From 1980-1992, El Salvador was torn apart by a brutal civil war, the legacies of which still linger today. The war claimed the lives of at least 75,000 civilians, many of them the victims of scorched earth massacres that wiped entire villages from the map; according to a United Nations Truth Commission, over 85% of these crimes were attributable to Salvadoran state forces and their aligned death squads. Yet decades later, no one has been held responsible for ordering these atrocities. Many Salvadorans are still searching for information about the fate of lost loved ones, seeking to recover their remains for reburial, or striving to honor their memory without fear of reprisals or recrimination.

For years, these efforts have been ignored by the institutions of justice in El Salvador, mainly because of an amnesty law passed just five days after the release of the Truth Commission’s report. The law blocking prosecution has long been invoked by judges and prosecutors reluctant to challenge powerful forces on both sides of the conflict who prefer their crimes be forgotten.

Yet the spirit of the Salvadoran people is indomitable. One month before his assassination, at a time when advocates of reform were being slaughtered all around him, Archbishop Romero declared from the pulpit, “Let it be known that no one can kill the voice of justice.” And he was right. Although Romero’s voice was silenced, like that of many who spoke out for human rights, today change is coming.

On March 20, 2013, an unprecedented number of survivors came forward to file criminal complaints in cases of massacres, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and torture. On September 1, 2013, the Salvadoran Attorney General’s office announced it would open investigations into key wartime massacres. And on September 20, the Constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court indicated it will rule on whether the amnesty law will be allowed to stand.

The tragedy that racked El Salvador was also fueled by international forces — in particular, by the United States government. Yet here too, there has been no accounting for our role in the conflict. We cannot learn from our history until we confront the consequences it wrought — until we understand its implications not only in terms of political alignments, but for people, and take action to support those who stand for justice. It’s time, now, for all of us to contribute to address human rights in the wake of human tragedy.