SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF EL SALVADOR ON TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE ACCORDS

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF EL SALVADOR

ON TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE ACCORDS

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for

Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

Ten years ago today, representatives of the Government of El Salvador and of the Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN) opted for peace by signing historic accords that ended over a decade of war.  In marking this tenth anniversary, the Secretary-General wishes to commend the Salvadoran people as well as the signatories for their efforts to implement this agreement, which paved new ground in peacemaking and peace-building. 

The 1992 accords signaled an innovative approach to ending civil conflict by addressing its root causes and transforming the institutions that had served to preserve the status quo.  The successful implementation of the accords was due primarily to the political will and determination of the signatories to end the war.  As Salvadorans examine their society today and look towards the future, the Secretary-General hopes that the accords and the democratic, rights-respecting approach they embody will continue to serve as inspirations and points of reference.  The experience has provided both the Organization and other societies facing similar situations with lessons that will serve as a model.

In recent years the United Nations has continued its verification functions in four areas relating to land tenure and benefits for those wounded in combat and the dependents of combatants who lost their lives.  The Secretary-General was gratified by the agreement reached in December 2001 paving the way for progress on the war-wounded question.  On this occasion he wishes to reiterate his call to the Government, the Fund for the War-Wounded, the FMLN and the associations of beneficiaries to implement the December agreement, thereby concluding this remaining aspect of the accords, and sealing the completion of a remarkable process.

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