26 de March de 2010 Press Release

Assassination of Archbishop Romero Continues Unpunished

San José, Costa Rica, March 24, 2010

The president of El Salvador, Mauricio Funes, acknowledged today the day that marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez who “was the victim of violence perpetrated by an illegal death squad,” through “under cover, collaboration, acquiescence or participation of State agents. Likewise, Mr. President Funes called for “forgiveness on behalf of the Salvadoran State perpetrated by the assassination 30 years ago.

On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Romero was assassinated in front of numerous witnesses, while celebrating mass in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence.

The Truth Commission for El Salvador, and further on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), found out that his execution had been the responsibility of a death squad that had acted under the command of former Major Roberto D’Aubuisson, founder of the political party ARENA.

However, Salvadoran authorities never investigated effective implementation of Archbishop Romero. The only person concerned by these events, Captain Alvaro Saravia, who recently accepted his participation in them, was acquitted based on the General Amnesty Law for the Consolidation of Peace.

In 2000, the IACHR issued a resolution that stated that the State of El Salvador was responsible for the execution of Archbishop Romero and for failing to investigate the facts in a serious and effective way. He also noted that the State was responsible for having applied the amnesty law to this case and the violation of the right to know the truth to the detriment of the Romero family, members of the religious community to which the victim belonged, and Salvadorian society as a whole.

Consequently, the IACHR established that the state ought to make a serious and effective investigation of what happened, to repeal the amnesty law, and repair all the consequences of the violations.

The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), as petitioner’s case before the IACHR, recognizes the importance of accepting responsibility and a public apology as a first act of reparation for all the damage caused.

However, there remains a large outstanding debt: the investigation of the facts and the identification, prosecution, and punishment of those responsible. Although in his speech, the Salvadoran President pledged to “collaborate with justice, both nationally and internationally” and to make available whatever is needed to clarify the crimes under investigation, this is not enough.

As it has been established by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in its jurisprudence, in cases of serious human rights violations, including murder of Archbishop Romero, the State is obligated to use all means at its disposal to clarify the truth and the pursuit, apprehension, and prosecution of those responsible.

In view of this, CEJIL urges that as soon as possible, the Salvadoran State (made by the executive, legislature and judiciary as a whole) must nitiate a serious and effective investigation in this regard, which refrain from using any procedural obstacle that maintains impunity. Only tthis way, they can advance on the path of true reparation for the Salvadoran people. For 30 years the murder of this emblematic character for America, we urge state authorities to comply fully with the recommendations issued by the IACHR.

 

Contact in Costa Rica

Nancy Marín Espinoza

Press and Diffusion

Tel: 506-2280-7473/7608

E-mail: [email protected]

 

www.cejil.org

The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) is an advocacy of human rights in the Americas. CEJIL’s main objective is to ensure full implementation of international human rights standards in the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), through the effective use of the Inter-american human rights system and other international protection mechanisms. CEJIL is a nongovernmental nonprofit with consultative status at the OAS, the Organization of the United Nations (UN) and observer status with the African Commission on Human Rights.