**COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 2007**

**ECUADOR**

Releases by he U.S. Department of State

March 11, 2008

Ecuador is a constitutional republic with a population of approximately
13.8 million. In November 2006 Rafael Correa won the presidency in
runoff elections that were considered generally free and fair. Correa
took office on January 15. Civilian authorities generally maintained
effective control of the security forces.

While the government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens, there continued to be problems in the following areas:
isolated unlawful killings and use of excessive force by security
forces; occasional killing and abuse of suspects and prisoners by
security forces, sometimes with impunity; poor prison conditions;
arbitrary arrest and detention; a high number of pretrial detainees; and
corruption and denial of due process within the judicial system. Members
of the National Police were accused of murder, attempted murder, rape,
extortion, kidnappings, and alien smuggling. Societal problems
continued, including violence against women; discrimination against
women, indigenous people, Afro-Ecuadorians, and homosexuals; trafficking
in persons and sexual exploitation of minors; and child labor.

**RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS**

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:

a.  Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

Although the government or its agents did not commit any politically
motivated killings, there continued to be credible reports that security
forces used excessive force and committed numerous unlawful killings.

On January 6, police arrested a group of teenage boys for drawing
graffiti on a wall in North Quito\'s El Inca sector. Police beat and
later released one of the boys but kept in custody Paul Guanuna, who was
last seen alive in a police car headed towards a downtown police
station. On January 7, Guanuna\'s body was found not far from where he
was originally arrested. An autopsy concluded that he died from blunt
trauma to the head and a laceration of the right lung, consistent with a
fall. Criminal proceedings commenced against three police officers,
Geovanny Alvarez Zambrano, Eduardo Cruz Live, and Claudio Chicaiza
Caiza, who were with Guanuna when he was arrested; a judge remanded them
into custody, and in June the district attorney announced that they
would be charged with manslaughter. After a preliminary hearing, the
officers were formally charged with homicide. At year\'s end an appeal
of the charge was pending before the Supreme Court of Quito.

On April 12, police in Manta shot and killed 19-year-old Juan Carlos
Vera Faguizon after an altercation. An internal police investigation
resulted in charges against police officers Reynaldo Enrique Mendoza
Roldan and Carlos Rene Guanotaxi Suntaxi. At year\'s end the officers
were in prison awaiting trial.

From January 8 to June 18, eight children and two adults in the
provinces of Guayas and Los Rios were hit by stray bullets, in
circumstances believed to be associated with gang violence; eight of the
10 victims died from their injuries.

An investigation into the April 2006 Cuenca killing of a student
protester by a stray bullet from a police officer\'s gun continued at
year\'s end. The investigation of the June 2006 killing of a taxi driver
by off-duty police officer Miguel Angel Chiran also continued at year\'s
end.

In November a military court issued judgments in the case of two
military officers charged with the August 2006 killing of an indigenous
medicine man in Puyo, Pastaza Province. The court sentenced Bernardo
Cevantes Santamaria Cuji to 16 years\' imprisonment and acquitted Santio
Mucushigua.

Police officer Freddy Abel Rizzo Barzola, who was detained in connection
with the 2005 killing of two detainees, was killed in jail during the
year.

At year\'s end the Sucumbios attorney general continued investigating
charges against army officers Angel Chuya, Carlos Badillo, Benito
Tangamashi, and Jorge Zamora in the 2005 killings of two occupants of a
vehicle in Sucumbios Province. The four officers remained in military
detention.

The Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU) reported that mob
violence against suspected criminals continued at the level of the
preceding year. Such violence occurred particularly in indigenous
communities and poor neighborhoods of major cities, where there was
little police presence.

b\. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

[]{.mark}

Criminal kidnapping for profit continued to be a problem in selected
regions of the country. There were also reports of extortion and threats
of kidnapping of ranchers, farmers, and businessmen along the Colombian
border. As of December, police registered 357 kidnapping cases and 155
\"express kidnappings\" (in which a person is driven around and forced
to make automatic withdrawals of personal funds) and made seven related
arrests.

c\. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading

> Treatment or Punishment

While the constitution and laws prohibit torture and similar forms of
intimidation and punishment, some police reportedly continued to torture
and abuse suspects and prisoners, often with impunity.

The government had not acted on a 2005 finding by the UN Committee
Against Torture that the country\'s laws on torture do not meet
standards set by the UN Convention Against Torture, notably because the
definition of torture in the criminal code, which criminalizes
\"corporal torment\" but not psychological torture, does not correspond
to the definition outlined in the convention. Torturers often were
penalized with a fine rather than imprisonment.

Through December CEDHU registered 420 cases of alleged \"torture\" or
\"unwarranted physical aggression\" by police forces.

In January Vicente Santana accused Quininde, Esmeraldas Province, police
officers Luis Luglia and Galo Rivas of beating him without cause. He was
hospitalized for his injuries. Santana claimed that police forced him to
sign an affidavit stating that he was not beaten. In view of official
indifference, Santana decided not to pursue charges.

[]{.mark}

On May 4, police in South Quito chased a group of teenage boys who were
walking home from a party. Victor Javier Tipan Caiza, age 16, who had
recently undergone surgery, was not able to run away and claimed the
police beat him into unconsciousness. The internal police investigation
determined that two officers were guilty of committing the crime, but at
year\'s end no action was taken, and a criminal investigation continued.

[]{.mark}

On November 26, protesting mestizo and indigenous communities in Dayuma,
Orellana Province, reportedly took over and damaged facilities of
Petroecuador, the state oil company. After a determination that the
protest jeopardized public safety and state petroleum revenues, on
November 29, President Correa declared a state of emergency in Orellana
Province, sent in the army to restore order, and invoked the law of
national security, which authorizes military courts to try detainees.
CEDHU reported that the armed forces illegally detained and tortured
individuals, which the government denied. Violations of a military
curfew resulted in more than 100 detentions; although the government
stated on December 7 that all minors had been released, CEDHU reported
four minors (Freddy Zambrano, Mario Zambrano, Jefferson Marcillo, and
Antonio Cabal) were missing. Investigations continued at year\'s end.

