amendments require approval by two successive
National Assemblies. The President sent some of the
recommended constitutional reforms without endorsement to the
National Assembly, which did not act on them in 1993.
The 1993 amnesty law was passed by the National Assembly on
March 20, only 5 days following release of the Truth Commission
report. It granted amnesty to those convicted or accused of
political and related common crimes during the conflict,
including those named in the Truth Commission report, and
effectively ended further investigation into most human rights
abuses committed during the war years. The governing ARENA
party and its allies, the National Conciliation Party (PCN) and
the Authentic Christian Movement (MAC), pushed the amnesty law
through the National Assembly in a 47 to 8 vote with 13
abstentions. Hasty passage of this law by the progovernment
parties prompted heavy criticism from local human rights and
opposition groups as well as from international organizations
and foreign governments.
The Ad Hoc Commission established to evaluate the human rights
record, professional competence, and commitment to democracy of
the ESAF officer corps presented its confidential findings,
identifying 103 officers as responsible for human rights
violations, to President Cristiani and U.N. Secretary General
Boutros Ghali on September 22, 1992. The Government failed to
meet the initial November 1992 deadline for implementing the
commission's recommendations, but the last of the officers were
removed from active duty on June 30, 1993, and all were
officially separated by December 31. In July ONUSAL declared
the Government in compliance with the Ad Hoc Commission's
recommendations.
b. Disappearance
The Constitution forbids unacknowledged detention by the
security forces or the military. There were some unconfirmed
allegations of abductions by unspecified government forces, as
well as by the FMLN, during 1993. A significant number of
disappearances during the war years remained unresolved, and
the new amnesty law meant that none of them was likely to be
reopened.
On May 22, Gregorio Mejia Espinosa, a minor official in one of
the parties belonging to the Democratic Convergence coalition,
was kidnaped as he went to catch a bus in San Salvador. The
armed kidnapers bound him and covered his head, transported him
to a secured room, and questioned him about his party's
activities and about student unrest following the May 20 war
wounded shootings. During the questioning, Mejia was burned
numerous times on his chest, perhaps with a soldering device.
He and another captive were then taken to an isolated area
where one of the kidnapers held a pistol to Mejia's head. When
the gun failed to discharge, Mejia made his escape down a
nearby ravine in a heavy rain. Mejia had been threatened
previously by a group called N-ESA (New Salvadoran
Anti-Communist Army). Both ONUSAL and the PDDH considered this
kidnaping to have a possible political motive. No suspects
have been identified in the case.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Torture is prohibited by the Constitution, but abuse and
mistreatment of detainees continued, even though confirmed
reports of torture by the public security forces were fewer
than in the past. From January to October, ONUSAL's human
rights division confirmed six reports of torture, one by the
ESAF, two by the PN, one by an ex-PN member of the PNC, one by
Mariona prison guards, and the unknown perpetrators of the
Mejia kidnaping case described above.
Prison conditions remained bleak, with overcrowding the most
significant problem. The largest prison, built 20 years ago to
hold 800 prisoners, holds 2,200. At the beginning of the civil
war in 1980, 3,000 prisoners were distributed in 30 penal
centers; 14 facilities now hold 5,500 prisoners. Most cells
are 15 by 20 feet, and some hold as many as 24 prisoners.
Because of the overcrowding, some prisoners must sleep on the
floor or "buy" a bed when one becomes available. Prisoners are
fed, but most find it necessary to supplement their rations
with help from family.
On November 17, 27 prisoners died in a riot at the San Francisco
Gotera high-security prison. The most violent inmates in the
national prison system are concentrated in this prison which,
though built to house 160 inmates, actually holds over 300.
The riot was reportedly the result of cell block rivalries and
all the deaths were caused by actions of the prisoners,
including a fire that was set during the riot. The security
forces and the ESAF gained control of the situation in about
5 hours but were criticized for not acting faster.
