This week, DPLF, WOLA, the Mauricio Aquino Foundation, and the University of Washington Center for Human Rights will carry out a series of activities in Washington, DC, linking together information and analysis on the current situation of forced disappearances that occurred in El Salvador during the armed conflict.

Accompanied by the organizations, young relatives of disappeared persons as well as the Human Rights Ombudsman of El Salvador will meet with Congress, the State Department, and the local Salvadoran and human rights communities. Through these activities, we hope to open a dialogue on the challenges that face El Salvador in order to overcome impunity and the debts of the past, the actions that should be taken by the government and the justice system, and the role of the United States in the declassification of documents to aid the search for truth and justice.

According to the El Salvador Truth Commission, close to 5000 persons were forcibly disappeared between 1980 and 1992. This number is estimated by civil society groups to be closer to 10,000. No case has been resolved at the initiative of the State, nor have any comprehensive investigations been undertaken against those responsible. With a new Attorney General that shows openness to the issue and a government that wants to strengthen the Rule of Law, it is urgent to take measures to address the hundreds of families that still await a response and to guarantee that their hurtful past is not repeated.

Forum “Digging for the truth: Access to information about forced disappearances in wartime El Salvador”

Briefing “Forced Disappearances During El Salvador’s Civil War and Their Consequences Today“

Additional information

See the hearing before the IACHR “Impunity for Grave Human Rights Violations During the Armed Conflict in El Salvador”