El Salvador: Information on ill-treatment of Catholics by Evangelists, and on whether the majority of members of Evangelist faiths are former military men, 1995-96
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV25048.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Information on ill-treatment of Catholics by Evangelists, and on whether the majority of members of Evangelist faiths are former military men, 1995-96, 1 November 1996, SLV25048.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab0138.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on cases of ill-treatment or violence against Catholics by Evangelists in El Salvador could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
A representative of the Tutela Legal del Arzobispado, the human rights office of the Catholic archdiocese of El Salvador, stated in a 21 November 1996 telephone interview that there are no known cases of violence against Catholics by Evangelists (at least for reasons of religion, as there could be incidents with non-religious motivation in which individuals happen to belong to different faiths). The source described the relationship between Catholics and the "historic" or long-established Protestant churches as "excellent" (ibid.). The only conflicts that have pitted Catholics against Evangelists (a broad term used to define Protestant or non-Catholic Christian groups) have been verbal conflicts, usually triggered by verbal attacks on the Catholic dogma by members of fundamentalist Evangelist sects (ibid.). Regarding the religious affiliation of former members of the armed forces, the source stated that the majority of current and former members of the armed forces have always been Catholic, even though there are some who belong to Evangelist churches (ibid.). Finally, the source stated that although there are no definite figures or studies on the past occupation of current members of religious groups, former military men are unlikely to constitute a majority or even a large part of any significant Evangelist church (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Tutela Legal del Arzobispado, San Salvador. 21 November 1996. Telephone interview with director.
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report. Yearly.
Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. Fortnightly.
Central America Report [Guatemala City]. Weekly.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.
Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Yearly.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Weekly.
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LCHR Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly.
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Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.
Newspapers and periodicals pertaining to the appropriate region.
IRB, USINS and UNHCR databases.
Note:
This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.