In January a penitentiary training school was established to
provide 1 month of training to all prison guards and officers
on an annual basis, and guards must now have a ninth-grade
education. These steps and the introduction of a case-tracking
system resulted in some improvement in the treatment of
prisoners. Some training and work opportunities are available,
Spartan health care is provided, and conjugal visits are
allowed. The women's prison and the juvenile detention center
are less crowded, and conditions are somewhat better.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Arbitrary arrest and detention is prohibited by the
Constitution, and its incidence declined, due largely to
enactment of the 1992 Public Defender Law. ONUSAL received 275
complaints of arbitrary or unlawful detention by the security
forces from January through October, a reduction from previous
years. The PN frequently arrested people illegally without a
warrant when police had only a suspicion of a crime. In
September the President of the Supreme Court publicly suggested
that, to control rising criminal activity, the police should
enforce a previously unused "law of dangerous state," under
which they may detain anyone who appeared dangerous, even
though no crime had been committed. In the wake of this
announcement, ONUSAL's police division received some complaints
indicating that the law was being sporadically implemented.
The police may hold a person for 72 hours before presenting him
to court. The practice of obtaining forced confessions during
this 72-hour period was reduced through enforcement of the
Public Defender Law, which guarantees counsel to indigent
defendants from the moment of detention. Public defenders are
now regularly called by the police to provide representation to
detained suspects. From March 1992 to February 1993, public
defenders freed from incarceration approximately 50 percent of
their clients. There is still a large backlog of detainees in
the prison system, however, and approximately 88 percent of all
inmates were awaiting trial or sentencing.
The public defender's office tripled in size over the last
2 years, but there still was an inadequate number of public
defenders. The courts have generally enforced a ruling that
nighttime questioning without the presence of a public defender
is considered coercion and any evidence so obtained is
inadmissible. Questioning now is routinely delayed until
morning and the arrival of the public defender.
When the detainee is delivered to the court, the judge may
order detention for an additional 72 hours to determine if the
evidence warrants holding the accused for further investigation.
The judge is then allowed 120 days to investigate serious
crimes, or 45 days for lesser offenses, before bringing the
accused to trial or dismissing the case. In practice, these
time limits were rarely observed, but a new law to become
effective in 1994 would impose fines against lower court judges
who fail to comply with time restrictions as a result of
negligence.
Although the law permits release pending trial for crimes in
which the maximum penalty does not exceed 3 years, many common
crimes (against property, homicide, murder, manslaughter, and
rape) carry penalties in excess of 3 years, thereby precluding
release pending trial. Because defendants are imprisoned from
the moment they are apprehended, and the judicial process can
take several years, some have been incarcerated longer than the
maximum possible sentence. Any detained person may request a
review (habeas corpus) by the Supreme Court, but the request
must be in writing, and the petitioner has neither access to
the court nor any guarantee that the petition will be reviewed.
The overwhelming majority of such requests are denied.
Salvadoran law does not allow compulsory exile.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judiciary is only nominally independent and has been
severely weakened by political pressures. People who are
well-connected politically, economically, or institutionally,
generally enjoy immunity from prosecution. Political
affiliation and personal ties, rather than professional
capabilities, appear to have been the traditional criteria used
to appoint and reappoint judges.
The court structure is divided into four levels: justices of
the peace, courts of the first instance, courts of the second
instance (appeals courts), and the Supreme Court. Civilian
courts exercise jurisdiction over military personnel who commit
common (nonmilitary) crimes. Jury verdicts can be neither
overruled by a judge nor appealed to a higher court. Sentences,
however, may be appealed up to the Supreme Court. Under the
Constitution, defendants have the right to a presumption of
innocence; protection from self-incrimination; legal counsel;
freedom from coercion; be present in court; the opportunity to
confront witnesses; and compensation for damages due to
judicial error. Most of these rights, however, are frequently
ignored in practice.
Some progress was made in addressing problems in the judiciary,
improving the administrative functions of the courts, updating
the legal codes, and improving the overall professionalism of
the system. The 11 members of the National Council of the
Judiciary (NCJ), the newly independent body that screens and
nominates judicial candidates, are now appointed by the
National Assembly rather than by the Supreme Court. Four are
selected from a list of nominations made by the Supreme Court.
In August the NCJ began screening and nominating judicial
candidates, as well as evaluating sitting judges. The NCJ also
has responsibility for the judicial training school, formerly
under the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, there was still a
troublesome overconcentration of administrative power in the
Supreme Court, which controls the licensing of all attorneys,
disciplinary action against attorneys and judges, and the
removal of judges.
