El Salvador: UN expert on transitional justice to review progress

Spanish

GENEVA (17 April 2019) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Fabian Salvioli, will carry out an official visit to El Salvador from 24 April to 3 May 2019 to examine progress in redressing the legacies of massive past violations and abuses.

In 1993, a UN-backed Truth Commission issued a report documenting the cases of more than 75,000 people who were tortured, killed or forcibly disappeared during the armed conflict from 1980 to 1992, and recommended that those responsible for human rights violations and abuses be brought to justice.

“My visit aims to learn about and evaluate the measures taken by the authorities in the areas of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence – the four pillars of my mandate – to address the serious human rights violations committed during the armed conflict,” the expert said.

“I will examine the various initiatives taken, identify good practices, gaps and challenges, and formulate recommendations.”

The human rights expert will meet Government officials, representatives of the legislature, members of the judiciary, the armed forces, the national human rights institution, civil society, victims’ groups, academics and representatives of the international community.

He is scheduled to visit San Salvador and other locations in the country.

The expert will present his preliminary findings and recommendations at a press conference to be held at 11:00 local time on 3 May 2019 at the UN building, Blvd. Orden de Malta Sur, No. 2-B, Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad. Access to the press conference will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur’s final report on the visit will be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2020.

ENDS

Mr. Fabian Salvioli (Argentina) was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 as the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. He is a human rights lawyer and professor. Fabián Salvioli is professor of International Law and Human Rights at the School of Law of the University of La Plata. He has lectured in many countries and universities across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. Mr. Salvioli has authored several books and articles on international human rights law. He was member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee between 2009 and 2016, and its President between 2015 and 2016. As a Special Rapporteur, Mr. Salvioli is part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page: El Salvador

For further information and media enquiries, please contact: During the mission: Ms. Brenda Vukovic (+41 079 444 3940 / bvukovic@ohchr.org) and Carlos Rodríguez (+507 6671 3569 / crodriguez@ohchr.org)

After the mission: Ms Brenda Vukovic (+41 22 917 9635 / Bvukovic@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts: Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.

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