November is the last month of execution of our project that aims to make visible the situation of lack of protection, persecution and stigmatization of activists, human rights defenders and journalism professionals in a context characterized by structured social violence, as is the case of El Salvador. .
The emergency regime proclaimed in March of this year has been extended from month to month to date, with eight extensions. A measure that is determined by its temporary nature and that, on the other hand, has become the norm, with all that it entails in terms of restriction of constitutional rights and freedoms. The possibility of introducing Limitations on the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms are admissible and legitimate as long as they respond to the principles of necessity and proportionality. In the Salvadoran reality, which is experiencing a democratic deterioration of which not everyone is aware, the limitation of certain rights has turned out to respond more to the criterion of arbitrariness dictated by political interests and concentration of power.
In this context, the critical voices of independent journalists who practice their profession become uncomfortable and represent a threat to the establishment of the single narrative disseminated by the government. In the words of the president of APES, the Association of Journalists of El Salvador, “an autocratic government headed towards authoritarianism: the press is the first thing it attacks.”
Faced with this scenario, we have decided to take action to denounce and condemn the situation of violation of fundamental freedoms and lack of protection of activists and human rights defenders, particularly in relation to freedom of expression and the press in El Salvador. To do this, we have organized colloquiums, training sessions and workshops aimed at citizens In general, to civil society organizations that promote and defend human rights, to professionals in the journalistic field, to students and young people from formal and non-formal educational centers.
On the other hand, we consider that it is vitally important that political leaders also join the citizen mobilization, so that this advocacy work for which we continue to advocate have institutional support that can provide greater effectiveness. For this reason, we have addressed the different political groups of the Valencian Cortes so that they could approve an institutional declaration condemning the threats to fundamental freedoms, such as that of expression and the press, that continue to occur in El Salvador, as well as as well as all the attacks, persecutions and stigmatizations suffered by journalists in the exercise of their profession.
Our initiative has been very well received among the groups we have addressed, and concern about the seriousness of the situation in which the Salvadoran democratic system itself finds itself has led to the preparation and presentation of a Non-Law Proposition (PNL) of ordinary processing for future debate in the Human Rights Commission on the state of freedom of the press and expression. The text focuses on how the political crisis and widespread social violence affects the exercise of human rights that underpin a democratic society, referring to the data provided by the Journalist Association of El Salvador (APES): in the journalistic field, 173 attacks on press freedom were reported between January and August 2021, including physical attacks against journalists, digital harassment, unjustified restrictions on access to public information and the practice of journalism. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights itself has recognized the situation of harassment, intimidation, threats and stigmatization suffered for reasons linked to journalistic activity, granting precautionary measures to 34 professionals from different media outlets.
Aware of the lack of access to information, the closure of spaces for questions to independent journalists, the abuse of security forces during journalistic coverage, the episodes of digital harassment and cyber surveillance with the Pegasus software against journalists and defenders of human rights, the signatory political groups have expressed their intention to address the Consell de la Generalitat so that the Spanish government uses its diplomatic capacity before the Salvadoran government to urge respect for the obligations derived from international conventions ratified by the country itself. On the other hand, the groups have emphasized the need to maintain and improve an asylum policy that effectively protects Salvadorans who request international protection and, in particular, to reinforce protection programs for human rights defenders in risky situation.
In addition to addressing the Spanish government, the NLP text includes an additional request to the Consell de la Generalitat, to address the European Union to urge the government of El Salvador to: investigate the complaints of attacks against journalists that have been presented to the Prosecutor's Office, stop the practices of harassment and stagmatization against the independent press, put an end to the processes of legislative reforms that violate the inescapable principle of the separation of powers, protect the human rights defenders, investigate disappearances as a consequence of widespread social violence and pursue extrajudicial actions by the armed forces.
The presentation of this NLP represents a very important step in condemning the violations of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democratic pillars that underpin the Rule of Law. At Fundación por la Justicia we firmly believe in democratic values and justice, and to this end we demand the need to insist that the free formation of opinions, free access to a plurality of information, the free expression and dissemination of thoughts, opinions or Ideas of all kinds constitute founding pillars of democracy.
Our project “Visibility and defense of human rights activists linked to freedom of expression and press in El Salvador” aims to raise awareness among citizens about the seriousness of the situations that human rights defenders face daily, particularly in relation to freedom of expression and the press in El Salvador. We consider that The vindication of these freedoms and citizen awareness are a powerful tool for social transformation. and that this work has to be accompanied by networking, also at the local level. We have been able to count on the support of Salvadoran entities, such as APES, FESPAD and Infodemia, as well as the newspaper El Faro, in order to denounce, condemn, demand and demand from citizens and political institutions, highlighting the need to protect the work of activists, human rights defenders and journalists within their organizations. for the respect of human rights, the defense of democracy and the achievement of SDG 16: PEACE, JUSTICE AND SOLID INSTITUTIONS.
