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TITLE: ECUADOR HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
ECUADOR
Ecuador is a constitutional republic with a president and a
77-member unicameral legislature chosen in free elections. In
1992 national elections saw the peaceful transfer of power from
a center-left government to a center-right government, with a
realignment of power within the National Assembly as well.
Members of the Supreme Court preside over a judiciary that is
constitutionally independent but susceptible to political
pressure. The Assembly has important powers to question and
censure Cabinet ministers; such censure results in automatic
dismissal of the minister in question.
The Ecuadorian military has significant autonomy, reinforced by
guaranteed access to revenues from the nation's oil exports,
and from civil aviation, shipping, and other economic
activities. The military has maintained a low profile in
domestic politics since the return to constitutional rule in
1979. The National Police, responsible for domestic law
enforcement and maintenance of internal order, falls under the
civilian Ministry of Government and Police. There were various
credible allegations of human rights abuses by the security
forces, especially the National Police, during 1993.
The economy is based on private enterprise, although there
continued to be heavy government involvement in key sectors
such as petroleum, utilities, and aviation. Inflation remained
high, between 30 to 40 percent in 1993. Most Ecuadorians are
employed in the informal sector, either as urban street vendors
or rural agricultural workers; rural poverty is extensive and
unemployment is very high.
Ecuadorians enjoy, both in law and in fact, a wide range of
freedoms and individual rights, but serious human rights
problems have not yet been eliminated. These include some
instances of extrajudicial killings, torture and other
mistreatment of prisoners and detainees, impunity for human
rights abusers, violence by paramilitary groups in rural areas,
lengthy detention before trial, a politicized court system, and
pervasive discrimination against women, blacks, and Indians.
The most fundamental concern is over shortcomings in the
Ecuadorian legal and judicial system. People are subject to
arbitrary arrest; once incarcerated, they may wait years before
coming to trial. Often, the only way to avoid these problems
is through the payment of bribes to a variety of officials.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no known politically motivated killings in 1993.
There were, however, cases of extrajudicial killing of criminal
suspects by the police, who often act with impunity in such
cases, because disciplinary action for such activities is the
responsibility of the police itself, and crimes by police
officers are tried in special police courts.
The Catholic Church-affiliated Ecumenical Human Rights
Commission (CEDHU) reported a total of 32 extrajudicial killings
in 1993, of which 24 were attributed to the security forces
(which include the police, armed forces, prison employees, and
other authorities). At least one of these cases later proved
to be due to a traffic accident. Marines killed three people
in an anticrime sweep in the port city of Guayaquil. The
Marines carried out this sweep because the Navy is the dominant
branch of the armed forces in that port city and the Government
reportedly did not trust the police to do the job. The armed
forces asserted that those killed were criminals who offered
armed resistance, but no investigation was undertaken into the
killings because they were killed in a firefight, in which
several Marines were wounded, and because they were among the
targets of the sweep. In addition to the casualties, 39 people
were arrested in the sweep.
Not long after the Marines' sweep, the police mounted a similar
operation in Guayaquil in which 65-year-old Antonia Mera de
Molineros was shot and killed by police who entered her home by
mistake. The police admitted the mistake and apologized.
Alleged death squads murdered 14 persons in midyear in
Guayaquil. All of the victims were known criminals who had
been recently released from custody; one was still clutching
his release papers. The Guayaquil-based Ecuadorian Committee
on Human and Union Rights (CEDHUS) originally reported that it
had evidence that the death squad was made up of police
officers. Nevertheless, in July three common criminals were
arrested and charged in the death squad killings.
Indigenous organizations continued to charge that indigenous
people were the target of violent and lethal reprisals by
paramilitary groups during illegal land invasions and other
squatter demonstrations. The paramilitary groups are armed
security guards hired by private landowners to protect their
property. These forces often use military-like uniforms; some
are reportedly operated or trained by former military or police
officials, but there is no evidence of complicity with
active-duty military or police personnel.
b. Disappearance
There were no known cases of politically motivated
disappearances during 1993. The Committee of Families of
Victims of Repression organized weekly demonstrations in the
main plaza of Quito and lists 11 cases of disappearances since
1985 in its pamphlets, the latest occurring in 1992. In seven
of these cases the perpetrators are unknown; the group alleges
police involvement in the other four.
Prosecution of those responsible for the 1988 disappearance of
the Restrepo brothers continued to move very slowly. The
highest ranking official charged in the case, ex-Commander of
the Police General Gilberto Molina, who escaped from custody in
October 1992, remained a fugitive. In June the charge against
Molina was changed from covering up the disappearance and
presumed deaths of the two to being one of the perpetrators of
the crime itself. Molina issued a statement attacking the
court for making such a charge without any solid evidence that
a murder had taken place. Two other police officers charged in
the case remain in custody.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Although torture and similar forms of intimidation and
punishment are prohibited by law, there were continued reports
of physical mistreatment by police of suspects and prisoners.
