DistantNews
Support us
Salvadoran rights group says the state still owes justice to civil war victims
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Salvadoran rights group says the state still owes justice to civil war victims

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Context piece
  • The Commission for Human Rights of El Salvador said the state still owes truth, justice and reparations to victims of the 1980-1992 civil war.
  • The conflict caused about 75,000 deaths, 8,000 disappearances and hundreds of massacres, none of which has been prosecuted, according to the report.
  • Relatives marked the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances and criticized successive governments, including President Nayib Bukele’s administration.

More than four decades after El Salvador’s civil war, relatives of the disappeared say they are still waiting for the state to acknowledge what happened and provide justice.

Members of the Commission for Human Rights of El Salvador, which includes relatives of conflict victims, made the accusation on Aug. 30, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. They called for truth, justice and reparations for victims of both the civil war and current disappearances.

The Salvadoran state remains in debt to the victims of forced disappearances from the armed conflict and current disappearances.

— Commission for Human Rights of El SalvadorThe rights group called for state action on disappearances linked to the civil war and the present day.

“The Salvadoran state remains in debt to the victims of forced disappearances from the armed conflict and current disappearances,” the commission said. “The suffering of the victims must not be forgotten.” It added: “The hope of finding them alive is what keeps us alive.”

The suffering of the victims must not be forgotten.

— Commission for Human Rights of El SalvadorThe commission’s appeal during the commemoration of victims of enforced disappearances.

The 1980-1992 war left about 75,000 people dead, roughly 8,000 missing and hundreds of civilian massacres, according to the account. None of those massacres has been brought to court. Human rights activists say many victims’ relatives are now elderly and have waited more than 40 years for truth, justice and reparations.

The commission also criticized President Nayib Bukele, saying his government carries a historic responsibility to support victims. It noted that El Salvador has held no official events since Bukele took office in 2019 to commemorate the 1992 Peace Accords that ended the war. The account also cited allegations of human rights violations during his presidency.

The hope of finding them alive is what keeps us alive.

— Commission for Human Rights of El SalvadorRelatives described the continuing search for people who disappeared.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog