although there is no record of any exhumation procedure that was carried out on the initiative of the State authorities themselves; in other words, the omissive attitude of the State persisted after 1993. E. The Law of General Amnesty for the Consolidation of Peace and its application to this case 265. The Court will now proceed to describe the relevant facts and analyze whether or not the Law of General Amnesty for the Consolidation of Peace enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of El Salvador in 1993 is compatible with the rights recognized in Article 1(1), 2,419 8(1)420 and 25421 of the American Convention to which the State of El Salvador is a party or, as appropriate, whether the law can maintain its legal effects in relation to the serious human rights violations and the grave breaches of international humanitarian law committed during the internal armed conflict, taking into consideration the specific circumstances that surrounded the enactment of this law in El Salvador. 1) The facts relating to the peace process and the Law of General Amnesty for the Consolidation of Peace a) The internal armed conflict and the peace negotiation process 266. The peace negotiation process began when the five Central American Presidents requested the intervention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, asking him to use his good offices in order to achieve peace in the Central American region, and this was ratified by Resolution 637 (1989) of 27 July 1989, of the United Nations Security Council. 422 267. In October 1989, the Secretary-General of the United Nations informed the General Assembly and the Security Council about the Agreement signed in Mexico City on September 15 between the Government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) endeavoring to initiate a process of dialogue in order to end the armed conflict in El Salvador by political means.423 In December 1989, the Government of the then President Alfredo Cristiani and the FMLN, separately, requested the Secretary-General to assist them in the effort to obtain peace.424 268. Consequently, the Secretary-General encouraged the negotiation process that had been created under his good offices in order to achieve “agreement on a cease to the armed confrontation and of any act that did not respect the rights of the civilian population” of El 419 Article 2 of the American Convention establishes that: “[w]here the exercise of any of the rights or freedoms referred to in Article 1 is not already ensured by legislative or other provisions, the States Parties undertake to adopt, in accordance with their constitutional processes and the provisions of this Convention, such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to those rights or freedoms.” 420 Article 8(1) of the American Convention stipulates that: “[e]very person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or any other nature.” 421 Article 25(1) of the American Convention indicates that: “[e]veryone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the state concerned or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of their official duties.” 422 Cf. United Nations. El Salvador Agreements: on the road to peace, 1992 (evidence file, tome IX, annex 6 to the pleadings and motions brief, folio 5805). 423 Cf. United Nations. El Salvador Agreements: on the road to peace, 1992 (evidence file, tome IX, annex 6 to the pleadings and motions brief, folio 5805) 424 Cf. United Nations. El Salvador Agreements: on the road to peace, 1992 (evidence file, tome IX, annex 6 to the pleadings and motions brief, folio 5805) 87