There were few reports of officials being punished for such
abuses. The CEDHU published detailed reports on suspects
claiming to have been tortured by the police, frequently naming
police officials alleged to be responsible and often including
photographs of the victims with their wounds. The Government
took no action to respond to the CEDHU reports.
By law, police officers may be tried only before police courts
in closed sessions. The practical effect of this is immunity
from prosecution, with the occasional exception of some
high-profile cases, such as that of the Restrepo brothers.
Prison conditions in Ecuador's overcrowded detention centers
generally continued to be very poor. Prisons in the tropical
coastal areas tend to be worse than those in the temperate
highlands. The women's prison in Quito has notably better
conditions than other facilities. There are no separate
facilities for hard-core or dangerous criminals, nor are there
rehabilitation programs.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution and Penal Code provide that no one may be
deprived of liberty without a written order from a governmental
authority, but these legal protections against arbitrary arrest
or detention are often violated. Specific written orders must
be signed within 24 hours of detention--even in cases in which
a suspect is caught in the act of committing a crime. The
suspect must be charged with a specific criminal offense within
48 hours of arrest. All prisoners have the right to a review
of the legality of their detention within 48 hours of arrest, a
review which is supposed to be carried out by the senior
elected official (usually the mayor) of the locality in which
the suspect is held.
Incommunicado detention is not uncommon although it is legally
prohibited. Despite provisions of the Penal Code, the police
often detain suspects without the required written order. Even
when an order is obtained, appropriate authorities charged with
reviewing it to determine its validity often allow frivolous
charges to be brought, either because of overwork or because
bribes are paid by the accuser. In many instances, the system
is used as a means of harassment in civil cases in which one
party seeks to have the other arrested on criminal charges.
Suspects are frequently detained longer than 24 hours before
orders are signed, and few are charged within 48 hours of
arrest. Preventive detention up to and including trial is
legal under certain circumstances.
In late August, the courts ordered a census to be taken in the
30 penitentiaries in the country to determine the number of
people being held and their legal status as inmates. Several
hundred prisoners were released for having served more than the
maximum sentence for the crime for which they were accused
without actually having been convicted and sentenced.
Exile is not used as a tool of political control.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Most nonmilitary defendants are tried by the regular court
system, although some indigenous groups try members privately
for violations of tribal rules. To depoliticize and modernize
the court system, a major reform of the Supreme Court began to
be implemented in January. The Supreme Court is now composed
of 31 justices and 3 alternates chosen by Congress from lists
of candidates submitted by the executive, the legislature, and
the Court itself. The Court appointments are no longer
coterminous with the term of the President, and terms of the
judges are staggered so that one-third of the Court changes
every 2 years.
While these reforms were intended to distance the judiciary
from political influence, the ensuing selection process was no
less political than in the past, with each party in the Congress
demanding its proportionate share of the Supreme Court. This
made it much more difficult to arrive at decisions, and the
Supreme Court failed to complete restructuring the superior
courts because members could not agree on the candidates.
Due process rights for criminal defendants are provided for by
law but often not observed in practice. In theory, the accused
is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Defendants
have the right to a public trial, defense attorneys, and
appeal. They may present evidence but have the privilege not
to testify against themselves, and they may confront and
cross-examine witnesses. Although a public defender system
exists, in practice there are relatively few attorneys
available to defend the large number of indigent suspects.
Trial is supposed to begin within 15 to 60 days of the initial
arrest. In practice, however, as noted in Section 1.d.,
initiation of the trial phase can take years. Indigenous
people and other minorities are disproportionately affected by
these delays as they are more likely to be poor and unable to
buy their way out of pretrial detention.
Bail is not generally available. Families of detainees
sometimes intervene in an attempt to secure the prisoner's
freedom through illegal means.
Political activity is not sanctioned in any way by the judicial
system, and there are no political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Police are required to have a warrant to enter a private home
or business, except in the case of hot pursuit. The police
generally respect the sanctity of private homes and
correspondence. Police surveillance is permitted, but
wiretapping is prohibited by the Constitution and the results
of a wiretap are not admissible as evidence in court.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech, and this
provision is generally respected in practice. However, the
media and opposition political figures criticized the
Government's use of the media for its own political ends. With
the exception of two government-owned radio stations all of the
major media organs--television, newspapers, and radio--are in
local private hands (foreign investment in the media is
prohibited). Using a law (promulgated by the last military
regime) that requires the media to give the Government free
space or air time, the Government frequently required
television and radio to broadcast government produced programs
featuring the President and other top administration
officials. It also required newspapers to carry a minimum
amount of news prepared by the National Secretariat of Social
Communications.
