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Amnesty International Report 2005 - Ecuador

Covering events from January - December 2004

Police courts continued to claim jurisdiction over cases of police officers accused of violating human rights. Prison conditions were harsh. Indigenous and community leaders, as well as journalists, were attacked, threatened and intimidated

Background

Throughout the year, indigenous groups, grassroots organizations, trade unions and opposition groups held protests against alleged government corruption and the government's socioeconomic policies.

The ongoing conflict in neighbouring Colombia (see Colombia entry), which has resulted in some 300,000 Colombians seeking refuge in the country, continued to have serious repercussions for Ecuador, particularly in the increasingly militarized border areas.

A law on transparency and access to information was passed allowing the media and citizens to gain access to information about state institutions.

In December, in an extraordinary session called by the President, Congress removed 27 of the 31 judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and nominated replacements. The reason given for this resolution was that the judges' contracts had actually ended in January 2003. The abrupt removal triggered serious concerns over the independence of the judiciary.

Economic, social and cultural rights

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed concern in June that the rights of indigenous communities were not being fully implemented and that concessions for the extraction of natural resources had been granted to international companies without the full consent of the communities affected.

The Committee was also concerned about discrimination against the Afro-Ecuadorian population and inequality between men and women.

Police courts

Police courts continued to claim jurisdiction over cases involving human rights violations despite promises made by the authorities that these would be heard by civil courts. Police courts are neither independent nor impartial and are a cause of impunity. Complainants and witnesses involved in such cases faced intimidation and death threats.

• In October, 20 police officers who participated in a police operation related to an alleged robbery in which eight people died and three detainees "disappeared" after being taken into custody were acquitted by a Guayaquil police court. In April, journalist José Solís Solís received threatening telephone calls and was followed by unknown persons, apparently as a result of his reporting of the case.

Harassment of government critics

Journalists and indigenous and community leaders were subjected to armed attacks and threats after criticizing government policies.

• In January, Miguel Rivadeneira, from Radio Quito, received anonymous threatening telephone calls after reporting government corruption.

• In February, Leonidas Iza, President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador, CONAIE), was shot at by unknown individuals in Quito. He was unharmed but four members of his family were injured.

Attacks and threats against indigenous activists in oil zones

Members of the Sarayaku indigenous community in Pastaza province and others campaigning to stop oil exploitation on their territory were subjected to physical attacks, death threats and other forms of intimidation. In 2003 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had ordered the Ecuadorian state to protect the Sarayaku community in the province.

• Marlon Santi, President of the Sarayaku Association, was attacked and beaten in Quito in February, the day before he was due to travel to Costa Rica to present his community's case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Prison conditions

In January, President Gutiérrez declared Ecuador's overcrowded prisons to be in a "state of emergency" and promised extra funding to improve facilities. As of February, 11,000 inmates, about 1,000 of whom had been held for over a year pending trial, were reportedly held in harsh conditions in facilities built for 6,000. However, little effective action was taken and protests and riots took place in several prisons. On several occasions, visitors were held hostage to put pressure on the authorities to reduce sentences and improve conditions.