Two reforms were enacted that should eliminate significant
delays and grant greater autonomy to the lower courts. One
repealed the requirement that all lower court decisions
concerning offenses with a potential sentence of more than
3 years (80 percent of all cases) be approved by a higher level
court. The other provided that the judge responsible for
investigating whether there is sufficient evidence to bring the
accused to trial will no longer be the same judge who presides
over the trial.
All available evidence indicates that the Government holds no
political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
According to the Constitution, the police must have the
resident's consent, a warrant, or a reasonable belief that a
crime is being or is about to be committed, before entering a
private dwelling. In practice, forced entry without a warrant
was frequently used to carry out arrests and investigations.
Wiretapping of telephone communications by the Government,
private persons, and political parties is illegal but commonly
occurred.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedom of the press is provided for by the Constitution, and
respected in practice. There was only one reported incident of
violence directed at the press in 1993, a significant
improvement over previous years. On November 1, 30 FMLN
members staged a half-hour demonstration outside the
conservative Diario de Hoy newspaper, protesting an editorial
that suggested the murders of FMLN leaders were the product of
internal purges. The demonstrators burned tires and an effigy
of the paper's owner. During the year, the FRS threatened some
radio and television stations with retaliation if they did not
broadcast its communiques, but despite the refusal of some
stations to comply, the threats were not carried out.
El Salvador has 5 daily newspapers, 8 television stations,
approximately 150 radio stations, and 3 cable television
systems. The Government operates one television station and
one radio station; the FMLN was allocated a VHF television
frequency in September. Both the Catholic Church and the ESAF
have radio stations; the FMLN operates two broadband and
several shortwave radio stations. Print and broadcast
journalists from across a wide political spectrum regularly
criticize the Government and report opposition views, although
reporting by the predominantly conservative media tends to
support the Government. The Government did not use direct or
indirect means to control the media. However, most media
owners are highly successful businessmen, and the reported news
often reflects market pressures and advertisers' interests.
Academic freedom is provided for by the Constitution and is
respected in practice. University autonomy prohibits law
enforcement officials from entering public campuses, and this
also was respected in 1993.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Any association not formed for criminal purposes is legal and
permitted. Numerous political, professional, religious, labor,
and social organizations, including those allied with the FMLN,
operate without legal restriction. Organizations in general
encounter bureaucratic delays when applying for legal
recognition, but this did not appear directed at any one
group. Since the signing of the peace accords, FMLN members
and others on the left held or freely participated in open
forums and political rallies throughout the country.
Contentious political issues were regularly the subject of
seminars, conferences, and media discussions.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution and is
respected. Roman Catholicism is the official religion and
practiced by approximately 75 percent of the population, but
other faiths, mostly evangelical Protestantism, have grown
rapidly in popularity. These groups practice without hindrance.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution establishes the right of free movement.
Article 97 states that foreigners may not involve themselves in
the internal political affairs of the country, and the
Government reserves the right to deny entry to, or deport,
foreigners believed to violate that section of the law.
Freedom of movement throughout the country is permitted by the
Government. There are no restrictions on citizens changing
their residence or workplace. A major effort by the Government
to issue or replace citizen documentation in the 115
municipalities affected by the armed conflict continued in 1993.
The Government has provisions for granting asylum and refugee
status. Since the end of the regional conflicts in Central
America, the number of refugees in El Salvador has declined to
very few. The Government imposes no control on emigration and
cooperates with international organizations that arrange
Salvadoran emigration to other countries.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
The Salvadoran people exercise the right to change their
government peacefully through regularly scheduled elections.
Past elections have been judged free and fair, notwithstanding
the climate of fear and violence perpetrated by both government
and rebel forces during the civil war. The President and Vice
President are elected every 5 years. Legislative and municipal
elections are held every 3 years. Elections for all national
and local offices will be held in March 1994, and ONUSAL has
been invited to certify them. It established an electoral
division in June to oversee the electoral process. Various
other nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) are also expected
to observe the elections. The President is constitutionally
barred from reelection to a second consecutive term. Voting is
by secret ballot, and there is universal suffrage.
The last 11 mayors elected in 1991, whom the FMLN had prevented
from assuming their offices in the former conflict areas,
returned to their municipalities by February, and local
governmental functions in these areas began to return to normal.
The field of political parties continued to expand in 1993.
