Specific information on the above-mentioned topic could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. For information on changes within and problems faced by the National Civilian Police, please consult the attached reports from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Hemispheric Initiatives.

Please note that the January 1996 WOLA and Hemispheric Initiatives report states that:

Human rights groups, international observers and Salvadoran analysts all agree that the human rights performance of the PNC remains superior to that of the old security forces. However, in 1995 some observers began to question whether this would persist in the face of an apparently worsening human rights record by the PNC. [...]. During 1995, the government's Human Rights Ombudsman's Office documented an increase in the number of complaints filed each month against the PNC, both in absolute terms and compared to other governmental institutions. [...]. The majority of these abuses continue to involve violations of due process (arbitrary and illegal detention, illegal searches and seizures, undue confiscation of identification documents) and mistreatment rather than more serious violations such as killings, torture, disappearances, and rape (1996, 2).

Some of this increase was to be expected as the PNC deployed steadily greater numbers throughout the country and began working in more complex urban communities. Part of the increase is probably also attributable to the growing popular confidence in the Human Rights Ombudman's Office, which finally established offices in all fourteen provinces of the country by January 1995 (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. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Stanley, William. January 1996. Protectors or Perpetrators? The Institutional Crisis of the Salvadoran Civilian Police. Edited by George Vickers and Jack Spence. Washington, DC: WOLA/Hemispheric Initiatives.

Attachments

Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook 1996. 1996. Edited by P. Baehr,
L. Sadiwa and J. Smith. "El Salvador." The Hague: Kluwer Law International, p. 172-181.

San Salvador Radio Cadena YSU [San Salvador, in Spanish]. 8 March 1996.

Douglas Mejía. "El Salvador: President on Human Rights, Police Efforts." (FBIS-LAT-96-048 12 Mar. 1996)

_____. 9 December 1994. Douglas Macias. "Human Rights Commission Chief Cited on PNC Abuses." (FBIS-LAT-94-238 9 Nov. 1995)

Stanley, William. January 1996. Protectors or Perpetrators? The Institutional Crisis of the Salvadoran Civilian Police. Edited by George Vickers and Jack Spence. Washington, DC: WOLA/Hemispheric Initiatives.

_____. September 1993. Risking Failure: The Problems and Promise of the New Civilian Police in El Salvador. Edited by George Vickers and Jack Spence. Washington, DC: WOLA/Hemispheric Initiatives.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. 1995, 1996. New York: Amnesty International.

Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 1995-1997.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. 1995-1997.

Crime and Justice [Chicago]. 1995-1997.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 1995, 1996. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 1995-1996. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

DIRB Country Files. El Salvador. 1995-1997

The Economist [London]. 1994-1997.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Human Rights Watch. 1994,1995,1996. Human Rights Watch World Report. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1994-1997.

Latin American Weekly Report [London]. 1995-1996.

Latin American Regional Reports: Central America and Caribbean Report [London]. 1995-1996.