International pressure on Bukele: The IACHR demands an end to the state of emergency in El Salvador.

He warns of the "improper application" of a regime that has detained more than 88,000 people since March 2022.

MADRID, 15 (EUROPA PRESS)

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has asked El Salvador's President David Bukele to end the state of emergency, which has been in place for more than three years. It has expressed its "concern about its prolonged extension and improper application," after the Central American country's parliament approved its 41st extension at the end of July.

"The Commission is concerned that provisions of the emergency regime and other measures to combat organized crime are being applied to situations unrelated to the reasons alleged by the State for their implementation," it said in a statement, highlighting the cases of several human rights defenders detained this year.

In particular, the organization has again spoken out against Enrique Anaya, Ruth López, Alejandro Henríquez, José Ángel Pérez, and Fidel Zavala, criticizing the Salvadoran authorities for "being placed in pretrial detention without considering the particularities of their circumstances; they are currently being held incommunicado, and their proceedings are being kept confidential."

"The Commission also received information about the incommunicado detention of Salvadorans and other nationalities who are or were detained in the country after being deported or expelled to El Salvador this year," he added.

The IACHR has reminded the Salvadoran government, which justifies the state of emergency by claiming that it allows for combating gang violence, that it must "fulfill its obligation to ensure judicial guarantees for all detainees and refrain from applying exceptional measures restricting human rights in situations other than those strictly justified under international standards."

He also urged authorities to end the "suspension of rights and guarantees" included in the state of emergency, which is expected to expire on September 2, and instead develop a security policy that addresses "the causes and consequences of crime, based on evidence and with a focus on human rights."

In a report on this issue released in 2024, the IACHR highlighted "the significant decline in the rates of violence reported by the State," although it indicated that it "did not observe the emergency situation required (...) to maintain suspended rights in the country."

More than 88,000 people have been detained during the state of emergency since March 2022. Civil society organizations have reported to the IACHR the existence of some 7,000 documented cases of human rights violations in the context of police operations against crime, including illegal and arbitrary detentions, torture, and even the deaths of more than 400 people deprived of liberty in State custody.