On March 27, following a spate of homicides that left 87 people dead in one weekend, President Nayib Bukele’s government declared a national state of emergency in El Salvador, which has since been extended five times. During a state of emergency, certain constitutional guarantees such as the rights to due process, legal defense, and freedom of assembly, may be temporarily suspended. Bukele's government, however, is using the state of emergency—under the pretext of cracking down on gangs— to justify massive restrictions of civil liberties and large-scale human rights abuses, in violation of international law. These measures are part of a pattern of growing authoritarian tendencies and deteriorating rule of law in El Salvador.
The ongoing state of emergency has given rise to widespread human rights abuses by Salvadoran authorities, including arbitrary detentions, torture and degrading treatment, illegal trespassing, and due process violations. In less than five months over 50,000 people have been detained, making El Salvador the country with the second-largest incarcerated population per capita, second only to the US; most of these detentions were arbitrary, carried out as part of mass raids by the National Civil Police. According to the latest figures, 72 people detained since the start of the state of emergency have died in custody.
In light of this grave situation, on Monday, September 12, at 12:00pm EST, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress will hold a virtual hearing to learn more about and analyze what is ocurring in El Salvador and consider what the international community can do in response.
Leonor Arteaga, program director of DPLF, will participate as a witness in the hearing to address the serious implications that this measure has had on the rights of Salvadorans.
Learn more here.
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