[]{.mark}

> Prison and Detention Center Conditions

[]{.mark}

Conditions in prisons and detention centers generally were poor and
tended to be worse in the tropical coastal areas than in the temperate
highlands.

On July 6, the government declared a 60-day state of emergency (later
extended to 120 days) covering the country\'s 34 jails and detention
centers to address infrastructure, staffing, and funding problems;
during the emergency, it allocated an additional \$15 million (the U.S.
dollar is the national currency) to the National Agency for Social
Rehabilitation (DNRS).

[]{.mark}

Overcrowding was a chronic problem in most prison facilities. As of
October, DNRS reported that 18,218 prisoners were being held in
facilities designed to hold less than half that number.

A number of prisons experienced serious outbreaks of disease, and
medical care often was inadequate. The daily allocation for prison
rations was one dollar per inmate; prisoners often supplemented these
rations by buying their own food.

[]{.mark}

The DNRS reported through November the death of 42 prisoners, including
30 from illness or unknown causes, seven from serious injury, and two
suicides.

Investigations into two deaths at the Machala Prison in El Oro Province
did not result in any criminal charges. CEDHU reported that Machala
prison only had 30 guards, while the prison population warranted having
at least 70 guards. As of September, there were 450 inmates at Machala
Prison, which had a design capacity for 150.

On April 20, prisoners Juan Carlos Alava Chavez and Israel Mariscal
Vasquez were found dead at Coastal Penitentiary Center in Guayaquil. A
police report suggested that the prisoners died suspiciously, but the
cause was not determined by year\'s end.

On May 1, the body of Vicente Francisco Cantos Brito was found hanging
in the detention facility at the Judicial Police Headquarters in Guayas.
Cantos Brito had been arrested on charges of tomb robbing, and
authorities suggested fellow inmates may have killed him in retribution
for those acts but did not issue an investigation report.

[]{.mark}

On May 13, marines responding to a domestic violence call arrested Juan
Lorenzo Delgado Zambrano and transferred him to the local precinct of
the National Police. The following afternoon, at the suggestion of
authorities, family members went to a hospital in Porto Viejo where they
were informed that Delgado had fallen while fighting with another
detainee. Delgado died later that day. An investigation of two police
officers who were responsible for Delgado continued at year\'s end.

Conditions were notably better in the Quito women\'s prison than in
men\'s facilities. As of November, 685 children and adolescents whose
mothers were incarcerated were transferred from prisons to more suitable
facilities; approximately 200 other such children remained at Centers
for Social Rehabilitation. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted
prisoners. According to CEDHU, male guards were responsible for guarding
female inmates, and female inmates reported being beaten by male guards
who accused them of trying to escape. The law stipulates that pregnant
women cannot be jailed in prison facilities, yet many were jailed rather
than being confined to their homes. []{.mark}

[]{.mark}

Although in most instances the government permitted prison visits by
independent human rights observers, authorities occasionally did not
permit human rights observers to visit prisoners who had been placed in
isolation cells after they allegedly had been beaten.

[]{.mark}

d\. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

While the constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, in
February 2006 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that
provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code, the Penal Code, and some
regulations adopted by central or provincial authorities \"undermine the
guarantees and protection offered.\" The working group cited two laws of
particular concern: One imposes an obligation on judges to order
detention for persons awaiting trial, i.e., \"preventive detention,\"
which in practice created a situation in which thousands of persons were
detained for longer periods than the constitution allows, often years
longer, thus violating their right to be tried within a reasonable time.
The second measure abolishes sentence reductions, which led to a large
number of persons serving lengthy sentences for minor offenses. In
September 2006 the Constitutional Court ruled the preventive detention
provision unconstitutional, holding that no person can remain in prison
unsentenced for more than one year for penal crimes and six months for
lesser crimes. The clock for inmates already incarcerated and all future
incarcerated individuals started on October 23.

[]{.mark}

Role of the Police and Security Apparatus

[]{.mark}

The National Police are under the authority of the Ministry of
Government. National Police effectiveness was impaired by corruption,
poor hiring procedures, and insufficient training, supervision, and
resources.

[]{.mark}

On May 6, a group of civilians and police officers, allegedly organized
by Judicial Police officer Edwin Marcelo Revelo, assaulted Cabrera Letty
Alcivar, who alleged that Revelo organized the attack over a family
vendetta. In addition to assaulting Alvicar, the group ransacked her
house and stole property. A police investigation determined that while
Alcivar was harassed, her home was not entered.

The National Police reported that in 2006, 34 police recruits at the San
Jose Chimbo police academy in Bolivar Province failed to meet normal
entry qualifications and may have paid up to \$3,000 for admittance into
the school. An investigation was pending at year\'s end.

The investigation of police officers who in November 2006 accompanied
inmates on unauthorized excursions to an entertainment club in Quito led
to the November 14 sentencing of three officers to eight years in prison
and of two officers, who were found to be accomplices, to four years\'
imprisonment.

[]{.mark}

Some municipalities, such as Quito and Guayaquil, have their own
metropolitan police forces in addition to the National Police. A police
internal affairs office investigates complaints against police officers
and can refer cases to the police courts. Nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) claimed that members of the Quito and Guayaquil metropolitan
police occasionally used excessive force. Police corruption was
sometimes a problem.

[]{.mark}

The National Police contracted with NGOs to provide human rights
training. A 2006 Amnesty International report criticized the use of the
police court system, citing the UN Committee against Torture\'s concern
that complaints of human rights violations by the security forces
continued to be tried in police and military courts, which were neither
independent nor impartial. NGOs reported no substantial change in this
situation during the year.

