El Salvador: Illegal Detention of Trade Union leader

SLV 001 / 9806 / OBS 0037
June 4th, 1998					


The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
programme of the FIDH and the OMCT, requests your URGENT intervention
in the following situation in El Salvador.

Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by the CLADEHLT , Latin American
Commission for the Rights and Liberties of Workers and Peoples, a
member of the OMCT network, of the illegal detention of the trade
union leader Vicente Ramirez, on Friday May 25th last, at 12:15 hours
in Salvador.

According to the reports from the CLADEHLT , Sr. Vicente Ramirez,
Deputy Secretary -General of  CATS, (Central Autónoma de Trabajadores
Salvadoreños), President of the ANTRAVEPECOS  (Associación Nacional de
Trabajadores, Vendedores y Pequeños Comercantes)  and member of the
Executive Committee of the FETRALCOS (Federación Latinoamaericana de
Trabajadores del Comercio) was detained in an entirely arbitrary
manner by the order-keeping unit of the civil police (UMO).

At the time of his detention Sr. Ramirez was opposing the eviction of
300 families working in the Mercado de Mayoreo de la Tiendona, which
was being carried out in an arbitrary and violent manner. The CLADEHLT
also points out that the informal trade sector has shown a strong
increase due to the rise in unemployment rates in El Salvador and that
the eviction of these families would increase poverty and social
marginalisation, particularly when taking into account the number of
indirect workers who earn their living through their activities in
that market.

Recalling that the right to work is a fundamental component of human
rights, recognised as such in various international and regional
instruments, the Observatory considers that the eviction of these
families constitutes  a breach of the international obligations of El
Salvador as well as of the laws in force in that country. It also
considers that  because of the circumstances in which it took place,
the detention of Sr. Ramirez is a violation of the international and
regional standards  including ILO Convention No. 87

 Action requested:
Please write to the Salvadoran authorities urging them to:
i.	-guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Sr. Vicente
Ramirez and order his immediate and unconditional release should he
still be in custody; ii.	-ensure that non-governmental human rights
organisations, including trade-unions and their members, enjoy the
necessary conditions for the free pursuit of their activities in the
promotion and defence of human rights. iii.	-in general comply with
the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
international Covenants ratified by El Salvador.

Addresses
S:E: Dr. Amado Calderón Sol, Presidente de la Rep´ublica, San
Salvador, El Salvador Fax. (+503 2) 71 09 50. Procuradora para los
Derechos Humanos, Procuraduría para los Sderechos Humanaos, San
Salvador, El Salvador,  9 Ave Norte  y Calle Pte.  Edificio AMSA NO;
535, San Salvador, El Salvador. Fax (+503  2) 71 28 86. Sr. Hugo
Barrera, Ministro de Seguridad Pública, República de El Salvador, FAX:
503. 2712690 Doctor Hector Silva, Alcalde de San Salvador, FAX
503.2228670 The Salvadoran Embassy in your respective countries.

Geneva - Paris, June 4th 1998

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 in your reply.

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