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Refugees – 1996

Salvadoran refugees continued to apply for asylum up until the end of the nine-month grace period. More than 100,000 applied in total. Once their case was received for review, they may be granted permission to stay until it is resolved, but refugee advocates only expected a small fraction of applicants to be granted asylum. The US pledged that there would be no mass-deportations in any case.¹

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal made some administrative reforms, but was not advancing very quickly to institute the acts of the Legislative Assembly to improve the voting register. Much work was to be done to implement the ONUSAL and MINUSAL recommendations before the 1997 legislative and municipal elections, but the Tribunal was hampered by a small budget.²

1. “Salvadorans face deadline — Today is last day for refugees to apply for political asylum,” San Antonio Express-News, January 31, 1996; “Peace in El Salvador strikes fear in refugees; Time is running out on temporary protected status of 190,000,” Knight-Ridder News Service, via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 18, 1996, National Section, p. A4.
2. “Mission of the United Nations in El Salvador: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/50/935), April 23, 1996.