Arrest and Detention

[]{.mark}

The law requires authorities to issue specific written arrest orders
within 24 hours of detention, and authorities must charge the suspect
with a specific criminal offense within 24 hours of arrest. Within 24
hours of arrest, detained persons may challenge the legality of their
detention by habeas corpus petition to the senior elected official in
the locality where detention takes place, usually the mayor; however, in
practice few such petitions were presented.

Manuel Xavier Cornejo Delgado claimed that, on July 6, he was detained
without a warrant or probable cause while walking home with his wife and
son. On July 7, police searched Cornejo Delgado\'s mother\'s home, with
his mother, siblings, nieces and nephews present. The family contended
that the police officers beat and handcuffed the men. One policeman
allegedly asked the men to choose who would be the first to die. The
family had no further contact with Manuel until July 19, when an
attorney was given permission to visit him in prison. Two days before
Cornejo Delgado\'s arrest, he had filed a lawsuit against two police
officers. No official investigation had been authorized by year\'s end.

[]{.mark}

In the case of an illegal detention, mayors have the right to release
the detainee, based solely on procedural issues under the habeas corpus
mechanism. Otherwise, a prisoner may be released only by court order. In
some cases, detainees who are unaware of this provision, or who do not
have the funds to hire a lawyer, may remain in prison for an extended
period without being tried. Bail is allowed only in the case of less
serious crimes, those punishable with \"correctional imprisonment,\" and
is prohibited for more serious crimes involving narcotics and other
major offenses requiring long-term incarceration (offenses that \"affect
or put at risk\" the public, punishable by three to 35 years\'
imprisonment).

Although the law entitles detainees to prompt access to lawyers and
family members, there were delays depending on the circumstances and
officials\' willingness to enforce the law; alleged narcotics
traffickers commonly waited 24 to 48 hours for these visits. Detainees
with sufficient resources often bribed prison officials to facilitate
access. CEDHU reported that during the July-November period of the
emergency decree, an unknown number of prisoners were held in facilities
that did not accommodate visits by family or counsel.

[]{.mark}

Although the law prohibits incommunicado detention, human rights
organizations continued to report occasional violations. Even when
police obtained a written arrest order, authorities charged with
determining the validity of detention often allowed frivolous charges to
be brought, either because they were overworked or because the accuser
bribed them. The system frequently was used as a means of harassment in
civil cases in which one party sought to have the other arrested on
criminal charges.

[]{.mark}

Investigative detention up to and including trial is legal if a judge
determines that it is necessary and if evidence that a crime has been
committed is presented. The law limits immediate detention to 24 hours
for in flagrante crimes or to allow for investigative detention to
begin. In most jurisdictions, the immediate detention is often
considerably longer. If the investigation report is detrimental, the
judge may order preventive detention, which is limited to six months for
minor offenses and 12 months for major offenses.

The law permits prisoners to be held for an indefinite period after
indictments have been issued but before they have been convicted or
sentenced. The majority of the accused remained in prison during the
investigation phase. According to government data, as of July
approximately 63 percent of detainees had not been sentenced.

[]{.mark}

e\. Denial of Fair Public Trial

[]{.mark}

While the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, in
practice the judiciary was at times susceptible to outside pressure and
corruption. The media reported extensively on the susceptibility of the
judiciary to bribes for favorable decisions and resolution of legal
cases and on judges parceling out cases to outside lawyers who wrote
judicial sentences on cases before the court and sent them back to the
presiding judge for signature. CEDHU further asserted that judges
occasionally reached decisions based on media influence or political and
economic pressures. []{.mark}

[]{.mark}

The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, superior circuit courts,
other courts, and tribunals that hear cases in accordance with the
constitution and other laws, and the Judicial Council, which is charged
with administering the court system and disciplining judges. There also
are military and police tribunals that have the same status as circuit
courts, as well as criminal, provincial, and cantonal (county) courts.
The Supreme Court supervises the open and competitive selection of all
appellate judges.

[]{.mark}

In March the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled on the 2005
appeal by 27 justices of the Supreme Court, who had been replaced by
Congress in 2004. The commission held that the rights of the justices
and the rights of citizens who were denied a functioning supreme court
may have been violated and referred the case to the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights. The case remained pending at year\'s end.

Trial Procedures

Despite efforts to modernize the court system, the judiciary continued
to operate slowly and inconsistently. There were lengthy delays before
most cases came to trial. Judges reportedly rendered decisions more
quickly or more slowly as a result of political pressure or, in some
cases, the payment of bribes. The failures of the justice system
contributed to cases in which communities took the law into their own
hands, such as mob violence against suspected criminals.

[]{.mark}

There are no juries in the justice system. Defendants are presumed
innocent until proven guilty and have the right to a public trial,
defense attorneys, and appeal. They may present evidence, refuse to
testify against themselves, and confront and cross-examine witnesses.
Although a public defender system exists, in practice only 32 attorneys
were available to defend the large number of impoverished defendants
throughout the country. As of October 31, 11,187 prisoners were
incarcerated without sentence.

[]{.mark}

Civil society groups, lawyers\' associations, universities, and foreign
donors sought to support vulnerable groups that did not have access to
legal defense. From January to September, foreign donor assistance
funded legal counseling and defense services for approximately 3,000
persons from vulnerable groups of the population (especially poor
prisoners and women) in seven cities.

[]{.mark}

The regular court system tries most nonmilitary defendants, although
some indigenous groups try members independently for violations of
tribal rules. The law permits police or military courts to try police
officers and military defendants in closed sessions in accordance with
the respective military and police court martial manuals. Only the
Supreme Court may try cases involving flag-rank officers. Despite a
constitutional provision that civilian courts have jurisdiction over
police or military officers charged with criminal offenses, these
officers were often tried in police or military courts. On January 7,
Congress amended the National Security Law to require that all police
officers be tried in regular civilian courts; however, CEDHU contended
that the revised law was not enforced.