The media represent a wide range of political views and often
criticize the Government. However, some degree of
self-censorship in the print media occurs, particularly with
respect to stories about the military or corruption at high
levels of national, provincial, or municipal government. There
are 2 major daily newspapers in the capital, Quito, 5 in the
principal commercial center, Guayaquil, and more than 20
additional papers published daily in other regions and cities.
There are 4 national television networks, 4 local and
provincial television networks, and about 300 radio stations.
All are free of overt government censorship. Journalists
working in the preparation and reporting of news (as opposed to
opinion) must be graduates of an accredited Ecuadorian
university journalism school, but the quality of investigative
reporting is generally poor.
Ecuador has a large university system comprising both
state-subsidized and private universities. The state
universities are active in politics, particularly on the left
of the political spectrum. The Government did not interfere in
issues involving academic freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for the rights of free assembly and
association for peaceful purposes. These rights are generally
respected in practice. Public rallies require prior government
permits, which are generally granted, although exceptions exist
(see below). Numerous political demonstrations took place in
the capital and the outlying regions, including two national
strikes. In general, the security forces intervened in
demonstrations only when there was violence against persons or
property, and police showed restraint in the use of force.
In January the Government refused to renew the permit for what
had become a regular weekly demonstration by the Restrepo
family and their supporters in the main plaza in front of the
presidential palace. Then Minister of Government Roberto Dunn
asserted that the demonstrations were too great a disruption
and that, with the progress of the case through the courts,
their usefulness had ended. Nonetheless, the family and an
increasingly smaller group of supporters continued to gather
near the plaza each Wednesday in silent protest. On several
occasions when the protesters attempted to become more vocal,
the police used tear gas to break up the demonstration.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution prohibits discrimination for religious
reasons, and citizens are free to practice the religion of
their choice. There is no official state religion. The
population is nominally over 90 percent Roman Catholic, but
there are active Protestant and Jewish communities in the major
cities, and evangelical movements continue to attract new
adherents. Numerous foreign-based religious orders and
missionary groups are active in Ecuador.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution assures the right of all citizens to travel
freely throughout the country, to choose their place of
residence, and to depart from and return to Ecuador. These
rights are respected in practice. Ecuadorian citizens who
return to the country after residing abroad are not harassed or
discriminated against by the Government.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Since the return to civilian rule in 1979, Ecuadorian citizens
have actively exercised their right to change their national
and local governments. Free elections resulted in the peaceful
transfer of power to parties of opposing ideologies in
presidential elections every 4 years. There are 17 legally
registered political parties, spanning the ideological
spectrum. Thirteen of the 17 parties, including 3 leftist
parties, are represented in the Congress.
Voting is mandatory for literate citizens over the age of 18
and voluntary for illiterate citizens. There are no
restrictions on voting by women or by minority groups. Police
officers and active-duty members of the military forces cannot
vote and there is no provision for absentee voting. All
citizens, regardless of sex, religion, socioeconomic status, or
ethnic origin, have the right to form and join political
parties and to run for local or national office. Members of
the clergy, however, are barred by the Constitution from
election to the Congress, the presidency, or vice presidency.
Candidates must belong to one of the recognized parties and
cannot run as independents.
Traditional elites tend to be self-perpetuating, and blacks,
Indians, and women continue to be underrepresented in high
positions in government. There are no specific laws, customs,
or policies that prevent women and minorities from attaining
leadership positions. This underrepresentation results from
the fallout of past practices as well as present cultural and
social forces which result in fewer women and members of
minorities having the educational background or personal
influence to enter leadership positions. Nevertheless,
grassroots community groups, particularly among the indigenous
population, enjoyed increasing success in pressuring the
central Government to assist them.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Domestic human rights groups such as CEDHU and the regional
Latin American Human Rights Association (ALDHU) are independent
and actively monitor human rights issues in Ecuador. These
groups, particularly CEDHU, have been outspoken in their
criticism of the Government's record on specific cases, and
CEDHU has taken a particular interest in defending the human
rights of the poor. In August the armed forces contracted with
ALDHU to provide human rights training to the military, and the
police concluded a similar training agreement with ALDHU in
December. International human rights organizations also
operate without hindrance in Ecuador.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
Although the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on
race, religion, sex, or social status, discrimination against
women is pervasive in society, particularly with respect to
educational and economic opportunity. The women's movement
blames culture and tradition for inhibiting achievement of full
equality for women. There are fewer women in the professions
or working as skilled laborers than men, and salary
discrimination is common. Although violence against women,
including within marriage, is prohibited by law, it is a common
practice. Many rapes go unreported because of the victims'
reluctance to confront the perpetrator. To date the Government
has not addressed this question as a serious public policy
issue.
