El Salvador: Information on the involvement of the National Police in human rights violations during the armed conflict
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV27062.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Information on the involvement of the National Police in human rights violations during the armed conflict, 1 June 1997, SLV27062.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac1386.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. |
Please find attached some documents that refer to abuses by the National Police (PN) during the 1980s and early 1990s. These documents supplement the information provided in previous Responses to Information Requests dealing with the PN, including SLV18257.E of 23 September 1994 (which refers to rape by policemen) and SLV13214 of 18 February 1993, among others.
Some of the attachments provide examples of abuses attributed to the PN, while others, such as the excerpts from the September 1993 William Stanley report and the 1990 El Salvador: A Country Study, provide general statements on the involvement of the PN and the other two branches of the Security Forces (Treasury Police and National Guard) in human rights violations. The latter excerpt also provides a general description of the PN's organization.
Please note that the attached excerpts from a March 1994 report by Jack Spence et al includes references to the Executive Anti-Narcotics Unit of the PN, which supplements Response to Information Request SLV27061.E of 26 June 1997.
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.
Attachments
Americas Watch [New York]. 10 August 1993. Vol. 5, No. 7. "El Salvador: Accountability and Human Rights: The Report of the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador," p. 17.
Americas Watch. March 1991. El Salvador and Human Rights: The Challenge of Reform. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 6-7.
_____. March 1990. A Year of Reckoning: El Salvador a Decade After the Assassination of Archbishop Romero. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. I-V.
_____. September 1988. Nightmare Revisited 1987-88. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 20-23.
_____. 30 August 1987. The Civilian Toll 1986-1987. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 193-202.
Amnesty International. October 1988. El Salvador: "Death Squads"A Government Strategy. (AI Index: AMR 29/21/88) London: Amnesty International, pp. 4-6.
Area Handbook Series. El Salvador: A Country Study. 1990. Edited by Richard A. Haggerty. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, pp. 229-31.
Barry, Tom. 1990. El Salvador: A Country Guide. Albuquerque, N. Mex.: The Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center, pp. 41-45.
Inter Press Service (IPS). 30 January 1985. Anne Manuel. "El Salvador: Despite Improvements, Human Rights Remain 'Terrible'." (NEXIS)
Los Angles Times. 21 January 1992. Home Edition. Marjorie Miller. "Profile: Police Coordinator to Walk a Tightrope; a Mild-Mannered, Moderate Lawyer is Charged With Setting Up a Civilian Force to Patrol Troubled El Salvador After the Truce." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 27 July 1982. "President Reagan Will Authorise..." (NEXIS)
Spence, Jack, George Vickers et al. March 1994. A Negotiated Revolution? A Two Year Progress Report on the Salvadoran Peace Accords. Cambridge, Mass.: Hemisphere Initiatives, pp. 11-13.
Stanley, William. September 1993. Risking Failure: The Problems and Promise of the New Civilian Police in El Salvador. Cambridge, Mass.: Hemisphere Initiatives and the Washington Office on Latin America, pp. 1-2.
The Xinhua General Overseas News Service. 17 August 1989. "Human Rights Violations in El Salvador Denounced." (NEXIS)