The Irish El Salvador Support Committee was founded in 1979 to create awareness of the worsening human rights record of the then Salvadoran government under the Presidency of General Romero.

When the armed insurrection by the FMLN began in 1981, human rights violations by the Salvadoran armed forces and their allied death squads reached alarming proportions. With the ascent to power by President Ronald Regan, the US government supported the Salvadoran armed forces with arms, military advisers, and logistical support to the value of one million dollars per day.

This Committee organised US Embassy protests and lobbied for political debate within Ireland.

We have also produced newsletters, education packs and numerous information publications. Our campaigning is based on contacts with grassroots organisations, human rights groups, Salvadoran, International and Irish church workers in El Salvador. We have recently sponsored a "Charter for Aid" espousing a concept of partnership between Irish Aid Agencies, Non Governmental Organisations, and the peoples and communities in recipient countries.

Since the Chapultepec Peace Accords was signed in 1991 between the Salvadoran government and the FMLN, the Committee has been working to ensure that the voice of the Salvadoran people is still heard within the corridors of Irish political power. We continue to lobby for the full implementation of the peace accords and the recommendations of the Truth Commission.

For further information contact Brendan Butler, IRISH EL SALVADOR SUPPORT COMMITTEE, Pennock Hill, Swords, Co. Dublin. Tel 01-840 5469 Fax 01-8407026