We ask the national authorities of El Salvador to strengthen the National Civil Police taking into account the needs and protection of all young people in the country for a future free of abuses and human rights violations.
Many young people in El Salvador suffer daily discrimination and violence. Sometimes only for being young; sometimes because of the neighborhoods we live in; sometimes for walking in places considered violent; sometimes for dressing and expressing ourselves in ways that for some people are unconventional. These forms of violence are often caused by the police themselves.
We have the right to dignity, to personal freedom and integrity, to safety, to express ourselves, to assemble and demonstrate peacefully.
While we recognize that in order to guarantee the safety of all people, the police must fulfill their duty, we also note that it is possible to have a police force that protects all young people in El Salvador, without distinction of any kind.
1. The Police should only use force with strict adherence to legality, absolute necessity, and proportionality, always with full respect for human rights. The police should refrain from arbitrary detentions, threats, and other types of abuses, which should be investigated and sanctioned.
2. We, the youth, assume the commitment to build environments free of violence, with tolerance. We are convinced that police monitoring from our spaces, through the identification of cases of police abuse, counseling, reporting, and promotion of our rights are essential to overcome the human rights violations that are committed in our country.
3. We believe that effective and independent institutions and mechanisms of internal and external control of the police are indispensable to identify actions that do not respect human rights, promote the investigation and punishment of those responsible for police abuses and, thus, strengthen confidence in the police.
4. We recognize that police officers fulfill an indispensable role in our society, therefore it is necessary that the authorities assume and comply with public policies aimed at continuous training with emphasis on respect for human rights towards young people, people with disabilities, women, girls, boys, LGBTIQ+ population; the proportional use of force, physical training and the application of the Police Code of Conduct.
5. We recognize the difficulties and challenges faced by the people who work in the Police, and therefore we urge the government to include in its strengthening, the respect for the human rights of the Police, including their labor rights and the protection of their physical and mental health.