Ecuador: Human rights organizations condemn the repression of protesters

These protests originated as an expression of civil discontent in the face of insecurity, economic crisis, and the lack of state response to legitimate socioeconomic and political grievances. However, the reaction of the state has been strikingly repressive. Military and police convoys were deployed in response to the protests, including one of more than 100 vehicles, which traveled from Quito to Imbabura on September 28, headed by the Ministers of Defense and the Interior. Armed forces have interfered in the maintenance of public order - a function for which they are not normally responsible - and used disproportionate lethal force.

As of today, the Alliance for Human Rights has recorded: 219 human rights violations, 112 people injured, and one fatality in the context of state repression. Although official figures refer to 111 people detained, the Alliance has documented 95 arbitrary detentions and at least 12 people who suffered short-term enforced disappearance, including one person with a disability. Phone and internet outages were reported in Cotacachi, Otavalo, and La Esperanza, a form of censorship which impedes protests, voices in the media, and human rights defenders from documenting and denouncing violations. In addition, there have been documented cases of mass arrests, judicial proceedings without due process, disinformation, the freezing of bank accounts, the criminalization of justice operators, human rights defenders, and journalists, and summary deportations.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed alarm at the scale of violence in Ecuador and has called for emergency dialogue between the government and mobilized sectors, emphasizing the necessity of guaranteeing the protection of human rights and of the lives of all involved. Additionally, we reiterate that states bear the responsibility to investigate the use of unlawful force and the military is not trained to enforce or maintain civil security.

We reiterate that peaceful protest is a fundamental right tightly bound to the freedom of expression, assembly, association, and participation in public affairs. States bear the responsibility to respect, protect, and guarantee its exercise, including assuring safe conditions for mobilization, enabling online organizing, and protecting the work of journalists and human rights defenders. The use of force is only legitimate when it adheres to the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality (limiting its use to what is strictly necessary and proportionate to its risk), and the participation of armed forces in the maintenance of public order violates international standards and aggravates the risk of grave violations.

For the above reasons, the following organizations strongly urge the state of Ecuador to immediately cease the use of disproportionate force, guarantee peaceful protest, and open space for genuine dialogue with the mobilized elements of society. Furthermore, we call on the international community, including the IACHR and UN to condemn this repression, demand an official response, and conduct on site verification visits in response to the gravity of these violations of human rights.

Signed:

International

1. Centro de Derechos Reproductivos

2. CIVICUS Alianza Global

3. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

4. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)

5. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Regional

6. Amnesty International - Regional Office for the Americas

7. Center for Justice and International LAW (CEJIL

8. Grupo de pueblos indígenas de la ILC-ALC - Latin America and the Caribbean

9. Plataforma de Defensores y Defensoras de la Tierra – ILC - Latin America and the Caribbean

10. Plataforma Mujeres y Derechos a Tierra y Territorios de la ILC LAC - Latin America and the Caribbean

11. Plataforma Regional De Agricultura - Latin America and the Caribbean

12. Tejiendo Redes Infancia en América Latina y el Caribe - Latin America and the Caribbean

13. Red Territorios de Vida TICCA Latinoamérica - ICCA Consortium - - Latin America

Local

14. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) - Argentina

15. Instituto para el Desarrollo Rural de Sudamérica – IPDRS - Bolivia

16. Environmental Defender Law Center - Brazil

17. Corporación Humanas - Chile

18. Observatorio Ciudadano - Chile

19. Colectivo de Abogados y Abogadas “José Alvear Restrepo” (CAJAR) - Colombia

20. Red de Salud de las Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe (RSMLAC) - Colombia

21. Comisión Colombiana de Juristas (CCJ) – Colombia

22. Coalición Nacional Por la Tierra Ecuador - Ecuador

23. Movimiento Mujeres Luna Creciente - Ecuador

24. Manuel Eduardo Peralta Antamba - Ecuador

25. Centro de Documentación en Derechos Humanos "Segundo Montes Mozo SJ" (CSMM) - Ecuador

26. Runa Ayllullakta Comunidad Amazónica Cordillera de Cóndor Mirador - Ecuador

27. Alianza de Organizaciones por los Derechos Humanos del Ecuador - Ecuador

28. Fundación Hermandad Integrada por la Solidaridad del Inmigrante (FHISI) - Ecuador

29. Fundación Arupo - Ecuador

30. Amazon Frontlines - United States

31. Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) - United States

32. Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) - United States

33. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights - United States

34. Central de organizaciones indígenas maya Ch’orti’ Nuevo Día - Guatemala

35. Red de Mujeres del Trifinio HOSAGUA Guatemala – Guatemala

36. Centro Jurídico por los Derechos Humanos - Honduras

37. Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación - Honduras

38. Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos (IM-Defensoras) – Mesoamérica

39. Consultoria Solidaria - Mexico

40. Mujeres Indígenas por ciarena - Mexico

41. Fundación para la Justicia - Mexico

42. Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres - Nicaragua

43. Congreso General indigena Maje Embera Drua - Panama

44. Tierraviva a los Pueblos Indígenas del Chaco - Paraguay

45. Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos - Peru

46. Plataforma para la Gobernanza Responsable de la Tierra - Peru

47. DEMUS - Estudio para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer - Peru

48. Centro de Políticas Públicas y Derechos Humanos (Perú EQUIDAD) – Peru

49. Fundación Étnica Integral - Dominican Republic

50. Mesa nacional para las migraciones y refugiados en República Dominicana (MENAMIRD) - Dominican Republic

51. Articulación Nacional Campesina (ANC) - Dominican Republic