Carlos Lusverti* Versión en español, aquí. What do Burundi, Libya, Myanmar, South Sudan and Venezuela have in common? All of them have been the focus of independent investigation mechanisms established by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate serious human rights violations occurring in these countries. Regarding Venezuela, in 2019 the Council adopted resolution 42/25 establishing an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), which is an international investigative body […]
Juan Francisco Sandoval* Versión en español aquí. On March 5, 2003, I joined Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office as an intern, as part of my mandatory criminal practice, during my undergraduate studies in legal and social sciences at the State University of San Carlos, Guatemala (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala). I never imagined that this initial internshipwould turn into a […]
Gaël Pétillon* Versión en español aquí. According to the Haitian Constitution, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers constitute the essential foundation on which the State’s organization is based. Within the exercise of their respective powers, duties, and functions, they are entirely independent. However, since January 2020, the failure to hold legislative elections has resulted in a […]
Last week, as the number of COVID-19 cases in El Salvador climbed to at least 32, Salvadoran Congress approved a two-billion dollar loan for emergency government funding to combat the pandemic. Because Congress approved the funds during a state of emergency, the executive branch has more discretion in how the money is spent than it […]
Leonor Arteaga and Amanda Eisenhour* Civil society has pushed the government of El Salvador to establish both symbolic and material reparations programs for war victims through executive decrees. These programs, while crucial first steps, have been plagued since their inception with chronic underfunding, ineffective and splintered bureaucracy, and the exclusion of victims. These programs could […]
DPLF Team, with thanks to Ali Boyd for her assistance* On March 24, 1980, Oscar Romero became the most emblematic casualty of the brutal civil war in El Salvador, which would go on to last twelve years. As the culmination of a deliberate state plot, he was shot and killed while celebrating mass. More than […]
Katharine Valencia Versión en español Today, the Human Rights Commission of the Guatemalan Congress will begin reviewing the qualifications of candidates who applied to be the next Procurador(a) de Derechos Humanos, or the Human Rights Ombudsperson.
Justicia en las Américas 