In May of 2018, after more than two years of discussions, the University of Washington settled its 2015 Freedom of Information lawsuit brought by the UWCHR against the CIA. The UWCHR’s lawsuit resulted in the declassification of 139 documents regarding Sigifredo Ochoa Pérez, a former Salvadoran Army officer implicated in human rights violations, including the 1981 Santa Cruz massacre and the 1982 El Calabozo massacre. We are pleased with this outcome, and are continuing our work to further struggles for truth, justice, and accountability through access to information.

On December 6, 2017, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of El Salvador ordered the Salvadoran Public Prosecutor’s office and Ministry of Defense to carry out a new investigation of the disappearance of the Rivas Clímaco siblings, five children who were forcibly disappeared during a 1982 military operation. The Chamber’s ruling cites as evidence a

UWCHR Director Angelina Godoy recently spoke about our work supporting efforts for justice in El Salvador and historic advances in the trial for the infamous El Mozote massacre with Mike McCormick on Seattle radio station KEXP. She also touches on the history of the Center, what we do, our projects and updates including developments in

A message from UWCHR Director, Prof. Angelina Snodgrass Godoy Dear friends, With UW’s fall quarter now underway, our offices at the Center for Human Rights are once again abuzz with activity. We’ve spent the past few weeks laying out plans for the year ahead, training our new undergraduate researchers, and welcoming back our seasoned grad

Lots of exciting things in the Fall 2015 newsletter: Student fellows report back on their work UWCHR sues CIA Conference photos and videos Meet our new interns Upcoming events, and much more!  

On October 2, 2015, the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights filed suit against the US Central Intelligence Agency in federal district court. The case is related to our “Unfinished Sentences” project aiming to promote truth, justice, and reparations for survivors of the armed conflict in El Salvador. Our FOIA research For the past

English El viernes pasado el Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Washington (University of Washington Center for Human Rights, UW CHR) entabló una demanda contra la CIA en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Seattle. Alega que la agencia no ha satisfecho sus obligaciones dictadas por la Ley de Libertad de Información (Freedom

University of Washington Center for Human Rights sues CIA under Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit seeks release of documents relating to wartime atrocities in El Salvador Who: University of Washington Center for Human Rights and Human Rights Institute of the Central American University (IDHUCA) What: Announcement of lawsuit in bi-national press conference, followed by one-day conference