INVESTIGATION REVEALS PATTERNS OF BLOCKADES AND THREATS TO SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS IN EL SALVADOR

San Salvador, November 28, 2023. Social organizations in El Salvador face some of the harshest realities since the signing of the Peace Accords: elimination of spaces for citizen participation, obstacles to their legalization, harassment in social networks, censorship, blockades, police harassment and threats of closure are some of the patterns identified.

These allegations are part of the report “Civil Society in Alert: Investigation into violations against the right to organize,” in which Cristosal systematized the experience of 71 organizations from all over the country, grouping the patterns of violations according to the categories of three rights: participation, expression, and organization.

For decades, civil society organizations have contributed to social development through law proposals, guarantee of services, defense of the environment, empowerment of women, community organization, defense of victims and rescue of historical memory, as part of their contributions.

Despite the importance of their work, the organizations are currently in danger. According to the investigation, there are very serious patterns, such as police harassment. One example is the arbitrary search and abuse of authority in the headquarters of organizations and in the homes of their representatives, even threatening to enforce the exception regime. In addition, it is common for the spokespersons of these organizations to suffer harassment and attacks on social networks.

Other patterns are the elimination of spaces for citizen participation in public administration, the denial of access to information, and the delay or impediment in the legalization of their entities. The latter has a significant impact, as it prevents some organizations from accessing funding and cooperation projects.

As to the outlook of the future, organizations anticipate a scenario characterized by increasingly hostile and complicated conditions, including concerns about the closure of their organizations, due to administrative and legal harassment from state institutions. In addition, they consider the possibility that many organizations will be forced to leave the country. The general expectation is that the situation will worsen, especially after next year’s elections.

Civil society organizations demand that the Salvadoran State cease harassment and blockade of their work and establish a space that promotes dialogue and joint work, considering that the organizations are a collective force that promote social development. They ask the international community to be vigilant and support their work.

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