UN Experts Urge El Salvador to Revitalize Transitional Justice Efforts on 33rd Anniversary of Peace Accords

“The anniversary of the Accord is a stark reminder of the need for a comprehensive transitional justice process to address the profound harm suffered by victims and their families,” the experts said.

Independent UN human rights experts have called on the Government of El Salvador to accelerate its transitional justice agenda to address the harm caused by serious human rights violations and crimes committed during the nation’s 12-year armed conflict.

January 16, 2025, marks 33 years since the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords, which ended a bloody conflict that left over 75,000 Salvadorans tortured, executed, or disappeared. The conflict’s legacy, marked by decades of impunity and inadequate reparations, still affects Salvadoran society.

“The anniversary of the Accord is a stark reminder of the need for a comprehensive transitional justice process to address the profound harm suffered by victims and their families,” the experts said.

Challenges in Transitional Justice

Although the Peace Accords ushered in institutional reforms and initiated a peace process grounded in the rule of law, El Salvador’s transitional justice efforts remain incomplete. The experts highlighted key obstacles, including:

• A lack of effective policies for searching for and investigating cases of missing persons.
• Restricted access to military archives crucial for uncovering the truth.
• Insufficient reparations and efforts to preserve historical memory.
• The erosion of civic space, which impacts journalists, victims, and civil society organizations.

Despite the 2015 ruling declaring the 1993 Amnesty Law unconstitutional, the adoption of a comprehensive legal framework for transitional justice, as proposed by victims and civil society, remains overdue.

Previous Recommendations Largely Unaddressed

A 2020 report by the former Special Rapporteur on truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition identified major shortcomings in El Salvador’s transitional justice process and proposed a detailed roadmap. However, most recommendations from this report and others from UN mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions and the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, remain unimplemented.

A Renewed Call to Action

On the anniversary of the Peace Accords, the UN experts urged Salvadoran institutions to prioritize transitional justice, emphasizing that impunity for at least 200 documented massacres of civilians during the conflict is unacceptable.

“Comprehensive, victim-centered approaches that address both past and contemporary challenges offer the best chance to achieve justice, reconciliation, and sustainable peace,” the experts stated.

They acknowledged progress in high-profile cases, such as the trial of those involved in the 1989 “Jesuit massacre” and the recent decision to reopen the case of the execution of four Dutch journalists. However, they noted that much more needs to be done in collaboration with victims and civil society organizations.

A Path Forward

The experts reiterated their support for El Salvador’s transitional justice process, offering assistance to implement the proposed roadmap.

“El Salvador must seize this opportunity to redress the harms of the past, strengthen its institutions, and honor the memory of those who suffered during the conflict. Reconciliation and sustainable development depend on acknowledging and addressing the injustices of the past,” they concluded.

This renewed call underscores the importance of international cooperation and domestic commitment to ensuring justice, accountability, and peace in El Salvador.