HRW report reveals El Salvador children subjected to human rights violations amid gang crackdown

Samara Baboolal | U. Nottingham School of Law, GB
JULY 17, 2024 04:33:21 AM

Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report Tuesday claiming that children’s rights in El Salvador have been violated since the country declared its state of emergency in 2022. The report reveals that children in low-income communities have been arbitrarily detained, tortured, and faced severe mistreatment as a result of the country’s “war on gangs.”

The report, “Your Child Does Not Exist Here,” details that since the state of emergency roughly 3,000 children were arbitrarily detained in what witnesses call “indiscriminate sweeps.” Over 90 people were interviewed by HRW and described coercion at the hands of police, among other human rights violations. The interviewees say that police forces would detain them for questioning for up to 7 days at a time, often keeping them with adults.

HRW says detained children were then faced with “overcrowding, lack of adequate food and health care, and […] denied access to their lawyers and family members.” Children have also been subjected to “beatings and sexual violence” from other detainees. The report says that the majority of children subjected to these human rights violations are from low-income communities, as these areas tend to have higher rates of gang violence and presence. The report says:

For decades, pervasive poverty, social exclusion, and lack of educational and work opportunities have left few viable paths forward for children, enabling gangs to recruit and exploit them and security forces to stigmatize and harass them.