The FMLN, inscribed as a political party in December 1992,
announced its political candidates and began campaigning for
the 1994 general elections. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal
(TSE) approved the Unity Movement and the Free People's Party
as new political parties, bringing to 10 the total number of
duly registered parties. The TSE organized a massive campaign
to reach the 750,000 eligible voters without voter cards by
November, focusing on the underrepresented, primarily youth and
women; the latter totaled 60 percent of citizens without voter
cards, according to the TSE. To encourage registration
further, the National Assembly passed a law in September making
the voter registration card a required document for
identification purposes as of March 1, 1994. The registration
drive, completed November 20, was successful, though
applications were still being processed at the end of the
year. It is estimated that at least 85 percent of eligible
voters will be able to vote in the March election.
The number of women in politics is small but growing. A Vice
President of the National Assembly is a woman, as are 7 other
Assembly Deputies, out of 84. Three Cabinet Ministers are
female, as are 33 of 262 mayors.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
A number of nongovernmental human rights organizations,
including the Catholic Church's Tutela Legal and the Human
Rights Commission (CDHES), operated actively without government
interference. Frequently echoing FMLN positions, the CDHES
focuses primarily on alleged abuses by the Government. The
CDHES also follows cases through the investigation and trial
stages, provides free legal assistance, and publishes monthly
reports. Tutela Legal, the human rights office of the
Archdiocese of San Salvador, also focuses on allegations of
government abuses, follows cases, and publishes periodic
reports. Numerous other church, labor, and university groups
and NGO's have human rights offices that operate without legal
restriction. In addition, various international human rights
groups visit or operate without government restrictions.
The first Human Rights Ombudsman was elected by the National
Assembly in 1992. As the only human rights organization
specifically established by the Constitution, the Ombudsman's
Office (PDDH) is charged with receiving allegations of human
rights abuses committed by government officials, investigating
them and, if warranted, lodging official complaints against
specific officials. The PDDH supplanted the Human Rights
Commission (CDH) as the officially mandated human rights
monitoring organization.
The United Nations Observer Mission (ONUSAL) is mandated to
verify and monitor implementation of agreements between the
Government and the FMLN, to investigate alleged human rights
violations, and to conduct educational and public awareness
campaigns promoting human rights. It makes recommendations to
the Government and the FMLN and also reports directly to the
U.N. Secretary General. In its July report, ONUSAL found that
the overall human rights situation continued to improve, but
noted continued human rights abuses and a serious problem with
common crime. Its October report noted concern over a serious
regression in the human rights situation, most notably the
increase in extrajudicial killings of political leaders and the
generally rising crime rate. On the positive side, ONUSAL
praised the continuing progress in implementing institutional
changes to protect human rights, and the absence of any
verifiable cases of disappearances in 1993.
The PDDH began investigating reports of human rights abuses in
July 1992. As of June 1993, the PDDH had received over 2,000
reports, and it opened regional offices in Santa Ana, San
Miguel, and San Vicente. The number of reports received
monthly jumped to 300 in July and over 400 in August. The PDDH
budget for 1994, approximately $2.5 million, is double 1993's
budget but still inadequate to duplicate ONUSAL's human rights
monitoring operation when it terminates its mission in 1994.
ONUSAL has praised the progress made by the PDDH since its
inception, but some human rights groups have expressed concerns
about the PDDH's capabilities. The PDDH should gain both
experience and stature in 1994 through the involvement of its
director as part of the Joint Group established on December 8
to investigate possible political violence since the peace
accords.
The PDDH lodged public complaints of human rights abuses
against various government agencies, most frequently the PN and
the judiciary, and in numerous cases made specific
recommendations for improvements in procedures and even for
indemnification of victims. Some of the PDDH's complaints and
recommendations were ignored. The PDDH publicly criticized the
chief of the PN Fifth Command in San Miguel for refusing to
cooperate with judicial investigations of human rights abuses.
The PDDH said, however, that a number of institutions did act
on its recommendations in a satisfactory manner. The Executive
Anti-Narcotics Unit, for example, agreed to obtain judicial
search warrants prior to entry. The PN antiriot unit agreed
not to use war weapons to control demonstrations. Other
institutions, including the San Salvador municipal police and
the ESAF 2nd infantry brigade, took corrective actions
following violations of administrative due process.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution states that all people are equal before the
law and prohibits discrimination based on nationality, race,
sex, or religion.