[]{.mark}

Although the law recognizes indigenous communities\' right to exercise
their own systems of justice based on their traditions and customs, it
does not specify how they will be implemented. This parallel system
raised questions of both jurisdiction and conformity to the right to a
fair trial.

[]{.mark}

Political Prisoners and Detainees

There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.

[]{.mark}

Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies

[]{.mark}

Civilian courts and the Administrative Conflicts Tribunal, generally
considered independent and impartial, handle lawsuits seeking damages
for, or cessation of, human rights violations. However, civilian
lawsuits seeking damages for alleged wrongs by the state were rarely
filed since such suits were time consuming and difficult to prosecute,
with judges taking up to a decade to rule on the merits.

f\. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The constitution and the law prohibit such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.

Although wiretapping by the National Police to investigate crimes is
legal with a court order, there is no specific procedural guidance for
obtaining such approval.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a\. Freedom of Speech and Press

The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and
the government, while critical of the media, generally respected these
rights in practice. An independent press and a largely democratic
political system combined to promote freedom of speech and of the press.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views
without obvious restriction, although the National Union of Journalists
asserted that President Correa\'s criticism of the media caused a degree
of self-censorship.

President Correa often used his weekly radio address to criticize the
media and accuse it of bias, frequently naming specific reporters and
outlets. These comments drew criticism from the international NGO
Reporters Without Borders. In May President Correa invoked the
country\'s \"insult laws\" in filing a lawsuit against the president of
the board of directors of *La Hora* newspaper over an editorial it
published. President Correa and other administration representatives
also threatened to revoke broadcast media licenses. On September 10, for
instance, *El Comercio* newspaper quoted the president as saying that
\"promoting a coup d\'etat\" would constitute sufficient grounds to
suspend a television channel\'s frequency.

A former government advisor, Quinto Pazmino, filed a \$10 million
lawsuit against President Correa for libel. Authorities subsequently
detained Pazmino on the grounds that he had insulted the president. On
September 23, the Supreme Court ruled that Pazmino, as an assembly
candidate, enjoyed special privileges, and he was freed after the
payment of a fine. An investigation by the prosecutor general continued
at year\'s end.

There were no known developments in the investigation into the February
2006 killings of two journalists.

Business and private interest pressures, both from media owners and
businesses outside the media groups, sometimes influenced the content of
news reporting.

Internet Freedom

There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or
reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms.
Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views
via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet access was widely
available in larger cities, but access in remote locations was poor.

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events

There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural
events.

b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Freedom of Assembly

The constitution provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, and the
government generally respected this right in practice; however, security
forces used force and tear gas to quell some violent demonstrations,
resulting in several injuries. Public rallies require prior government
permits, which generally were granted, although exceptions occurred.

There were no developments, and none were expected, in the investigation
of police suppression of a 2005 protest at the Jorge Mantilla Ortega
School in Quito, which resulted in serious injuries to a student.

On March 7, the armed forces forcibly removed protesting members of the
Union Alamorena Community and 25th of December Community who were
protesting at a Petrobras petroleum site in Orellana Province. The army
used tear gas and rubber bullets, and seven protesters were injured.

On March 13, hundreds of protesters gathered to demand resolution of the
crisis caused when the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) removed from
office 57 members of Congress. One member of Congress and one journalist
were injured, when some of the protesters broke through police
barricades and entered the legislative chamber.

On June 5, indigenous communities demonstrated nationally to protest the
presence of transnational companies in the mining sector. There were
major demonstrations, including the blocking of key roads, in the
provinces of Carchi, Imbabura, Azuay, Bolivar, Morona Santiago, Zamora
Chinchipe, and Cotopaxi. In some instances, the police responded with
tear gas.

Freedom of Association

The law provides for freedom of association, and the government
generally respected this right in practice.

c\. Freedom of Religion

The constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the government
generally respected this right in practice.

The government requires religious groups to be licensed or registered if
they engage in proselytizing activity. Religious organizations that do
not engage in such activity may still choose to register to obtain a
legal identity, which is useful when entering into contracts. Any
religious organization wishing to register with the government must
possess a charter and be in nonprofit status, include all names used by
the group (to ensure that names previously registered are not used
without their permission), and provide signatures of at least 15
members. In addition, groups must file a registration petition with the
Ministry of Government, using a licensed attorney, and pay a \$100
registration fee.

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

The country has a small Jewish population. There were no reports of
societal abuses or religious discrimination, including anti-Semitic
acts.

For a more detailed discussion, see the *2007 International Religious
Freedom Report*.

> d\. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
> Refugees, and Stateless Persons

The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign
travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. Protesters blocked roads, but less
frequently than in previous years.

Citizens are no longer required to have exit permits to depart the
country, and the government stopped issuing such documents on December
29. Additionally, men no longer must show proof of having completed
military service before departing the country.

The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not use it.

Protection of Refugees

The laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in
accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. The government granted
refugee status or asylum. In practice, the government provided
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where
there is reason to believe they feared persecution. The government also
provided temporary protection to individuals who might not qualify as
refugees under the 1951 convention or the 1967 protocol. The government
cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations, such as
the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in assisting
refugees and asylum seekers. This included attending to major flows of
Colombians crossing at the northern border in January, March, and
August.

The government reported that through the first six months of the year,
it had received 5,792 applications for refugee status. Several thousand
additional cases from this and preceding years were still pending.
Rejected applicants have a legal right to appeal; after appeals are
exhausted, they have 30 days to put their affairs in order and leave the
country. While UNHCR and the government reported difficulty dealing with
the number of applicants and appeals, both UNHCR and IOM supported the
government\'s refugee office\'s efforts to streamline its
decision-making and appeals processes and reduce its case backlog.

