U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said about 200 Salvadoran personnel in Haiti fall under the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) mandate and U.N. monitoring, as Amnesty International seeks rules for the wider deployment.
At a Nov. 3 briefing, Dujarric said about 200 Salvadoran personnel were within the GSF mandate and the U.N. monitoring and reporting mechanism. Amnesty says most of the Salvadorans recently sent to Haiti are outside the force and beyond the mandate and monitoring framework of the United Nations Support Office in Haiti (UNSOH).
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved a law on Sept. 29 authorizing military participation in the GSF for an initial 12 months beginning Oct. 2. The law says El Salvador retains jurisdiction over personnel assigned under that mission.
Amnesty urged Haiti and El Salvador to publish the agreement governing the deployment and set out how the forces will be overseen and constrained in their use of force. It also called for safe ways to report misconduct and prompt, independent and impartial investigations into alleged rights violations.
Damian Merlo, a lobbyist for the Salvadoran government, told the Associated Press that both governments had signed an agreement covering the troops. Merlo said it was either a status-of-forces agreement or a memorandum of understanding, but did not specify what rights the agreement grants.
The Associated Press reported that at least 2,500 Salvadoran forces were operating in Haiti after four Salvadoran military personnel disappeared in an Oct. 18 gang attack. A Haitian security official previously told Reuters El Salvador had sent about 1,000 troops; EconoTimes reported that earlier estimate.
Amnesty said the deployment adds risks for Haitian communities already facing a humanitarian crisis. It urged the governments to guard against displacement and maintain access to food and medical care. The organization also invoked previous interventions in Haiti, warning that their abuses and impunity should not be repeated.
The Associated Press reported that Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is expected to visit El Salvador next week to discuss the troops’ future. The agency cited an unnamed Salvadoran government official and gave no exact date for the visit.