Women
Women are granted the same legal rights as men under the
Constitution, but suffer discrimination in practice. To
improve the situation of women and children, the National
Assembly passed a new Family Code in October. The new Code
updates some laws that discriminated against women and
children, most notably those living in informal unions.
Spousal rights are granted to those who can prove that they
lived together as a couple for at least 3 years, a status
similar to common law marriage, significant because a large
percentage of couples never officially marry.
Women also suffer from economic discrimination and do not have
equal access to credit and land ownership. Wages paid to
professional women remain lower than those paid to men in the
same profession, and women in nonprofessional jobs are
generally also paid less than similarly qualified men.
Sixty-five percent of the economically active female population
work in the informal economy. Training geared to females tends
to focus on areas where they are already employed and on
generally low-income occupations: teaching, nursing, home
industries, or small businesses.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, is
widespread. The Isidro Menendez Judicial Center received 564
reports of sexual violence against women in 1992, and it
estimates that only 5 percent of total cases were reported.
Hospitals reported a monthly average of 56 rapes in the capital
city of San Salvador from January to September, while the
police received only three reports per month in the same
period. To increase reporting of rapes, victims have been
encouraged, through a regular newspaper campaign by the
Attorney General's office, to come forward and press charges
immediately after the assault has occurred. Since 1991 a
public prosecutor has been on duty 24 hours a day at the San
Salvador children's hospital to assist rape victims and their
families in taking legal action. Nevertheless, prosecution of
rape cases is difficult because of pervasive cultural attitudes.
There are over 100 women's organizations to assist low-income
women, and women's issues have been raised in the 1994 election
campaign. Major concerns for women's rights groups are equal
rights, unemployment, access to credit and skills training,
illiteracy, health services, family planning, child care, and
violence against women.
Children
The Government recognizes its responsibility for children's
rights and welfare, though this is reflected more in its
efforts to reduce poverty and promote family stability through
economic growth than in direct expenditure on children. The
1994 government budget for the Institute for the Protection of
Children is $4.6 million, a 57-percent increase over 1993.
Given the magnitude of children's health and welfare problems,
the increased spending levels are still insufficient. In the
context of total resources available to the Government,
however, expenditures are substantial. In addition,
$41 million in Salvadoran debt payments over the next 20 years
will be placed in an account to fund child survival and
environmental programs.
The new Family Code updates laws dealing with children, gives
equal rights to children born out of wedlock, and tightens
adoption procedures. Sexual abuse of children is another
problem receiving growing attention. The San Salvador
children's hospital treated between four and five cases per day
of sexually abused children in 1993. Child malnutrition and
the large numbers of orphans are also significant problems.
Indigenous People
El Salvador is an ethnically homogeneous country, though a
small segment of the population claims to have descended solely
from indigenous peoples. The last census of Indians in El
Salvador showed 80,000 in 1930, or 5.6 percent of the
population. In 1932 approximately 30,000 were killed by
government forces following an abortive uprising. In the face
of such repression, most remaining indigenous people adopted
local customs and successfully assimilated into the general
population. There remain a few very small communities of
indigenous people who still wear traditional dress, speak their
native language, and maintain traditional customs without
repression or interference. The Salvadoran National Indigenous
Association (ANIS), headquartered in Sonsonate, promotes
indigenous culture and language. The civil and political
rights of indigenous people and their ability to participate in
decisions affecting their lands, traditions, and allocation of
natural resources are protected and respected by the Government
to the same extent as other Salvadorans of comparable
socioeconomic status.
People with Disabilities
Except for the war wounded, who have secured both government
and international funding for rehabilitation and retraining
programs, the Government has no program to combat
discrimination against the disabled, nor are there any laws
mandating provision of access for people with disabilities.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The 1983 Constitution prohibits the Government from using
nationality, race, sex, creed, or political philosophy to
prevent workers or employers from organizing themselves into
unions or associations. Full realization of the freedom of
association called for in the Constitution has been impeded by
numerous and sometimes conflicting laws governing labor
relations; the current Labor Code prohibits partisan political
activity by unions. This prohibition is routinely ignored;
eight labor leaders currently serve in the National Assembly,
and labor continued to play an important role in partisan
activities.
