Experts in the field point out that during the pandemic there were many abuses, and state that for the Salvadorans living in the United States, the decisions being taken by the Bukele government around the bilateral relationship are relevant.
The Engel list will not only disclose those involved in corruption cases in Central America, but also those linked to cases of corruption. human rights violations, According to the postulates of the law that includes these crimes as well as complicity or abuse of security authorities.
Law HR 2615, known as the Engel List, could contain among its names Nayib Bukele Government officials who committed these crimes as part of the pandemic by COVID-19 or outside this contingency.
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Manuel Escalante, deputy director of the Institute of Human Rights of the UCA (IDHUCA), explains that the main recent human rights violations occurred during the pandemic between these the detention of people in containment centers, Which did not provide the right conditions to install thousands of people, others were the military hoops established in the municipalities and the more than 7,000 Salvadorans who remained stranded in different countries without being able to enter El Salvador.
People in a crowded containment center. At the onset of the pandemic, these spaces became points of coronavirus infection in the country. / Photo EDH Archive
“These arrests were certainly arbitrary arrests, and this was clearly established by the Constitutional Court because there was no law to support such arrests, and then containment centers that did not meet the minimum health conditions or even and all of social distancing, they were situations where there was a major human rights violation, ”Escalante says.
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These human rights violations had a significant number of casualties, Where many filed complaints with the Office of the Prosecutor for Human Rights (PDDH) who made a report recording the various cases that were known to the Chamber and the Attorney General’s Office (FGR).
Apol·loni Tobar, Human Rights Attorney. Photo EDH / Archive
In September 2020, the prosecutor, Apol·loni Tobar, arrived at the Legislative Assembly to present a report to the Health Commission, which detailed that during the emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic they were registered 2,000 human rights violations, a document that covers cases from March 21 to September 17 last year, which include between 687 allegations of deprivation of liberty and 393 violations of the right to health, in addition to lack of access to information, all against the Executive.
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Escalante also points out that to date it is unknown whether there are serious or ongoing investigations into these human rights crimes, “these violations have been documented by civil society and the PDDH, but the Prosecutor’s Office I believe is not having any investigation in process, and if the Engel list was based on what the Public Prosecutor’s Office is doing, then these facts are probably not included, we will have to see how they build it, “he explains.
Arnau Baulenas, legal coordinator of the Institute of Human Rights of the UCA (IDHUCA), comments that precisely one of the critical moments of the government administration of President Bukele, was that the conduct of the authorities in the face of the deprivations of freedom during quarantine, where either the Police or the Armed Forces arbitrarily determined whether a person was disobeying the law.
“Any deprivation of liberty can be discussed before a judge or a judge determines whether he was allowed to move under the law, but what we could see is that a police officer or a military man decided whether or not the person complied with the law. another violation, which has been established by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), is a violation of freedom of expression, “says Baulenas.
He points out that it had to be the IACHR who obtained precautionary measures for journalists from El Far, because his life could be in danger to practice journalism, “and this was largely attributed to the administration of Bukele Government, which is where the attacks came from, ”he indicates.
He adds that beyond corruption in government, human rights have been affected, both within and outside the pandemic crisis.
Bukele was the only Latin American head of state to receive Trump for a bilateral meeting in the framework of the UN Assembly in September 2019. Photo released by the Secretariat of the Presidency
Celia Medrano, a human rights defender, believes that the Salvadoran government must respond to reports of human rights violations, not only those pointed out by the United States, but others mentioned by the international community, but the question arises whether the government of El Salvador sees the United States as a strategic ally as it was during the administration of former President Donald Trump, or if that has changed since November 2020.
“Or the real bets are directed more at other governments like China or Russia, for example, little importance would involve pressure from the Joe Biden government to the Salvadoran government. Corruption is a serious violation of human rights, and as corrupt in state bodies and guaranteed impunity, little progress can be made towards long-term solutions in the field of human rights, security, development, essential elements for any policy aimed at a comprehensive approach to migration, which is what should move the agenda of both El Salvador and the United States, ”says Medrano.
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The lawyer and human rights defender indicates that in the United States there are nearly 3 million Salvadorans who could be affected by the decisions the Bukele government is taking, and leaving it in the background would be a serious mistake.
Regarding what happened during the pandemic crisis, he noted that there were many allegations of violations of constitutional rights, which could not be affected and all in situations of calamity or emergency, where the Chamber clearly noted these abuses.
“The FGR has not represented a decisive counterweight, sufficient in proportion to the gravity of acts of violation of the law, abuses of power, violations of human rights, aggression against political opponents and state bodies pointed out to the Salvadoran government. It is in the FGR from which greater forcefulness and effectiveness would be expected, “says Medrano.