Summary

The Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Fabián Salvioli, presents his report on his visit to El Salvador from 23 April to 3 May 2019, in which he examines the progress made in the implementation of transitional justice measures to address the serious human rights and international humanitarian law violations committed during the armed conflict.

The report acknowledges the progress made following the signing of the El Salvador Peace Agreement (the Chapultepec Agreement) in terms of truth and guarantees of nonrecurrence, the more recent initiatives in the search for adults and children who have disappeared, the public apologies issued and the initial steps taken to move forward with the criminal investigation of the violations committed during the armed conflict. However, the report also highlights setbacks and delays that are cause for great concern, such as the impunity mechanism that lasted for more than two decades after the adoption of the Amnesty Act and the slow pace of criminal investigations after the Act was declared unconstitutional; the obstacles to gaining access to the military archives; the inadequacy of the reparation and historical memory processes; and the bills on national reconciliation debated in the Legislative Assembly. The report emphasizes the abandonment of the victims more than 30 years after the end of the conflict and urges the Government to move forward with those aspects of the transitional justice agenda that are still pending.

The report concludes with recommendations addressed to the Government, the international community and civil society institutions.