Interim Report - Report No 233, March 1984

Case No 1233 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 27-SEP-83 - Closed

1. 672. The complaint is contained in communications from the World Federation of Trade Union (WFTU) and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), dated 27 September 1983. The WFTU and ICFTU sent further information in communications, dated respectively 11 and 12 October 1983. Both the contents of the complaint and the supplementary information were forwarded to the Government the day following their receipt by the Office. In view of the gravity of the allegations, the Director-General sent a telegram to the Government inviting it to submit information on this matter with the utmost urgency. The Government replied in communications of 31 October 1983 and 7 February 1984.
2. 673. El Salvador has not ratified either the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainants' allegations

1. 674. In their communications of 27 September 1983, the complainants allege that on 25 September at 9.00 a.m., the trade union leader, Santiago Hernández Jiménez, was arrested in the Morazán Square in San Salvador by three armed persons, presumably members of the state security police force. According to the complainants, Mr. Hernández, who held the office of Secretary-General of the United Trade Union Federation of El Salvador (FUSS) and was representative of the Committee of Trade Union Unity of El Salvador (CUS), was one of the leaders of the recent strikes which had taken place in the banking sector.
2. 675. In their communications of 11 and 12 of October 1983" respectively, the WFTU and the ICFTU state that this trade union leader had been murdered. According to the WFTU, the security forces had tortured him to death and his corpse was found on 8 October 1983, together with that of four other persons, in a central district of San Salvador. The ICFTU points out that Mr. Hernández was murdered by strangling in the San Miguelito municipality of San Salvador and that an extreme right-wing commando had claimed responsibility for his abduction and subsequent murder.

B. The Government's reply

1. 676. In its communication of 31 October 1983, the Government states the trade union leader of the United Trade Union Federation of El Salvador (FUSS), Mr. Santiago Hernández Jiménez, was not abducted by persons belonging to any security body of the armed forces but by members of the right-wing death squad "Maximiliano Hernández Martínez", who had murdered him, together with three other persons, on 7 October 1983; the squad had publicly claimed that they were the authors of these crimes.
2. 677. In the press cuttings enclosed by the Government, it is mentioned that a communication from the anti-communist brigade "Maximiliano Hernández Martínez" had been fastened onto each of the bodies in a plastic bag. One of these communications states that the persons in question had been executed "for being members of the Salvadorian communist party bent on destroying our country; they have therefore been found guilty of having committed high treason against the Fatherland".
3. 678. In its communication of 7 February 1984, the Government states that at present the Third Court of Criminal Investigation of San Salvador is carrying out investigations concerning the authors of the above-mentioned murders, but that their identity has not yet been able to be verified. According to the Government, at the first hearings, it was established that the deceased died from asphyxiation by strangling.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 679. The Committee notes the complainants' allegations concerning the arrest and murder of the trade union leader, Santiago Hernández Jiménez, and the Government's reply.
2. 680. In particular, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, Santiago Hernández was not abducted by persons belonging to any security body of the armed forces but by members of the right-wing death squad "Maximilano Hernández Martinez", who later murdered him.
3. 681. In this respect, the Committee deeply deplores the murder of this trade union leader, especially in view of the circumstances in which, according to the complainants, this occurred.
4. 682. Furthermore, the Committee must draw to the Government's attention that freedom of association can only be exercised in conditions in which fundamental human rights, and in particular those relating to human life and personal safety, are fully respected and guaranteed.
5. 683. On previous occasions when examining allegations concerning the death of trade union leaders [see, for example, 207th report, Cases Nos. 997 and 999 (Turkey), paragraph 304], the Committee has requested the Government to undertake without delay an independent judicial inquiry with a view to elucidating the facts in full, determining responsibilities and punishing the guilty parties. The Committee notes in this connection that the Third Court of Criminal Investigation of San Salvador is carrying out investigations concerning the authors of the murder of Santiago Hernández. The Committee asks the Government to inform it as soon as possible of developments in these investigations and to let it know the outcome of the trial.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 684. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to approve this interim report and in particular the following conclusions.
   • (a) The Committee deeply deplores the murder of the trade union leader, Santiago Hernández Jiménez, especially in view of the circumstances under which this occurred.
   • (b) The Committee asks the Government to inform it as soon as possible of developments in the judicial investigations into the murder of Santiago Hernández and to let it know the outcome of trial.
   • (c) The Committee calls the Government's attention to the fact that freedom of association can only be exercised in conditions in which fundamental human rights, and in particular those relating to human life and personal safety, are fully respected and guaranteed.
     • Geneva, 24 February 1984 Roberto Ago, Chairman.