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El Salvador a 'transformed country' facing future challenges, Annan says

El Salvador a 'transformed country' facing future challenges, Annan says

El Salvador is a "transformed country" that has taken considerable steps on the road to democratization, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today.

The country "has made great strides in abandoning conflict and excluding violent confrontation as a means to resolve differences," and its economy "can be singled out as one of the most stable in Latin America," the Secretary-General writes in an addendum to his report to the UN General Assembly on Central America.

He also notes that the country's Ombudsman's Office is recovering its envisaged role as an independent watchdog for protecting citizens' rights, but adds that challenges remain, including recent economic setbacks.

Nevertheless, El Salvador "stands at a crossroads," the Secretary-General says, urging the Government and Faribundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) to persevere on the path of implementing the 1991 peace accords, which he described as "a blueprint for realizing the aims of peace, respect for human rights, democratization and reconciliation that the parties had set for themselves when they engaged in negotiations."

The Secretary-General also pledges continued UN support for the goals of peace, democratization and the rule of law in El Salvador.