Children
The Government is committed in principle to the welfare of
children, but has not taken effective steps to promote it.
Government resources to assist children are limited, although
several private organizations are very active in programs to
assist the street children. Especially in the urban areas, the
children of the poor often experience severe hardships. It is
common to see children as young as 5 or 6 years old selling
newspapers or candy on the street to support themselves, or to
augment the family income. There also were reports in the
media of growing prostitution among girls under 18 in urban
areas. In rural areas, young children often must leave school
at an early age to help out on the family's plot of land.
Indigenous People
The vast majority of the rural population of approximately
5 million (slightly less than 50 percent of the population) is
made up of peasants of Indian or mestizo ancestry, most of whom
live in varying degrees of poverty. Land is scarce in the more
heavily populated highland areas; infant mortality,
malnutrition, and epidemic disease are common; and potable
water and electricity are often unavailable. The rural
education system is seriously deficient. Efforts to improve
living standards for indigenous people were hampered by the
Government's reluctance to change traditional spending
patterns, especially those favoring the cities. Indigenous
people enjoy the same civil and political rights as other
citizens and also have several special privileges designed to
allow them to manage their own affairs within their own
communities. This is especially true in the Amazon area, where
indigenous groups have claim to specific land areas. (These
areas are more like park reserves than Indian reservations.)
The Amazon indigenous groups in particular have begun to play a
very active role in the decisionmaking process involved in the
use of their lands for oil exploration and production. Many
indigenous groups participated actively with the Ministry of
Education in the development of the bilingual education system
used in rural public schools.
Private paramilitary groups, sometimes working in conjunction
with the police, were used to break up occupations of land by
indigenous groups in rural areas. In 1991-92, the Government
announced strengthened controls over private guard forces and
other armed groups that were not properly registered. In 1993
the Government arrested the members of a private security
force, who had been hired to protect the property of the
Yuracruz Agroindustrial Company, following the rape and murder
of a 77-year-old indigenous woman. The security force at
Yuracruz was replaced by periodic patrols by the police.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The population of the rural, northern coastal area of Ecuador
includes large numbers of black citizens. They suffer
widespread poverty and pervasive discrimination, particularly
with regard to educational and economic opportunity. There
were no special government efforts to address these problems.
People with Disabilities
While people with disabilities are not legally discriminated
against, there are no laws to guarantee access for the
handicapped, nor are they provided any other special government
assistance.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution and Labor Code provide most workers the right
to form trade unions. Workers not free to form trade unions
include public security and military officials, and public
sector employees in nonrevenue earning entities. The 1991
Labor Code reforms raised the number of workers required for an
establishment to be unionized from 15 to 30, which the
International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee on Freedom of
Association (CFA) considers too stringent a limitation at the
plant works council level. In 1993 the ILO reiterated that the
Government should bring the Labor Code into compliance with
international standards on this issue.
While employees of state organizations enjoy full rights
similar to that of the private sector, the majority of public
sector employees technically are prevented from joining unions
and lack collective bargaining rights. Nevertheless, most
public employees maintain membership in some labor
organization, and the Government frequently is hampered by
"illegal" strikes. Despite official threats, action is
virtually never taken against striking public workers.
Approximately 8 to 9 percent of the work force is organized.
There are four large labor centrals or confederations, three of
which maintain international affiliation. Ecuador also has
numerous labor federations unaffiliated with the four labor
centrals, such as the Teachers' Organization, the National
Artisans and Mechanics Confederation, and numerous peasant
groups. None of the main labor centrals is firmly connected to
any one political party.
There are few restrictions on workers' right to strike, except
for public servants and workers in some state enterprises. A
20-day cooling off period is required before declaring a
strike. The 1991 Labor Code revisions limit solidarity strikes
or boycotts to 3 days, provided that they are approved by the
Labor Ministry. In a legal strike, workers may take possession
of the factory or workplace, thus ending production at the
site, and receive police protection during the takeover. All
salaries and benefits must be paid by the employer during a
legal strike; and strikers and their leaders are protected by
the Labor Code. Illegal strikes, however, far outnumbered the
legal ones as public employees protested the Government's
proposals to modernize government operations and privatize
state enterprises.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Ecuador has a highly segmented labor market with a minority of
workers in skilled, usually unionized, positions in state
enterprises or in medium- to large-sized industries. The vast
majority of the economically active population is either
unemployed or underemployed in the informal sector, and most
rural labor is not organized. The Labor Code requires that all
private employers with 30 or more workers belonging to a union
must negotiate collectively when the union so requests.
