Synopsis "Ecuador: Human Rights (in English)"
Ecuador is a constitutional multiparty republic with an elected president and unicameral legislature. In February 2013 voters re-elected President Rafael Correa and chose members of the National Assembly in elections that were generally free and open. Authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. There were credible reports that security forces committed human rights abuses. The main human rights abuses were violations against the integrity of the person; restrictions on freedom of speech, press, and association; and violence and discrimination against vulnerable groups. Reports of use of excessive force and isolated unlawful killings by security forces continued. A new communications law placed a series of restrictions on journalists and threatened the independent media. President Correa and his administration continued verbal and legal attacks against the media and civil society. The government used legal mechanisms, such as libel laws and administrative regulations, to suppress freedom of the press, and societal aggression against journalists continued. Government officials and grassroots organizations continued to report violence and discrimination against women, children, minority groups, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The following human rights problems continued: prison overcrowding; arbitrary arrest and detention; abuses by security forces; a high number of pretrial detainees; and delays and denial of due process. Limits on freedom of assembly continued, particularly targeting indigenous communities protesting laws affecting their community lands. Corruption was widespread, and transparency within the judicial sector continued to be an issue, despite attempts at procedural reform. Trafficking in persons, exploitation of minors, and child labor persisted. The government sometimes took steps to prosecute or punish officials in the security services and elsewhere in government who committed abuses, although political influence and an inefficient judiciary resulted in impunity in some cases.