In the 1992 peace accords, the Government committed itself to
seek consensus on revised labor legislation through a
socioeconomic forum with equal representation from labor
(including groups aligned with the FMLN), government, and the
private sector. During 1993, labor, the private sector, and
the Government moved haltingly toward producing a revised Labor
Code. In August the forum sectors signed a tripartite
agreement on approval of certain International Labor
Organization (ILO) conventions, granting legal status to labor
unions and associations and establishing a framework to govern
labor relations. ILO technical experts informally assisted the
parties to review international labor conventions, and the
forum submitted 11 to the Assembly for ratification. The ILO
also reviewed and made recommendations for reforming the
existing Labor Code and other labor legislation, including the
Organic Law for the Ministry of Labor.
The ILO recommended 49 changes to the Labor Code. Although the
socioeconomic forum discussed these recommendations through
early December, it was unable to agree on a draft to submit to
the Assembly. The Government then submitted its own version of
the ILO recommendations to the Assembly, based on what it
believed to be fair compromises between positions held by labor
and business in the forum talks. The ILO reviewed the
Government's version and reported that there were no significant
changes from its original recommendations. The legislation is
scheduled to be debated and voted on in early 1994. Most
importantly, the proposed changes would streamline the process
required to form a union; extend union rights to agricultural,
independent, and small-business workers; and extend the right
to strike to union federations (at the present time only
unions, not union federations, have the right to call a
strike). The Government has not sought ratification of ILO
conventions on freedom of association because this would
require changes in the Constitution.
There are approximately 150 active unions, public employee
associations, and peasant organizations, which represent over
300,000 Salvadorans, approximately 20 percent of the total work
force. Unions are not under pressure to affiliate with the
Government or other political forces; nevertheless, many labor
organizations have close ties to various political groups.
Labor alliances change frequently, but the Intergremial, an
umbrella organization including most major labor organizations,
continued to enjoy the prominence it gained with the 1991
presentation of a draft labor code and labor's participation in
the forum. The current Labor Code forbids foreigners from
holding leadership positions in unions, but unions freely
affiliate with international labor organizations.
Only private sector nonagricultural workers have the right to
form unions and strike; employees of nine autonomous public
agencies may form unions but not strike. Nevertheless, workers
from other sectors, including the public sector, have carried
out strikes that, while technically illegal, were treated as
legitimate. Even in sectors where the right to strike exists,
strikes are sometimes technically illegal as labor and
management often ignore the onerous and time-consuming legal
requirements to settle labor disputes. Public sector strikes,
though illegal, are frequent and are generally settled through
negotiations between public employee associations and the
Government. Mandatory arbitration of public sector disputes is
provided for under the Labor Code. Proposed changes to the
Labor Code would give the right to form unions and strike to
all private sector workers and streamline legal requirements.
In August members of the public health workers' union began a
strike to demand a salary increase, a designated hospital for
their use and that of their family members, and improved
hospital conditions. Pointing to the public sector status of
the union's members, the Government refused to meet the
strikers' demands and fired a number of them. After nearly a
month, the Government and most of the organizations backing the
strike reached a compromise agreement; the Government agreed to
reinstate fired workers, drop legal proceedings against them,
and consider a salary raise. There were credible reports,
however, that the Government failed to reinstate all fired
workers to their previously held positions and pay, that some
striking employees lost their seniority, and that legal
proceedings continued against some of the union officials.
Antiunion actions before a union is legally registered are
prohibited; however, in practice, there are credible charges
that the Government impeded union registration through exacting
reviews of union documentation and strict interpretation of the
Constitution, Labor Code, and union statutes. Under the
February "Agreement on Principles and Commitments," signed by
government, labor, and private sector representatives, the
Government agreed to review previously denied applications for
legal status among both private sector unions and agricultural
and public sector associations. The Minister of Labor, whom
labor had accused in 1992 of conspiring with management to
frustrate union registration by informing management of
potential legal challenges to a registration application, was
replaced in 1993.
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
alleged in 1993 that signing the peace accords had not
succeeded in checking the abuse of trade union rights, citing
reports from its affiliate, FENASTRAS, of the killing of 20
trade unionists in 1992, many by death squads; other instances
of death threats against trade union leaders and instances of
abductions; continued denial by the Government of the
registration of a union at the ADOC shoe factory; and other
incidents involving antiunion discrimination and the firing of
workers for trade union activities. In a report released in
November, however, an ILO direct contact mission stated that no
persons were being detained for trade union activities, that
there had been no further searches of trade union premises, and
that violence against trade unionists had declined substantially
in the previous year.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The right of collective bargaining is granted in both the
Constitution and the existing Labor Code, but public sector
employees are not covered in either. The Labor Code grants
this right only to employees in the private sector and in
autonomous agencies of the Government, such as utilities and
the port authority. However, both private sector unions (by
law) and public sector employee associations (in practice) use
the mechanism of collective bargaining extensively. Labor Code
protection for agricultural workers, now inadequate, would be
expanded by proposed Labor Code reforms.
