El Salvador moves towards reconciliation: joint declaration signed.

A joint declaration--signed by the Government of El Salvador and the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN) on 4 October--reflected the parties' determination to see the 16 January 1992 Peace Accords "implemented fully and urgently for the benefit of all Salvadorians", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reported on 6 October.

In the declaration, both sides had agreed to: cooperate closely and actively to ensure full compliance with all the Accords; establish joint mechanisms, with the participation of the UN Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL); determine specific measures necessary for the rapid fulfilment of their commitments; and keep the Salvadorian people and the international community informed of any decisions and steps they took. They also reiterated their request that the UN extend the mandate of ONUSAL until 30 April 1995.

Progress welcomed

In welcoming steps taken by Salvadorian President Calderon Sol to ensure compliance with the outstanding provisions of the Peace Accords, the Security Council on 16 September said it was encouraged by El Salvador's "transformation from a country riven by conflict into a nation on the path to reconciliation".

While some delays and difficulties still persisted, progress had been achieved in areas relevant to the "strengthening and modernization of the democratic institutions", the Council observed in a statement (S/PRST/1994/54) by its President Juan Antonio Yanez-Barnuevo of Spain.

It reaffirmed the need to ensure that, under appropriate verification by ONUSAL, the police and public security provisions of the 1992 Accords were "scrupulously observed". In particular, the Council expected the Government to "accelerate the demobilization of the National Police".

Concern was expressed at the "limited progress of the land-transfer programme, delays and distortions in other reintegration programmes and the unresolved problem of the human settlements".

The need for full implementation of the March 1993 recommendations of the Commission on the Truth was reiterated. In that regard, the Council welcomed the unanimous election of an independent Supreme Court of Justice as an "important step in the process of reform of the judicial system".

Significant steps

The FMLN-established as a "fully legal party" in the politic life of El Salvador--despite "formidable difficulties", had come to constitute a "credible opposition" in the National Assembly and maintained a "presence at the regional and municipal levels", the Secretary-General had reported (S/1994/1000) on 26 August.

Nevertheless, he said, much depended upon the commitment of the majority party, the Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA), to "govern wisely and with moderation", so that plurality became an "integral feature of Salvadorian politics".

Significant steps taken recently in correcting irregularities and deficiencies had paved the way for the "much-needed reform of the judicial system" and finally offered hope that El Salvador would see the "end of impunity, one of the root causes of war", the Secretary-General said.

However, there were "several difficult issues" still to be resolved, he went on. The justice and police sectors continued to require careful attention, and the strengthening of internal supervisory mechanisms, particularly of the Inspector-General's functions, was "of supreme importance" at this stage, he said.

Overall, although conditions necessary to ensure the full and final implementation of the Peace Accords seemed to be in place, the "difficulties in carrying out outstanding obligations should not be underestimated", the Secretary-General warned.

'Precarious situation'

The human rights situation in El Salvador would "remain precarious" until State institutions were efficient enough to prevent and punish human rights violations, the Director of the ONUSAL Human Rights Division stated on 28 July.

Major obstacles to the effective exercise of human rights in El Salvador, according to his report (A/48/281-S/1994/886) covering the period from 1 March to 30 June 199 4, included: the increase in "acts of common violence"; "clear involvement of members of law-enforcement bodies in criminal acts"; and impunity which resulted from the "deficit operation of the justice system".

Faced with the "lack of public securities", the Government increased the deployment of the National Civil Police and announced the demobilization of the National Police, stating that its Criminal Investigation Section had been dissolved ahead of schedule. However, the demobilization of the National Police should be accelerated even further, the report stressed.

Also harmful to the peace process was the fact that there were still "groups that resort to violence as a means of resolving political conflicts".

Although some recommendations made by the Human Rights Division and the Commission on the Truth were being put into practice--such as "granting the habeas corpus and the invalidation of extrajudicial confession"--it was essential to "accelerate the reform of the judicial system", the report said. The new Legislative Assembly must ratify the constitutional reforms and pending reforms of secondary legislation. Also, the penitentiary system was experiencing a "serious crisis", and the prison regime must be "modernized as soon as possible", it was stated.

Other important recommendations related to: the granting to the National Council of the judiciary the power to appoint and dismiss judges; expansion of authority concerning amparo; reduction of the maximum period for detentions due to administrative misdemeanours; and repeal of the Police Act.

With regard to the international standards for human rights, the Legislative Assembly had ratified only the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the report said. Furthermore, El Salvador was the only Central American country that had not recognized the mandatory competence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

RELATED ARTICLE: New human rights mission established for Guatemala

A new UN operation--the Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA)--was established for an initial period of six months by the General Assembly on 19 September.

In adopting resolution 48/267 without a vote, as it concluded its forty-eighth session, the Assembly called on the two parties--the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG)--to "pursue a vigorous process of negotiation".

They were also asked to comply fully with undertakings under the accords of 10 january relating to resumption of the negotiating process, and of 29 March on a timetable for the negotiation of a firm and lasting peace, and on human rights. The "broadest support" by the parties for MINUGUA, particularly with respect to the security of its members, was urged.

The international community was asked to support "institution-building and cooperation projects in the area of human rights", which could be implemented by MINUGUA and relevant Guatemalan entities.

Leonardo Franco of Argentina was named Director of Mission. An advance team was dispatched to Guatemala on 20 September.

In recommending that the Mision be launched, the Secretary-General had observed that immediate human rights verification could make a decisive contribution to ongoing efforts in Guatemala to put an "end to a persisting pattern of human rights abuses".

In an 18 August report (A/48/985), he stated that MINUGUA would "bolster the peace process by promoting full compliance" by the parties with their commitments, strengthen confidence in the agreements reached, and consolidate the prospect for an early end to the "longest conflict in Latin America", which had lasted for "more than three decades".

In that regard, dose cooperation between the UN system, friends of the Guatemalan peace process-Colombia, Mexico, Norway, Spain, United States and Venezuela--donor countries and the international community as a whole to "provide diplomatic, political and financial support" was essential. It could be a strong encouragement to the parties and Guatemalan society to "persevere in their quest for a lasting peace", he said.