Bachelet urges El Salvadors legislators to refrain from reinstating amnesty for serious human right
Bachelet urges El Salvador´s legislators to refrain from reinstating amnesty for serious human rights violations
Spanish
GENEVA (6 March 2019) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday warned that a draft National Reconciliation Law under discussion in El Salvador´s Legislative Assembly would in effect reinstate an “absolute and unconditional amnesty” for some of the most serious human rights violations committed in El Salvador during the 1980-1992 armed conflict.
“If approved, this law would grant amnesty to those that may be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, violating victims’ rights to justice and reparation and representing a serious setback for El Salvador,” High Commissioner Bachelet said. “Amnesties for the most serious crimes under international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, are contrary to international law.”
The draft bill was proposed by the President of an “ad hoc” commission of El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly. The ad hoc commission had been established in response to a July 2016 Supreme Court ruling declaring the 1993 Amnesty Law for the Consolidation of Peace unconstitutional. The Court ordered the Legislative Assembly to issue by July 2019 a new law on National Reconciliation to ensure truth, justice and reparations for the victims and guarantees of non-repetition.
“Instead of achieving these crucial objectives, this proposed draft is likely to prevent the rights of the victims from being fulfilled,” Bachelet said. “And, by effectively granting impunity to those guilty of serious crimes, it would make repetition of similar crimes more likely.”
More:
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24267&LangID=E