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Police Reform: Chapultepec Peace Agreement

Implementations

Police Reform – 1992

The Attorney-General of the Republic gained new powers to investigate crimes.¹

The Academic Council of the Military College was established more than two months late, with members finally appointed on 31 July 1992.²

The National Intelligence Department was disbanded ahead of schedule, but the new State Intelligence Agency was founded six weeks late and the director was appointed three months late. The FMLN complained that the FAES were still conducting intelligence operations inside El Salvador, but ONUSAL was not able to verify these claims.³

The FAES ceased making arrests after the commencement of the cessation of armed conflict on 1 February 1992.

In conjunction with the negotiations that brought a formal end to the armed conflict on 15 December 1992, the President of the Republic agreed to implement the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Commission on purification. President Cristiani promptly responded to the decision of the Commission, but failed to heed all of the Commission’s recommendations.⁴ The recommendation called for the dissolution of the police force and to establish a new Civilian Police Force. According to the accord, FMLN would recommend 20% personnel to the new police force.

ONUSAL had a Police Division to monitor activities of National Police during the transitional phase as well as maintain public by helping Auxiliary Transitory Police (PAT) maintain civilian order until the new National Civil Police was established.⁵ This helped the ONUSAL Police division to train the PNC in field.⁶ The accord established two interrelated institutions. The new National Civil Police and the new civilian police academy (Academia Nacional de Seguridad Publica – ANSP). After the 16 January 1992 Chapultepec (Mexico) Agreement between FMLN and the government, the technical mission was established in March 1992 to work on drafting of the National Academy of Public Security (ANSP). In April 1992, its director was appointed and the institution started its work in May 1992.⁷

The ANSP started to enroll PNC agents in August 1992.⁸

“Report of the Director of the Human Rights Division of ONUSAL,” United Nations Security Council (S/24066), June 5, 1992.
“Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador,” United Nations Security Council (S/24833), November 23, 1992.
ibid.(S/24833).
“Letter Dated 7 January 1993 from the Secretary-General Addressed to the President of the Security Council,” United Nations Security Council (S/25078), January 9, 1993.
“El Salvador- ONUSAL Background,” accessed January 4, 2012, http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/onusalbackgr2.html.
William Stanley, “Building new police forces in El Salvador and Guatemala: Learning and counter-learning,” International Peacekeeping, (1999), 6(4):113 -134.
“Academia Nacional De seguridad Publica El Salvador, C.A.,” accessed January 4, 2012, http://www.ansp.gob.sv/index.php.
Stanley, “Learning and counter-learning,” pp. 116.

Police Reform – 1993

The 22 December 1992 agreement stipulated that the Government of El Salvador should inform the public of the new FAES doctrine, but it was slow to do so.¹

ONUSAL verified that the National Intelligence Department was formally dismantled in November 1993, and the new State Intelligence Agency was created. It was not clear whether the FAES were still engaged in intelligence activities outside those permitted by the Peace Agreements²

In February 1993, 600 PNC agents graduated from ANSP. Subsequent classes graduated approximately 300 agents on a monthly basis. Within two years, the academy was expected to train 5,700 basic police agents and 240 officers.³ According to a report, the new National Civilian Police (PNC) began replacing the old National Police (PN) on a department-by-department schedule in March 1993. And by the end of 1993, the PNC was deployed in 7 of El Salvador’s 14 departments.⁴

“Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador,” United Nations Security Council (S/25812), May 21, 1993; “Further Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador,” United Nations Security Council (S/26790), November 23, 1993.
ibid. (S/26790).
Stanley, “Learning and counter-learning,” 6(4):113 -134.
“El Salvador Human Rights Practice, 1993,” U.S. Department of State Dispatch, February 1994.

Police Reform – 1994

UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali strenuously impressed upon the Government of El Salvador to finally phase out the National Police and institute the constitutional reforms recommended by the Commission on the Truth. Despite multiple appeals, President Cristiani and the Government remained reluctant to move on these issues.¹ The matter was scandalized when a television crew filmed a deadly armed robbery on 22 June 1994 and the Chief of the Investigative Department of the National Police was later arrested for his involvement.²

A Select Review Committee was created to investigate the issue of personnel with military backgrounds being transferred to the National Civil Police. The Government continued to delay the demobilization and reintegration of National Police personnel.³ However, some significant achievements were made in terms of deploying the new National Civil Police force. By the end of October 1994, the National Civil Police was fully deployed in all but 2 of the 14 departments in El Salvador.⁴ The National Police was redeployed on 31 December 1994.⁵

“Letter Dated 28 March from the Secretary-General Addressed to the President of the Security Council,” United Nations Security Council (S/1994/361), March 30, 1994.
“Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador,” United Nations Security Council (S/1994/1000), August 26, 1994.
“Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador,” United Nations Security Council (S/1994/561), May 11, 1994.
“Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador,” United Nations Security Council (S/1994/1212), October 31, 1994.
“Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador,” United Nations Security Council (S/1995/220) March 24, 1995; “El Salvador Human Rights Practice, 1994,” U.S. Department of State Dispatch, March 1995.

Police Reform – 1995

“The Government completed demobilization of the military-dominated National Police in December 1994, and deployed nearly half of the planned 20,000 officers of the new National Civilian Police (PNC) in its place.”¹

The FAES conducting public security tasks, despite the transfer of policing responsibilities to the National Civil Police. The Constitution grants the President of the Republic the power to deploy the FAES for public safety in dire cases, and the President indeed authorized the FAES to aid the National Civil Police with law enforcement due to high crime rates.²

“El Salvador Human Rights Practice,” U.S. State Department, accessed January 4, 2012, http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1995_hrp_report/95hrp_report_ara….
“Thirteenth Report of the Director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL),” United Nations General Assembly / Security Council (A/49/888 S/1995/281), April 18, 1995.

Police Reform – 1996

Even after the consolidation of the National Civil Police, the military continued to provide protection for PNC patrols in rural areas, a measure begun in 1995 in response to action by well-armed criminal bands. Then PNC received human rights education but there were reports of human rights abuses by PNC cadres.¹

“El Salvador Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996,” U.S. State Department, accessed January 4, 2012, http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1996_hrp_report/elsalvad.html.

Police Reform – 1997

The old police force was dissolved and the new National Civil Police (PNC) was fully established that was more efficient compared to the National Police. The PNC was more efficient than the old PN, and it was deployed throughout El Salvador in 1995, thereby completing the police reform provisions of the accord.