UNHCR estimated that 97 percent of the 50,000 recognized refugees and
asylum seekers were of Colombian origin. A small percentage of
applicants were Peruvian, who were reported by UNHCR and the government
to be primarily economic migrants. Most Colombian refugees were poor
farmers or small businessmen fleeing fighting in Colombia. The law
allows persons granted refugee status to work. The identification card
issued to asylum seekers explicitly states that bearers have the right
to work, health care, and an education. UNHCR reported that while more
than 50,000 asylum seekers have registered with the government (more
than 14,800 of whom have been recognized as refugees) and received this
aid, there were thousands of others without legal protection and limited
or no access to public services.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change
Their Government

The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.

[]{.mark}

Elections and Political Participation

Following a first-round presidential election in October 2006, Rafael
Correa won the runoff in November 2006 and was inaugurated on January
15. Independent observers, including the Organization of American States
(OAS) electoral mission, described the elections as generally free and
fair.

There were 31 women in the 100-seat Congress. There were two women, but
no members of ethnic minorities, among the 31 Supreme Court members.
There were seven women in the 23-member cabinet and three female
secretaries of state with the rank of minister. There was one
Afro-Ecuadorian and one Asian-Ecuadorian but no indigenous persons in
the cabinet.

A referendum on establishing a Constituent Assembly took place on April
15; 82 percent of the voters favored establishing a Constituent Assembly
that would have \"unlimited powers in drafting a new constitution.\"
Following a six-week campaign period, voters went to the polls on
September 30 and gave President Correa\'s PAIS movement 80 out of 130
seats. OAS, European Union, and Carter Center observers concluded that
the elections were free and fair, with only minor discrepancies.

The Constituent Assembly, which convened on November 28, suspended
Congress and assumed the legislative function for the country until the
conclusion of the Assembly process. The statute creating the Assembly
gives it a six-month period to complete its work, with a possible
extension of two months. By year\'s end, the Assembly had adopted a new
law on tax equity but had not adopted or finalized any portions of the
new constitution.

[]{.mark}

Government Corruption and Transparency

The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however,
the government did not implement the law effectively. The World Bank\'s
worldwide governance indicators reflected that government corruption was
a serious problem.

On July 9, the executive branch instituted a lawsuit against 18 members
of Congress suspected of attempting to exchange their votes on a pending
law governing the banking sector for key posts for their allies in
public institutions. The investigation continued at year\'s end.

On August 14, Congress issued a resolution demanding that the National
Oversight Agency verify the tax returns of all 100 members of Congress.
President Correa made his tax return available. This process continued
at year\'s end. Congress was suspended on November 29 prior to the
submission of all members\' tax returns. The Constituent Assembly
required all its members to present their 2006 tax returns,
authorization to revise bank accounts in Ecuador and abroad, and an
assets affidavit by January 11, 2008. Members were still submitting
documentation at year\'s end.

President Correa, who announced that one of the highest priorities of
his government would be fighting corruption, on March 3 decreed the
establishment of the Office of the National Anticorruption Secretary,
with responsibility for executing anticorruption policy and
investigating acts of public corruption. The office claimed to have
saved the government more than one million dollars by discovering waste,
fraud, and abuse.

Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials cooperated
with the groups but often did not act on their views.

An ombudsman\'s office focused on human rights problems; however, some
observers criticized its lack of independence in practice. The office
had adequate resources but was not considered effective on human rights
issues.

Congress has a seven-member human rights committee. Despite turbulence
in Congress, the committee remained comparatively active; it held
hearings on the implementation of the National Human Rights plan,
conducted seminars in cities throughout the country, and produced a
short video on torture.

On May 3, a presidential decree created the Commission for Truth, a
four-member body to investigate alleged human rights violations
(particularly during the 1984-88 period) and to produce a public report.

Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status; however, women, persons with
disabilities, indigenous people, Afro-Ecuadorians, homosexuals, and
transgendered persons continued to face discrimination.

Women

Although the law prohibits violence against women, including within
marriage, abuses were widespread.

The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and provides a
penalty of up to 25 years in prison. In cases of statutory rape
involving \"amorous\" sex with a minor, the rapist may marry the victim,
which cancels the charges unless the marriage subsequently is annulled.
The penalty for rape where death occurred is 35 years\' imprisonment. As
of July there were 3,053 reported rapes, resulting in charges against
459 persons. No information was available on the number of cases
prosecuted successfully. Many rapes were not reported due to the
victim\'s reluctance to confront the perpetrator.

The law provides penalties for domestic violence of up to \$28 or seven
days in prison and gives family courts the power to remove an abusive
spouse from the home if continued cohabitation creates a risk to the
victim of abuse. The courts may also issue restraining orders
prohibiting the abusive spouse from approaching the victim or her place
of employment or study; prohibiting the abusive spouse from persecuting
or intimidating the victim or any member of her family; reinserting the
victim into the family home, if shared, while simultaneously removing
the abusive spouse from the premises; and ordering any treatment deemed
beneficial to the affected family.

The Ministry of Government\'s Office of Gender reported, as of October
31, 23,365 cases of sexual, psychological, or physical mistreatment of
women and 3,281 cases involving male victims. Thirty-one special Police
Stations for Women and Families handled such issues as domestic
violence. The government\'s National Commission on Women (CONAMU) may
accept complaints about abuse of women but must refer cases to the
prosecutor\'s office for action. CONAMU had projects in all provinces,
focusing primarily on equal opportunities, public policy programs toward
women, and lines of credit for women\'s businesses. CONAMU also offered
legal and psychological services to victims of violence in most
provinces. In some police stations, social workers employed by city
governments or NGOs assisted victims. A variety of NGOs offer legal and
psychological assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Prostitution is legal for persons over the age of 18 so long as the
businesses are registered with the government and follow health
regulations. Trafficking in persons for prostitution was a problem.

Despite the legal prohibition of sexual harassment, women\'s rights
organizations described harassment in the workplace as common. CONAMU is
charged with designing public policies to promote women\'s human rights
and equality in cases of sexual harassment.

