United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Central America and the Caribbean

Institutional Strengthening and Presentation of Police toolkit for cases of Disappeared Persons in El Salvador

El Salvador, 15 October, 2020. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Central America and the Caribbean (UNODC ROPAN) AND the Central Investigation Division of the National Civil Police organized a training and the presentation of instruments for the search for disappeared persons in El Salvador.
The chiefs of police from delegations at the national level received training regarding the main elements of the crime of Disappearance of Persons. This crime was regulated in the criminal code of El Salvador to include any perpetrator under the scope of the law, including members of organized crime.

Procedure for the search for disappeared persons
During the event UNODC delivered the latest edition of the Protocol for Urgent Action and Search Strategy for El Salvador, endorsed by the current national authorities.
In addition, the Police Instructive for cases of disappeared Persons was presented to the participants. The instructive was approved in August 2020 by the General Director of the National Civil Police, Commissioner Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, and it develops the main actions to be carried out by the National Civil Police for the search of disappeared persons.
The instructive is of great importance for the operative procedure, because it develops the process from the reception of the case, the urgent search actions and the following investigation activities. It also establishes the institutional responsibilities of the Sub-directorate of the Police, Police delegations at the national level, Special Crimes Investigation Unit, 911 system and others.

The activity and the delivery of the toolkits was carried out within the framework of the Project "Institutional Strengthening in Cases of Disappearances Related to Organized Crime to Reduce Impunity in El Salvador", financed by the Government of Canada.