Joint Statement UPLA – IDU Following the Attacks on Rule of Law in El Salvador

May 7, 2021

In light of the recent dismissals of the Attorney General and of the magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador, carried out by the Legislative Assembly of said country, the International Democrat Union (IDU) and the Union of Latin American Parties (UPLA) make the following joint statement:

1. We express our deep concern regarding the dismissals carried out by the new Legislative Assembly in El Salvador, since it has not observed the principles of legality, of impartiality, and of due process in a political trial, thereby breaking the constitutional order.

2. We reject the implementation of processes other than those intended by the Salvadoran Constitution for the election of new magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber and the Attorney General of the Republic. These actions violate the rule of law, the division of powers, and the most fundamental democratic guarantees.

3. We express our deepest concern given that this breakdown of the constitutional order in El Salvador imperils the continuity of international cooperation, the development of local and foreign investments, and the creation of employment, leading to a deterioration of the economic and social position of the country and to the violation of the human rights of Salvadoran society.

4. Lastly, we call on all member parties of the IDU and the UPLA, on human rights and legal organizations from our continent, and on the international community in general to follow carefully the events transpiring in El Salvador and to collaborate in defence of freedom, of democracy, and of the constitutional order.