The ILO CFA found that a 1991 Labor Code provision calling for
the formation of a single central committee composed of at
least 50 percent of the workers concerned in institutions, both
public and private, which deal with social or public functions,
and in which there is no works council, did not take into
consideration the possibility that less than 50 percent of the
workers could be organized. The CFA also dealt with a
complaint concerning a requirement that collective bargaining
agreements involving entities of the State be cleared with the
National Secretariat for Administrative Development (SENDA) to
assure that funds had been budgeted. In this case, the ILO
requested that the Government establish a means for direct
consultation on agreements among employers, workers, and
SENDA. Finally, the ILO decided that a special cooling off
period prior to any strike action for public entities which
deal in essential services was acceptable.
The new Labor Code streamlined the bargaining process in state
enterprises by requiring workers to be represented by one labor
union only. It prohibits discrimination against unions and
requires that employers provide space for union activities upon
the union's request. Despite the reforms promulgated in
November 1991, employers consider the Labor Code to be highly
unfavorable to their interests and a disincentive to the hiring
of union members and to employment in general. Employers often
try to avoid hiring additional workers and unionization by
substituting machinery for workers or "atomizing" their
production processes to maintain plants employing less than the
number needed to form a union. Employers are not permitted to
dismiss a worker without the express permission of the Ministry
of Labor, rulings which are not subject to judicial review.
Dismissals ruled as unjustified by the Ministry of Labor
require payment to the worker of large indemnities or
separation payments by employers, although the reforms have set
a cap on such payment.
The Labor Code provides for resolution of labor conflicts
through an Arbitration and Conciliation Board comprised of one
representative of the Ministry of Labor, two from the union,
and two from management. The CFA expressed concern that the
1991 Labor Code revisions provide for compulsory arbitration if
no agreement is reached, contrary to the principals of freedom
of association. The Government provided the ILO an explanation
of the law but did not change it.
A maquila (in bond) law passed in 1990 permits the hiring of
temporary workers for the maquila industries only. While there
is no express prohibition on association rights in the maquila
law, in practice it is difficult to organize temporary
employees on short-term contracts. The maquila system allows a
company and its property to become a free trade zone wherever
it is located. Many such zones have been established; most are
dedicated to textiles or fish processing.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Compulsory labor is prohibited by both the Constitution and the
Labor Code and is not practiced.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
Persons less than 14 years old are prohibited by law from
working except in special circumstances such as apprenticeships.
Those between the ages of 14 and 18 are required to have the
permission of their parent or guardian to work. In practice,
enforcement of child labor laws is seriously inadequate. In
rural areas, many children begin to attend school sporadically
at about 10 years of age in order to contribute to household
income as farm laborers. In the city many children under age
14 work in family "businesses" in the informal sector, shining
shoes, collecting and recycling garbage, or as street peddlers.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The Ministry of Labor has the principal role in enforcing labor
laws and carries this out with a corps of labor inspectors who
are active in all 21 provinces. The Labor Code provides for a
40-hour workweek, a 15-day annual vacation, a minimum wage, and
other variable employer-provided benefits such as uniforms and
training opportunities.
The minimum wage is set by the Ministry of Labor every 6 months
in consultation with the Commission on Salaries, but also may
be adjusted by Congress. Enforced by the Ministry of Labor,
the basic minimum wage is very low and is not adequate to
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.
As of September, the minimum wage plus mandated bonuses totaled
approximately $88.43 (s/172,000) a month. Most organized
workers in state industries and formal-sector private
enterprises earn substantially more than the minimum wage and
also have significant other benefits. Because it is so low,
the minimum wage is the operative wage in many informal sector
activities where the majority of the economically active
population is employed.
The Labor Code also provides for general protection of workers'
health and safety on the job. In the formal sector
occupational health and safety is not a major problem. A
worker may not leave the workplace of his own volition even if
there is a hazardous situation. The worker is allowed to
request that an inspector from the Ministry of Labor come to
the workplace and confirm the hazard; that inspector may then
close down the workplace. The Government enforces health and
safety standards and regulations through the Social Security
Institute. There are no specific regulations governing health
and safety standards in the agricultural sector, and, in
practice, there is no enforcement of safety rules in the small
informal sector mines that make up the vast majority of the
mining sector.
[end of document]
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