In July 2016, the Constitutional Chamber of El Salvador's Supreme Court struck down the 1993 Amnesty Law, which had served to limit investigations and prosecutions of major human rights abuses that took place during El Salvador's 1980 - 1992 civil war. This ruling, which opens the door to justice for wartime atrocities, was long-awaited but has provoked controversy in El Salvador.
In accordance with the Constitutional Chamber’s ruling, in September 2016 a criminal court judge reopened the investigation into the El Mozote massacre, which had been closed 23 years prior by virtue of the Amnesty Law. The Attorney General of the Republic has indicated that his office does not have the resources to pursue this investigation and, at present, has not demonstrated any progress in this or any other case related to the armed conflict.
According to a UN Truth Commission, more than 75,000 people were tortured, unlawfully killed, or forcibly disappeared during the twelve-year conflict. 95% of these cases are attributed to the armed forces and paramilitary groups, and 5% to the guerilla movement Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN).
The Constitutional Chamber’s decision was well-received by human rights organizations and victims’ collectives. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and a group of United Nations independent experts applauded the derogation of the Amnesty Law, the legitimacy of which had been questioned for violating domestic and international law.
However, former high-level military officers, government officials, and opposition politicians rejected the decision and warned that it would lead to a witch hunt that could jeopardize peace. Certain elites have called on the authorities to prioritize the large-scale corruption and gang violence that currently ravages the country, rather than pursuing cases for crimes that occurred more than two decades ago.
In a country with alarming levels of criminality and little effective rule of law, does impunity for crimes of the past contribute to impunity for crime today? Is there a connection between the methods used by criminal organizations, the iron-fist police response, and the lack of attention to victims? Is this related to the legacy of the armed conflict?
Join us for a discussion on the future of El Salvador without the Amnesty Law with Sidney Blanco, Constitutional Chamber Justice of the Supreme Court of El Salvador; Naomi Roht-Arriaza, professor at the Hastings College of Law of the University of California and President of the Board of DPLF; and Leonor Arteaga, Senior Program Officer for Impunity and Transitional Justice at DPLF. Geoff Thale, Program Director at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), will moderate the discussion.
The event will be streamed through DPLF’s Facebook page
There will be simultaneous interpretation
RSVP here