Despite legal protections of women\'s rights in politics, the home, and
employment, societal discrimination against women was pervasive,
particularly with respect to educational and economic opportunities for
older women and for those in the lower economic strata. Although women
enjoy the same legal status as men, the Office of Gender reported that
women often did not receive equal rights in practice. According to the
government, women received approximately 65 percent of the pay received
by men for equal work. Women\'s advocates alleged that culture and
tradition inhibited achievement of full equality for women. There were
fewer women than men employed in professional work and skilled trades.

The Ecuadorian Women\'s Permanent National Forum included more than 320
women\'s organizations and promoted social, economic, and cultural
change, including increased political participation by women. The
National Women\'s Council provided support for approximately 500
women\'s organizations, many of which promoted social consciousness and
greater participation by women in the political process. The NGO
Women\'s Political Coordinator, which operated in all 22 provinces, also
promoted women\'s rights, with emphasis on political participation and
human rights.

Children

The government was committed to children\'s rights and welfare and has
increased funding for child health and education; however, those steps
were not fully effective.

The law requires that children receive a minimum of 10 years of
education; however, due to shortages of schools, inadequate school
funding, and the comparatively high cost of books and uniforms, the
government rarely enforced this requirement. The Ministry of Education
reported that most children achieved a sixth-grade education, with no
notable difference in the attendance rates of boys and girls. The
citizen movement Social Contract for Education estimated that 660,000
children ages six to 17 (approximately 22 percent of school-age
children) did not attend school. Education was free through high school.
Although the government eliminated all fees for elementary students,
fees prevented many children and adolescents from attending secondary
schools. Government programs provided families with educational
subsidies, which assisted approximately 50,000 children to remain in
school. In rural areas many children attended school only sporadically
after 10 years of age because they needed to contribute to household
income, primarily as farm laborers.

The government provided free medical care to children under age six.
Boys and girls received equal access to such care. The Ministry of
Health reported that 95 per cent of children received basic
immunizations, but the UN Children\'s Fund (UNICEF) reported that 26
percent of children under five suffered from the effects of chronic
malnutrition.

There was no societal pattern of abuse against children.

Commercial sexual exploitation of minors remained a problem.

More than 20 NGOs promoted child welfare. UNICEF and several private
organizations were active in programs to assist street children.

Trafficking in Persons

While the criminal laws prohibit trafficking in persons, there were
reports that persons were trafficked within, to, from, and through the
country.

The country was a source, transit, and destination country for persons
trafficked for the purpose of sexual and labor exploitation. The most
recent statistics, from a 2003 International Labor Organization (ILO)
report, estimated that 5,200 minors were engaged in prostitution. A 2006
ILO report indicated that victims were trafficked to Colombia and
Venezuela and from Colombia into the country; however, most victims were
trafficked within the country. Accounts indicated that traffickers lured
young victims romantically or with promises of legitimate employment and
then forced them into prostitution. According to press reports, some
poverty-stricken parents also sold their children into trafficking
situations, including prostitution, forced labor in agriculture, or
street begging.

Traffickers were organized criminal gangs specializing in movement of
persons, proprietors of small businesses such as bars or brothels, or
illicit employment brokers. Some persons willing to pay up to \$10,000
to be smuggled out of the country were also victims of trafficking, and
women were susceptible to sexual abuse by smugglers. NGOs and the press
reported several instances of judges releasing trafficking detainees
prematurely.

Victims were generally enticed to move to the location where they were
enslaved. Victims from Colombia reportedly crossed the border in trucks.
Falsified civil registry documents facilitated trafficking by disguising
the nationalities of trafficking victims and the ages of juveniles.

The law criminalizes trafficking in persons and provides prison terms of
six to 35 years. The law also provides penalties of six to 12 years in
prison for promoting sexual tourism and child sex tourism. Numerous
provinces and municipalities had antitrafficking action plans,
prevention campaigns, and in some cases ordinances.

As of September, there were approximately 160 trafficking cases in the
judicial process awaiting adjudication.

[]{.mark}

Authorities in Quito detained six traffickers and rescued 11 victims in
the \"Dunky\" case. As part of this case, in May a court sentenced a
19-year-old man to 12 years\' imprisonment and his 18-year-old
accomplice to six years\' imprisonment. The victims, both girls, 13 and
15 years old, had been lured from their homes in a small town and taken
to Quito for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

In August a court in Quito sentenced a man and a woman to 12 years\'
imprisonment for trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual
exploitation.

The trafficking prosecutor for El Oro Province continued successful
prosecutions. A trial that began in Machala in March resulted in a
conviction and a 12-year prison sentence for the owner of a brothel for
forced prostitution of a 15-year-old minor.

The country increased the number of law enforcement officials and
prosecutors devoted to combating trafficking in persons. In May 2006 the
child welfare police (DINAPEN) created an eight-person trafficking
intelligence unit to work with police, Interpol, and prosecutors. This
unit operated in Pichincha Province. In August the government created
and trained a 36-member specialized police unit, spread over seven major
cities, dedicated to victim and witness protection. In November the
Ministry of Interior and the National Child and Family Welfare Institute
began training workshops on human trafficking for criminal court judges,
public prosecutors, DINAPEN, and the Judicial Police.

DINAPEN made arrests during raids on nightclubs, bars, and brothels in
Guayaquil, Machala, Quito, and Santo Domingo de los Colorados.

In August the Ministry for Social and Economic Inclusion (former
Ministry of Social Welfare) launched a National Program for Special
Protection, which includes antitrafficking activity in the provinces of
Chimborazo, Tungurahua, and Canar. Additionally, the Ministry of Tourism
drafted a Social Responsibility Manual for Sustainable Tourism aimed at
highlighting for tour operators the importance of protecting the rights
of children and adolescents and the role of local communities.

