The International Group of Experts for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations under the State of Emergency in El Salvador (GIPES) presents its final report entitled: “El Salvador at the Crossroads: Crimes against Humanity under the Public Security Policy.”
GIPES was formed with the aim of investigating the alleged serious human rights violations taking place in the context of the State of Exception public security policy that has been in place of El Salvador since March 2022 and determining whether they might constitute crimes against humanity. The group is made up of five internationally recognized jurists: Susana SáCouto, Claudia Martin, Gino Costa, José Guevara, and Santiago Canton. Their final report is supported by the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), InterJust, the IMPACTUM Research Project, and the Program for the Study of Human Rights in Context at Ghent University (Belgium).
The Group concluded that the serious human rights violations committed by the government of El Salvador during the state of emergency may indeed constitute crimes against humanity because of the widespread and systematic nature of the attacks, their commission against the civilian population, and their commission as part of a State policy or plan. While the group recognizes the legitimate demands of the Salvadoran population for security and the State’s obligation to combat violence and guarantee peace, they also emphasize that this obligation cannot be fulfilled by the commission of crimes against humanity.
The analysis of this report focuses on two types of attacks or aggressions: one against gang members or perceived gang members, and the other against political opponents or those perceived as such. To carry out their research, GIPES reviewed journalistic investigations, official information, national and international reports, and met with victims, civil society, academics, lawyers, and journalists, including in visits to the country. They examined human rights violations including imprisonment—including the detention of children and adolescents—torture, murder, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, persecution, and other inhumane acts.
In addition to the analysis of human rights abuses being committed, the Group’s report also includes a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the ongoing state of emergency on democracy and the rule of law. They conclude that the state of exception has been accompanied by a progressive dismantling of the separation of powers and democratic safeguards, concentrating power in the Executive Branch, and that this has led to the exercise of unlimited power, in opacity and in structural conditions of impunity.
GIPES’ report concludes with a series of recommendations, for both the Salvadoran State and the international community. They urge the State of El Salvador establish an independent commission to review cases of those detained under the state of exception, with international support, as well as put an end to the state of emergency and its accompanying criminal reforms, which violate international law. They also encourage the United Nations Human Rights Council to create an international mission to determine human rights violations in order to ensure accountability and justice for the victims.
