El Salvador

Informing responses to internal displacement caused by violence ( 2016 – 2018)
The aim of the project was to paint a comprehensive picture of the phenomenon of internal displacement for the first time, including its magnitude, causes and impacts, as the basis for designing and implementing institutional responses to assist and protect the country’s IDPs and prevent future displacement.

The exercise was led by DAV, part of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), and carried out in collaboration with several other institutions and organisations, including:

• the El Salvador Program of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) – which implemented the qualitative components of the exercise- and
• the General Directorate of Statistics and Census (DIGESTYC), which led the quantitative components.

UNHCR also contributed by providing technical and operational support, and the European Commission, via its Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Operations (ECHO), provided financial support for data collection activities. We provided technical support throughout the process, both on-site and remotely. The profiling report was launch in-country in March 2018

This profiling exercise constituted the first effort of El Salvador’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security to collect comprehensive evidence on displacement due to violence in the country. Similarly, it is the first time that official and agreed-upon information is available on the dimensions, characteristics and impacts of the phenomenon.

While state institutions have already taken important steps to respond to the displacement situation by setting up programmes and services particularly in the areas of legal guidance, access to justice and psychosocial support, the results of the profiling exercise helped to tailor these interventions more carefully to the needs of those affected.

Despite this significant progress many challenges persist, particularly the need for effective protection and security mechanisms, and policies and measures to prevent further displacement. In recognition of these, the publication of the profiling report was accompanied by several other steps to address internal displacement in the country, including:

• the launch of a roadmap for inter-institutional coordination for a comprehensive response
• a constitutional court decision that officially recognises internal displacement in the country. This decision, reached on July 13 2019, enabled open discussion on internal displacement and demonstrated the visibility of this issue and the priority placed on seeking solutions for the populations affected
• the publication of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs on 23 April 2018, welcoming the profiling results and encouraging their broad use in the government response

In February 2020, a new law on internal displacement was passed. It also foresees the establishment of an national system that brings together the diverse state institutions to collaborate on the response to and prevention of forced displacement.