Minors engaged in prostitution were returned to their families or to
NGOs without being detained. Shelters and victims\' services have been
identified and shelter staffs trained. The Public Ministry\'s victim and
witness protection program assisted trafficking victims by providing
shelter, psychological and medical attention, police protection, and
economic and employment assistance to victims willing to assist in
investigations. Five shelters in the provinces of Azuay, Pichincha, and
El Oro provided specialized assistance to more than 120 victims of
sexual commercial exploitation.

In May the minister of foreign affairs sponsored a presentation of the
K-11 Film Project on human trafficking. In September civil society
organizations sponsored a two-day workshop for journalists on socially
responsible investigative reporting, which incorporated trafficking as
one of its thematic areas.

Persons with Disabilities

The constitution prohibits discrimination against persons with physical
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health care,
and the provision of other state services. The interagency National
Council on Disabilities oversees government policies regarding persons
with disabilities. Although the law mandates access to buildings for
persons with disabilities, the government did not enforce it.

For the Constituent Assembly elections, the TSE did not print ballots in
Braille but allowed blind individuals to have assistance from a relative
while voting. The TSE provided sign language translators and made
efforts to ensure that voting precincts were fully accessible to persons
with disabilities. While accessibility to some voting precincts was
difficult, numerous persons with disabilities were assisted by the
military and others to ensure they were able to access their voting
tables.

The law requires the hiring of persons with disabilities in all public
and private enterprises with more than 25 employees; however, there was
no information on its implementation. An initiative, \"Ecuador without
Barriers,\" led by Vice President Lenin Moreno helped create 1,184 jobs
for persons with disabilities by year\'s end.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The estimated 600,000 Afro-Ecuadorian citizens suffered pervasive
discrimination, particularly with regard to educational and economic
opportunity.

The Afro-Ecuadorian Cultural Center estimated that 70 percent of
Afro-Ecuadorians lived in poverty. Afro-Ecuadorian organizations noted
that, despite the absence of official discrimination, societal
discrimination, including stereotyping, continued to affect them. For
example, they continued to assert that the police stopped
Afro-Ecuadorians for document checks more frequently than they stopped
other citizens and that employers often would not interview persons
whose job applications carried Afro-Ecuadorian photos. There were no
special government efforts to address these problems.

Indigenous People

Estimates of those who maintained their indigenous cultural identity and
lived in indigenous communities varied between 7 and 20 percent of the
population. The vast majority of indigenous citizens resided in rural
areas, including the highlands and the Amazonian provinces. Despite
their growing political influence and the efforts of grassroots
community groups, which were increasingly successful in pressuring the
government to assist them, indigenous people continued to suffer
discrimination at many levels of society. With few exceptions,
indigenous people were at the lowest end of the socioeconomic scale.

Arable land was scarce in the more heavily populated highland areas,
where high infant mortality, malnutrition, and epidemic disease were
common among the indigenous population. Electricity and potable water
often were unavailable. Although the rural education system was
seriously deficient, many indigenous groups participated with the
Ministry of Education in the development of the bilingual education
program used in rural public schools.

The law recognizes the rights of indigenous communities to hold property
communally, to administer traditional community justice in certain
cases, and to be consulted before natural resources are exploited in
community territories. Indigenous people also have the same civil and
political rights as other citizens. In the Amazon region, indigenous
groups lobbied the government, enlisted the help of foreign and domestic
NGOs, and mounted protests in attempts to win a share of oil revenues
and a voice in natural resource and development decisions.

The government generally consulted indigenous communities on natural
resource matters. Although oil companies increased efforts to minimize
the environmental and social impact of their oil projects in the
Amazonian region, environmental damage, particularly deforestation,
continued. Corrupt local officials, a lack of political will, and
divisions among and within indigenous communities undermined indigenous
efforts to manage the flow of illegally harvested timber.

The ombudsman\'s office had representatives in indigenous communities
throughout the country. These had responsibility for promoting human and
indigenous rights among indigenous communities and providing specific
advisory services to these groups.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Although the law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation,
homosexuals, transsexuals, and transvestites continued to suffer
discrimination from both public and private bodies.

According to Kirmirina, a credible NGO, police subjected homosexuals,
transsexuals, and transvestites to cruel, inhuman, and degrading
treatment. The NGO accused the police of specifically targeting them and
inflicting physical and psychological abuse, threats, extortion, and
robbery. Police routinely arrested homosexuals and transvestites in
public areas.

On December 20, the Municipality of Quito passed an ordinance supporting
the fundamental human rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual
orientation.

Section 6 Worker Rights

a\. The Right of Association

While the law provides most workers with the right to form and join
trade unions of their choice, legal protections of these rights were
inadequate, sometimes failing to deter employers from retaliating
against workers for organizing. Members of the police, the military, and
most public sector employees were not free to form trade unions.
Approximately 2 percent of the workforce was organized.

The law provides subcontracted workers with the right to freedom of
association, the right to bargain collectively, and the right to legal
protection against antiunion discrimination. The law sets the number of
workers required for an establishment to be unionized at 30. Some
companies took advantage of this law by subcontracting with shell
companies, each of which had fewer than 30 workers.

While employees of state-owned organizations enjoyed rights similar to
those in the private sector, the law prohibits the majority of public
sector employees from joining unions or exercising collective bargaining
rights. Most public employees maintained membership in a labor sector
association; such associations are not allowed to strike or bargain
collectively.

The labor code requires workers in state enterprises to be represented
by a single labor union. The law does not require reinstatement of
workers fired for antiunion activity but does require compensation and
fines. The law does not protect workers against antiunion discrimination
in hiring. The compensation case filed by 48 employees at the Transnavo
shipping company, who were fired in September 2006 after seeking to
unionize, remained pending at year\'s end.

b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The law requires all private employers with 30 or more workers belonging
to a union to negotiate collectively when the union so requests.
Collective bargaining agreements covered 25 percent of the organized
workforce. Most of the economically active population was employed in
the agricultural sector or the urban informal sector; the vast majority
of these workers were not organized. The law allows businesses to hire
workers on individual contracts.

