PVC 1991 Delegation – Part Eleven: ONUSAL

The following notes have been edited to correct errors and to add explanations and updates. Parenthetical notes and remarks from the original are enclosed in parentheses. Present day [2022] updates are italicized and enclosed in square brackets.

 

Tuesday, 15 October 1991 - 2:20 PM - ONUSAL (United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador)

The ONUSAL headquarters is located in the Sheraton Hotel, high atop the ridge overlooking Escalon [an elite neighborhood in San Salvador]. As the van makes its way through the broad streets of this wealthy neighborhood, with its lavish mansions hidden behind high brick walls and barbed wire barricades, we wonder how many poor peasants will be able or willing to make this daunting trip in order to denounce the injustices they have experienced. The entrance to the Sheraton courtyard is guarded by armed soldiers who are not certain at first if they want to let us pass. We are more uneasy entering what is supposed to be a UN safe haven than we have been at any other visit this year.

Once in the lobby we are kept waiting for ten to fifteen minutes, then taken to one of the upper floors and seated around a conference table in an office which had quite obviously until recently been a regular hotel room. Jake introduces the group to the ONUSAL representative, Ingrid Kircher, a young woman from Austria who mentions that she had worked for Amnesty International before joining this mission.

"ONUSAL is part of the whole peace process. There were two major initial meetings: in April 1990 both sides committed to continuing negotiations; then in May 1990 in Venezuela they set up the agenda for the negotiations. The first agreement which was concluded, signed on 26 July 1990, covered human rights and provided for an observer mission to be set up after a cease fire had gone into effect. But the commission in April 1991 decided that both sides to the negotiations and the people themselves wanted the mission set up as soon as possible.

"We have five tasks: (1) the monitoring of human rights; (2) the verification of human rights; (3) the investigation of individual cases; (4) the making of recommendations to the FMLN and to the government, with reporting to the U.N. of our recommendations; and (5) the providing of education about human rights to all parties concerned. We can move freely around the country, visiting detainees. This makes us a unique organization, for this is the first time that such freedom of access is possible.

"The agreement which provided for ONUSAL prioritizes human rights: (1) life and physical integrity – this prohibits disappearances, torture, and night-time arrests; (2) the right to due process – the detainee must have the reason for the detention explained to him or her, and must be permitted to communicate with family and with legal counsel; and (3) the freedom of opinion and expression, the right to free association, the right to be documented, which is especially important for returnees who lost all documents and records when they fled the country, and the right to travel freely within the country.

"The mission structure was originally mandated for one year. There was an initial phase of monitoring the situation and getting personnel familiar with the region. There are no Salvadorans on the staff except for support personnel and a few specific advisors. Now we have entered the second phase, which is investigation. We can only investigate cases which occurred after 26 July 1991. The office of investigation is headed by a Pakistani national. After the ceasefire, we will also have an office monitoring military operations. My role is as liaison with the Non-Governmental Organizations.

"We have a military contingent which serves specifically as a liaison with the Salvadoran military. They are subordinate to the civilian staff. There is also a police contingent.

"The Office of Information has started a major public information campaign, explaining in posters and advertisements what ONUSAL is and our specific role. Some people in the country don't know what we are, and some have too high expectations of what we can accomplish. We have a team of educators here who are working very closely with the NGOs and the universities, developing training for various sectors of the population.

"Every six weeks or so ONUSAL publishes official reports to the United Nations General Assembly. We also disseminate public documents and reports."

Question: What do you include in Non-Governmental Organizations?

"These include the popular organizations, labor unions, community organizations – it's a very wide cross section."

Question: What protection is there for people who come here to report violations?

"We keep their names confidential. We intervened in the case of Mirtala López with the general secretary. Because we have regular contact with the popular organizations, some people can go through them to register reports and denunciations."

Question: Are there any United States citizens on your staff?

"Maybe one or two. There are more than a hundred on staff from twenty-seven different countries. The majority are from Latin America and Europe. It is very important that ONUSAL remain independent, so there is little or no U.S. representation on the staff because of the 'special relationship' between the U.S. and the Salvadoran government."

Question: Will you be investigating the Salvadoran Anti-Communist Front?

"We have asked the internal minister and been told that there will be an investigation. So far we have heard nothing, so we will be asking again. We do have a police force here, so we will keep watching."

Question: Have you addressed the on-going problem of field commanders who refuse to follow agreements reached by officials concerning freedom of travel within the country?

"We cannot go with every delegation. We are aware that there is no legal basis for the system of salvo conductos. We can include these problems in our reports and make recommendations. So it would be valuable to receive complaints from delegations who are stopped or who are denied salvos."

Question: How many cases have you investigated so far?

"Mainly we have been receiving complaints so far. We have received several hundred, mostly about the military. But we have only just begun the investigations."

Question: So what is the process for investigations?

"First we look at the incident, to see if it is within the mandate given to us by the accords. Then we ask how urgent is the situation. If it is a detention, a team will go. This team would include a police officer, a legal rights advisor, and a human rights advisor. The team would visit the detainee in private, then talk with the military commander in charge. They would also continue with follow-up until the case is resolved. We also have two doctors on staff to investigate instances of torture.

"Besides this kind of investigation we are trying to monitor the justice system, and to follow the major trials, determining how they are being conducted. We have regular meetings with the government, with the military, with judges, and with the FMLN. In these meetings we raise issues and make recommendations."

Question: Basically, what has been the response?

"Our work is being taken more seriously than the investigations done by the NGOs. But there is no typical response. It depends on the situation."

Question: If a member of the Lutheran church is threatened, how can we find out whether or not ONUSAL is working on the case?

"We cannot give specifics of a case, but we can say, 'Yes, we intervened.' We are in close touch with the Lutheran World Federation, and also with the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod."

Question: What contact do you have with Tutela Legal and with the International Committee of the Red Cross?

"With Tutela Legal and the other human rights groups we have a close sharing of information. As for the ICRC, they have a very specific mandate. Sharing of information is much more difficult. They are effective because they maintain strict confidentiality, so they cannot share reports with other organizations."

Question: Is ONUSAL able to visit prisons?

"Yes, we can go into Mariona and the other prisons. We are one of the few organizations which has this ability."

Question: Did United States influence keep the United Nations out of El Salvador before this?

"The UN had to wait for the two parties to agree. It won't impose itself. ONUSAL is the first of this type of mission anywhere in the world. We hope that it will be a pattern for other conflict interventions."