Ceremony in El Salvador marks formal end to 12-year conflict; 'from armed peace into a new era....' (Central America)

Following delays and revisions to the timetable for implementing the 16 January 1992 peace agreement between the Government of El Salvador and the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN), a ceremony was held in San Salvador on 15 December to mark the formal end to the 12-year armed conflict in El Salvador. A ceasefire has prevailed in that country since 1 February 1992.

Attending the ceremony in San Salvador on the "momentous occasion", Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said that after almost a year without armed combat, the country had crossed the line "from armed peace into a new era".

He indicated that problems with the reintegration of FMLN members into the civil, institutional and political life of El Salvador were being overcome, as were difficulties arising from the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Commission on the Purification of the Armed Forces.

Reunification: not yet

The goal of reunifying Salvadorian society, the Secretary-General continued, was still not within reach. It was quite possible, he stated, that the watershed in the process of reuniting Salvadorian society would come only when the report of the Commission on the Truth--established to investigate serious acts of violence committed during the conflict--became available.

The UN was trying to help ensure that the causes of the conflict did not recur, but the primary responsibility lay with the Salvadorians, he said. On 30 November, in Security Council resolution 791 (1992), the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL) was further extended for six months, until 31 May 1993.

Calm and caution needed

In October 1992, the Secretary-General had reported (S/24688) that delays had been experienced in implementing several aspects of the peace accords, including the transfer of land to former combatants on both sides, the establishment of a new National Civil Police and demobilization of the FMLN. As of 19 October, only 40 per cent of FMLN combatants had returned to civilian life.

On 23 October, the Secretary-General proposed a set of adjustments to the timetable of the peace agreement, according to which cessation of the armed conflict would be completed on 15 December. He observed that with the peace process entering an especially delicate phase, it would be imperative that both parties act with caution and restraint, until and for an extended period after 15 December, "so that national reconciliation may become a reality".

Unanimously...