Many newly hired employees, particularly in the agricultural sector,
worked on temporary contracts. In practice it was difficult to organize
temporary employees on short-term contracts. Since the labor code does
not recognize temporary workers, they did not enjoy the same level of
protection offered to other workers.

There are few restrictions on the right of private-sector workers to
strike, although a 10-day period is required before a strike can be
declared. The law allows solidarity strikes or boycotts of three days if
the Ministry of Labor approves them. In some industries, during 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. However, in other industries, such as agriculture, the law
requires a 20-day waiting period from the day the strike is called.
During this time, workers and employers must agree on how many workers
are needed to ensure a minimum level of service, and at least 20 percent
of the workforce must continue to work in order to provide essential
services. The law provides that \"the employer may contract substitute
personnel\" only when striking workers refuse to send the number of
workers to provide the minimum necessary services, although in practice
this law was not enforced. The law protects strikers and their leaders
from retaliation.

The law does not provide the majority of public workers (those who fall
under the civil service law) with the right to strike. It includes a
provision that striking public sector workers are liable to between two
and five years in prison; however, there were occasional \"illegal\"
strikes, including by public school teachers and health workers. Public
workers are prohibited from bargaining collectively.

The law permits the hiring of temporary workers for the maquila (in-bond
processing for export) industries. The maquila system allows a company
and its property to become an export-processing zone wherever it is
located. There were no unions or labor associations in the maquilas.
Most workers were hired on temporary contracts by the employer to
complete a specific order.

c\. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, there were reports that children were trafficked for labor.

d\. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment

The law prohibits exploitation of children in the workplace and forced
or compulsory labor; however, the government did not effectively enforce
the law, and child labor remained a problem.

The labor code and the child and adolescent code set the minimum working
age for minors at 15 for all types of labor and the maximum hours a
minor may work at six hours per day and five days per week. The law
lists 15 jobs that are not suitable for children and prohibits minors
from working in hazardous conditions, including in mines or in jobs
requiring exposure to toxic or dangerous substances. The law requires
employers to pay minors at least 80 percent of the wages received by
adults for the same type of employment. Penalties for violations of the
child labor laws include fines of \$50 to \$300 for parents or
guardians, fines of \$200 to \$1,000 for employers hiring adolescents
between ages 15 and 17, and a \$1,000 fine for any employer found to
have hired children under the age of 15. In cases of repeated
infractions, the employer\'s business can be closed.

The Ministries of Labor and Social Welfare and the Minors\' Tribunal
were charged with enforcing child labor laws, and enforcement continued
to improve but was not fully effective. A 2006 study by the National
Institute of Statistics and Census found that 367,000 children between
ages five and 14 were engaged in labor not permitted by law, primarily
working in rural areas in the informal sector, compared with 550,000 in
2006.

The government\'s 28 child labor inspectors inspected locations that
employed child labor; these inspectors had the authority to cite
violations and sanction companies and employers found to have illegally
hired child labor. From January to July, the Ministry of Labor issued
100 citations to employers for child labor law violations. Through
December the inspectors conducted approximately 2,242 workplace
inspections and found approximately 198 minors under age 17 working in
violation of labor laws. All cases were referred to the proper legal
authorities, although none had been resolved by year\'s end.

The Ministry of Labor\'s three-officer Division for Child Labor meets
monthly with other divisions in the ministry and the National Committee
for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor, which includes
government agencies, businesses, and labor organizations.

While the Ministry of Labor\'s Social Service Directorate monitored
child labor in businesses such as factories, enforcement in most sectors
of the economy remained limited. In urban areas, many children under age
15 worked in family-owned businesses in the informal sector, shining
shoes, collecting and recycling garbage, or as street peddlers. Other
children were employed in commerce, messenger services, domestic
services, and begging. Children as young as five or six often sold
newspapers or candy on the street to support themselves or to augment
family income.

The government supported the Program for the Schooling and Protection of
Child Workers, which implemented a workshop program in six cities to
work with families and schools on the problem of child labor.

e\. Acceptable Conditions of Work

The Ministry of Labor periodically sets the minimum wage in consultation
with the Commission on Salaries, but Congress also may adjust the
minimum wage. The minimum wage plus mandated bonuses provided a gross
monthly compensation of approximately \$186, or one dollar per hour, in
the case of contract workers. The statutory minimum wage did not provide
a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most organized
workers in state industries and formal-sector private enterprises earned
substantially more than the minimum wage and also received other
significant benefits through collective bargaining agreements. However,
most workers worked in the large informal and rural sector without
obtaining the minimum wage or legally mandated benefits.

The law provides for a 40-hour workweek and two consecutive days of rest
per week. If required to work beyond the standard workweek, workers must
be paid overtime. A higher overtime rate is set for working at night.
The maximum number of hours of overtime was 12 hours per week, which
generally was respected, except in subcontracting companies where
workers sometimes were required to work up to 28 hours of overtime per
week. The Ministry of Labor did not deploy sufficient resources to
enforce labor laws.

The law also provides general protection for workers\' health and safety
on the job. The Social Security Institute is responsible for enforcing
health and safety standards and regulations. In the formal sector,
occupational health and safety was not a significant problem. However,
there were no specific regulations governing health and safety standards
in the agricultural sector, and in practice there was no enforcement of
safety rules in the small mines that make up the vast majority of
enterprises in the mining sector.

A worker may not leave the workplace for health reasons, even if there
is a hazardous situation. A worker is allowed to request that an
inspector from the Ministry of Labor confirm a workplace hazard; that
inspector then may close down the workplace. Response time for
inspectors ranged from three days in major cities to much longer in the
countryside.