The Ministry of Labor is responsible for overseeing the
implementation of collective bargaining agreements and acting
as conciliator in labor disputes in the private sector and
autonomous government institutions. In practice, government
ministers and the heads of autonomous government institutions
often negotiate with labor organizations directly, relying on
the Labor Ministry only for such duties as officially
certifying unions. The Ministry of Labor often seeks to
conciliate labor disputes through informal channels rather than
attempting strictly to enforce regulations, leading to charges
of bias against labor. Corruption continues to be another
serious problem affecting labor courts.
The Constitution prohibits discrimination against unions. It
provides that union officials at the time of their election,
throughout their term, and for 1 year following their term
shall not be fired, suspended for disciplinary reasons,
removed, or demoted except for legal cause. This provision is
generally observed in practice, but in some cases those
attempting to form unions have been fired before receiving
union credentials. Employers are required to rehire employees
fired for any type of union activity, though this requirement
is sometimes not enforced.
There are four functioning export processing zones (EPZ's) and
two more under construction. Labor regulations in these zones
are identical to those throughout the country. Companies
operating in the EPZ's, while providing higher salaries and
benefits than companies outside the EPZ's, strongly discourage
organizing and in some cases have fired workers attempting to
organize. The ICFTU's allegation that "all attempts to form
trade unions in free trade zones have led to the dismissal of
the workers concerned," is too broad, but the point that
unionization efforts encounter strong resistance in the EPZ's
is valid.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor except in
the case of calamity and other instances specified by law.
This provision is followed in practice. The ILO Committee of
Experts continued to criticize provisions in the Penal Code
which allow the imposition of penalties involving compulsory
labor against companies for activities related to the
expression of political opinion.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The Constitution prohibits the employment of children under the
age of 14. Exceptions may be made only where such employment
is absolutely indispensable to the sustenance of the minor and
his family, most often the case with children of peasant
families who traditionally work with their families during
planting and harvesting seasons. Children also frequently work
as vendors and general laborers in small businesses, especially
in the informal sector. Parents of children in circumstances
such as these often do not allow their children to complete
schooling through the ninth grade as the law requires, since
the labor which the children perform is considered vital to the
family. Child labor is not a problem in the industrial
sector. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing
child labor laws.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
In January the Government passed legislation raising the
minimum wages for commercial, industrial, service, and
agroindustrial employees; over the course of the year the
Government increased the minimum wage on two occasions by a
total of 22 percent. The new rate for industrial and service
workers was about $3.50 (31 colones) per day; agricultural
workers must be paid about $2.35 (20 colones) in wages,
including a food allowance, per day. Despite these increases,
minimum wages are generally inadequate to meet the Ministry of
Economy's standard of basic necessity. An estimated 40 percent
of the population lives below the poverty level. The Labor
Ministry is responsible for enforcing minimum wage laws and
does so effectively in the formal sector. Accurate statistics
are not available for the large informal sector.
The law limits the workday to 6 hours for minors between 14 and
18 years of age and 8 hours for adults. Premium pay is
mandated for longer hours. The Labor Code sets a maximum
normal workweek of 44 hours, requiring overtime pay for
additional work and limiting the workweek to no more than
6 days.
The Constitution and the Labor Code require employers, including
the Government, to take steps to ensure that employees are not
placed at risk in their workplaces, and prohibit the employment
of persons under 18 years of age and all women in occupations
considered hazardous. Nevertheless, Salvadoran health and
safety regulations are outdated, and inadequate enforcement
remains a problem. The Ministry of Labor attempts to enforce
the applicable regulations and conducts investigations which
sometimes lead to fines or other findings favoring workers.
The Ministry has very limited powers to enforce compliance,
however, and has suffered severe cutbacks in human resources to
carry out certification and inspection duties, which severely
limited its effectiveness.
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