Amnesty seeks disclosure of agreement covering Salvadoran troops in Haiti

Amnesty International called on El Salvador and Haiti on Monday to disclose the agreement under which around 2,000 Salvadoran troops have been deployed to Haiti. The rights organization urged both governments to explain the arrangements governing the soldiers' operations in the Caribbean country and ensure that human rights are respected.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has sent the troops since four Salvadoran personnel disappeared in Haiti in mid-October. He initially described the deployment as an effort to bring the missing personnel home. Since then, however, his statements have suggested a wider objective of eliminating Haiti's powerful gangs.

The vast majority of the Salvadoran soldiers are operating outside the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, known as the GSF. Their absence from that force has raised concerns about the rules governing their engagement, an issue addressed in Amnesty's request for disclosure of the deployment agreement.

Ana Piquer, Amnesty's Americas director, said the two governments needed to make clear how they supervise the deployed forces and what rules apply when soldiers use force. She also called for an explanation of whom the troops answer to and how people can report suspected violations without fearing retaliation.

The questions raised by Amnesty concern both the terms of the deployment and accountability for soldiers' conduct. Piquer's appeal called for the governments to publicly explain those arrangements, including the channels available to people who may wish to report possible abuses by the deployed forces.

Piquer urged Bukele and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime to ensure that every operation carried out by Salvadoran forces in Haiti follows international human rights law. She also pressed both countries to provide for swift investigations of all allegations of human rights violations, conducted independently and impartially.

Bukele's suggestion of a broader campaign against Haitian gangs follows his own government's campaign against gangs in El Salvador. That effort has drawn allegations of human rights abuses, a concern accompanying his indications that Salvadoran troops could pursue a similar objective in Haiti.

In her appeal, Piquer warned against repeating patterns associated with earlier interventions in Haiti. She said efforts to confront gang violence must avoid reproducing the abuses and lack of accountability that had characterized those interventions.