US State Department Human Rights Report on El Salvador
Submitted by Ron Leonhardt
On March 20, the United States State Department released its 2022 human rights reports for countries around the world. With respect to El Salvador, the report is blunt. Significant human rights issues included credible reports of:
- unlawful or arbitrary killings, forced disappearances
- torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces;
- harsh and life-threatening prison conditions;
- arbitrary arrest and detention;
- serious problems with the independence of the judiciary;
- arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy;
- serious restrictions on free expression and media, including censorship and threats to enforce criminal laws to limit expression;
- serious government corruption;
- lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence;
- significant barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services;
- and crimes involving violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex individuals.