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The United Nations Human Rights Office has warned that El Salvador has declared a year-long state of emergency aimed at combating gang-related insecurity, caused “serious concerns” in terms
The United Nations Human Rights Office has warned that El Salvador has declared a year-long state of emergency aimed at combating gang-related insecurity, caused “serious concerns” in terms of the rights and freedoms and warned that the underlying problems could not be solved solely by repressive measures.
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the entry into force of the exceptional measures originally scheduled for one month, the United Nations High Commissioner again questioned side effects of a regime that has already left at least 65,000 prisoners.
The UN understands that insecurity means “big problems” for El Salvador, but spokesman Marta Hurtado warned that any action taken against armed groups must respect human rights, something that won’t always happen.
In fact, he believes that part of the “mass arrests” spent in the past twelve months, some of which have involved minors, were “arbitrary” among other things, because they were carried out without a thorough investigation, and in some cases solely because of the “appearance or social background” of the suspect.
In addition, the conditions in which the detainees are kept “are also very alarming.” “We have received complaints about serious violations of the rights of prisoners, such as prolonged isolation and prisoners with chronic diseases not receiving medical treatment”, Hurtado added.
In this sense, he finds “particularly disturbing” the fact that about 90 people died in custody and that there is only “limited information” on the progress of investigations into these cases.
“The right to life, the absolute prohibition of torture, the principles of a fair trial, including the presumption of innocence, and procedural guarantees that protect these rights. apply at all times, including during a state of emergency”, – said the press secretary.
The United Nations reminded the Government of Naiba Bukele that every State “duty to protect the lives of persons deprived of their liberty”and to allow the national human rights institution, which has already accumulated 7,900 complaints, to examine the situation in prisons on a “regular” and “independent” basis.
Hurtado called for a fight against the root causes of violence, among which he named “social inequality, marginalization and lack of effective social policy”. “International experience shows that defending a repressive prison model limits the ability of prisoners to reintegrate into society,” he warned.
Bukele, however, shrugged off similar criticism last year, and this Tuesday he vowed on his social media that he would continue to “work for the good of Salvadorans, even if it is claimed by “human rights” NGOs”.
The President claims that the exceptional measures wereor necessary to reduce violence to a minimum level and boasts almost daily that El Salvador now does not record a single murder per day and that it is “the safest country in the region.”
(According to information from Europe Press)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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