Dokument #1054296
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
In addition to the information provided in
Response to Information Request SLV11687 of 14 September 1992 and
the information available through the Indexed Media Review (IMR) at
your Regional Documentation Centre, please find attached some
reports that refer to threats, murders and assassination attempts
which have been attributed to paramilitary groups known commonly as
death squads and possibly to others with political motivations. The
most comprehensive summary of developments during the requested
period currently available to the DIRB is a section from the
Human Rights Watch World Report 1993 (attached to this
Response). This report states the following:
Since the beginning of the cease-fire on February 1, 1992, the
number of human rights violations in El Salvador greatly
diminished. [...] Nonetheless, politically motivated killings,
death threats, mistreatment of prisoners by government forces and
attacks aimed at opposition trade unions, popular organizations,
and media continued, albeit at much-reduced levels. Late in 1992,
as compliance with the peace accord began to cut deeply into the
power of the armed forces, clandestine groups stepped up threats
against members of the FMLN. The near-complete and ongoing
paralysis of the judicial system continued to ensure that the
Salvadoran state, if not guilty of direct involvement in abuses,
was complicit by failing to investigate or to take preventive
action (Human Rights Watch Dec. 1992, 107).
Amnesty International reported the
following in September 1992:
[...] several trade union activists in El Salvador have been targets of killings and death threats. While neither the identity nor the motive of the perpetrators is clear, the pattern of killings of trade unionists involved in labour disputes and the failure of the authorities to investigate them thoroughly, suggests the involvement of government forces, or agents acting with their complicity (Amnesty International Urgent Action 3 Sept. 1992).
The 1992 year-end summary of the Latin
American Weekly Report states that "right wing death squads
continue active" in El Salvador, without providing details (Latin
American Newsletters 24 Dec. 1992, 8), while the attached Americas
Watch report discusses the obstacles and difficulties faced in
determining the authors and motives of threats and assassinations
(Americas Watch 2 Sept. 1992, 22-23).
Please consult the attached documents for
more information on the subject.
Americas Watch. 2 September 1992.
News From Americas Watch. Vol. 4, No. 8. "El Salvador: Peace
and Human Rights: Successes and Shortcomings of the United Nations
Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL)." New York: Human Rights
Watch.
Amnesty International. 3 September 1992.
Urgent Action. (AI Index: AMR 29/09/92). London: Amnesty
International.
Human Rights Watch. December 1992.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1993. New York: Human Rights
Watch.
Latin American Newsletters. 24 December
1992. Latin American Weekly Report. "Mexico & Central
America" (Year-end summary). London: Latin American
Newsletters.
Americas Watch. 2 September 1992.
News From Americas Watch. Vol. 4, No. 8. "El Salvador: Peace
and Human Rights: Successes and Shortcomings of the United Nations
Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL)." New York: Human Rights
Watch, pp. 22-23.
Amnesty International. 3 September 1992.
Urgent Action. (AI Index: AMR 29/09/92). London: Amnesty
International.
Central America Report
[Guatemala]. 18 September 1992. "El Salvador: Acts of Violence
Reported During July and August, 1992." (Statistical table)
_____. 28 August 1992. "Wobbly Peace
Process Back on Track."
The Christian Science Monitor
[Boston]. 2 September 1992. David Clark Scott. "UN Urged to Sharpen
Its Focus on Salvador Human Rights Abuses." (NEXIS)
Human Rights Watch. December 1992.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1993. New York: Human Rights
Watch, pp. 105-112.
Reuters. 24 August 1992. AM Cycle. "U.N.
Says Serious Human Rights Abuses Continue in El Salvador."
(NEXIS)
United Press International (UPI). 12
August 1992. BC Cycle. Daniel Alder. "Salvadoran Rebels Denounce
Death-Squad Killings." (NEXIS)