Children sit with a portrait of assasinated Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero on the 31st anniversary of his death. Luis Romero / AP/Press Association Images
Following almost two decades of courageous activism from human rights defenders, on 13 July 2016 El Salvador's highest court declared the General Amnesty Law unconstitutional, opening the door for war criminals to finally face justice.
El Salvador's civil war, which pitched an authoritarian government against left leaning guerrilla groups, began in 1979 and raged for more than 12 years. By January 1992, when the peace accords were signed, the conflict had claimed 75,000 lives and an estimated 7,000 persons had disappeared.
