War Crimes Research Office

WCRO Director Susana SáCouto and Assistant Director Natalie Coburn submitted, in collaboration with the Due Process of Law Foundation, an amicus curiae brief in support of the families of the victims of the "El Mozote" massacre, in which nearly 1,000 civilians (of which more than 550 were children) were killed by the Salvadoran Army in and around the village of El Mozote, in the Morazán Department of El Salvador, in December of 1981. The brief provided an analysis of victims’ rights in the case, which is now before the Court of Instruction in San Francisco Gotera in the Morazán Department of El Salvador. The amicus brief confirms that the 1974 Code of Criminal Procedure applies to all future El Mozote proceedings but that the Code is not the only applicable law. The Salvadoran Constitution requires all courts to recognize that international treaties, as well as other binding obligations, likewise apply. Such obligations require the Court to grant additional rights to the victims of the massacre. Specifically, victims must be provided with broad intervention rights, including the right to appeal inaction. Moreover, the Constitution and other domestic law place an onus on Salvadoran judges to act expeditiously to achieve justice. The brief argues that only by recognizing victims’ intervention rights can Salvadoran courts comply with their obligations to provide victims with effective access to justice.

Amicus Brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto on issues of gender and crimes against humanity.

Amicus Brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto on issues of gender and crimes against humanity.

Amicus Brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto and Prof. Claudia Martin on issues of gender and international criminal law.

Amicus Brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto and Prof. Claudia Martin on issues of gender and international criminal law.

Expert opinion brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto with contributions by Prof. Claudia Martin on issues of torture.

Amicus Brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto and 14 other experts on issues of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Amicus Brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto and Prof. Claudia Martin on issues of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Amicus Brief presented by WCRO Director Susana SáCouto and 14 other experts on issues of sexual and gender-based violence.