As of August, DPLF, a regional organization based in Washington DC, that uses advocacy and research to promote stronger rule of law and more effective justice systems across Latin America, will now have permanent representation in El Salvador, which will continue –and strengthen- our work around justice and human rights issues in Central America.

Respect for rule of law, dedication to upholding democratic principles, and protecting human rights are critical issues as Central America contends with challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and new waves of authoritarianism. Our permanent office in El Salvador will progressively increase the focus of its work to include neighboring countries, such as Guatemala and Honduras.

Our El Salvador office is led by Sonia Rubio-Padilla, a Salvadoran-Mexican lawyer and political scientist, with a PhD in Rule of Law and Global Governance from the University of Salamanca, and Juan Carlos Sánchez, a Salvadoran journalist, with studies in law and social anthropology. They will work in coordination with Leonor Arteaga, DPLF’s Program Director for Impunity and Grave Human Rights Violations, who is based in Washington DC. Leonor is also a Salvadoran lawyer, and Commissioner of the National Commission for the Search of Adult Disappeared Persons in the Context of the El Salvador Armed Conflict (CONABUSQUEDA), an ad honorem position.

This team will monitor and report on issues such as judicial independence, transitional justice, corruption and impunity, and human rights concerns related to public safety policies. The new office will work to create broad alliances with different national actors and promote the effective and strategic use of international human rights mechanisms and standards.

DPLF was founded 23 years ago by the members of the UN Truth Commission for El Salvador, based on the conviction that human rights could only be guaranteed by strong and independent national judicial systems. Several years ago, DPLF became one of the first organizations to use international standards to open the selection processes for high court judges in Latin America to public scrutiny. Our recent efforts in El Salvador were instrumental in urging the Supreme Court to annul the amnesty law, and in the establishment of a National Commission to search for those forcefully disappeared during the armed conflict. We also analyzed El Salvador’s challenges in addressing rampant corruption and presented concrete recommendations for improving the country’s Attorney General selection process.

DPLF’s El Salvador office will be located at final Calle La Mascota y Avenida Jerusalén Sur. Número 1015, Urbanización Maquilishuat. San Salvador, El Salvador.

Our team can be reached via email at srubiop@dplf.org