Ecuador

An investigation by El Pais revealed that authorities have established a database with the genetic profiles of prisoners, without their informed consent. According to the report, the samples were collected in several prisons, including the Cotopaxi Penitentiary, where officials collected genetic samples of most of the imprisoned population without informing them of their legal right to refuse.   The country’s National Service for the Attention of Adults and Youth Deprived of their Liberty (SNAI) issued a statement in which it informed the public it was carrying out a census of prison population, taking note of persons’ tattoos and other identifying data, including their genetic profiles, for humanitarian and forensic purposes only, but denied taking samples without consent. It also announced it would suspend the measure until further notice. Guayaquil’s Human Rights Committee has stated it will ask SNAI to audit the process in the regional prison located in that city.

Security Right to privacy SDG16

President Daniel Noboa decreed a state of emergency and expanded security forces’ powers after a significant surge in violence, including the escape of an imprisoned gang leader, the kidnapping of police officers and the taking of over 100 prison officials hostage, as well as an incident in which a group of armed men took reporters hostage during a live broadcast at a TV station.   The presidential decrees, which include the declaration of an “internal armed conflict”, enable the military and national police to “neutralize” such groups. They established a night-time curfew and determined the applicability of international humanitarian law.  In the following days, the military regained control of prisons, releasing the hostages.   The surge in violence highlights gang leaders’ power and influence over prison officials, members of the judiciary and police. Relatedly, a prosecutor investigating the hostage taking at the TV station and working on another gang-related investigation known as “Caso Metastasis”, related to the infiltration of gangs in Ecuadorian institutions such as the police and judiciary, was murdered in Guayaquil state.

Gang Violence Intrastate War SDG16 Daniel Noboa

Daniel Noboa, a right-of-centre entrepreneur running for the National Democratic Action coalition (Accion Democratica Nacional, ADN), was elected president on 15 October, in a run-off election. He defeated Luisa Gonzalez, a politician aligned with ‘Correismo’, a political movement that embraces former president Rafael Correa’s policies. Noboa will assume office in December and will govern for only 16 months, as the election was triggered to complete President Guillermo Lasso’s term after he dissolved Congress and called for early legislative and presidential elections. Noboa obtained nearly 52 per cent of votes, over Gonzalez’s 48 per cent. Electoral participation was 82.3 per cent. In Ecuador, voting is mandatory for most of the population. On 16 October the Organization of American States electoral observation mission to Ecuador issued a preliminary statement recognizing citizens’ commitment to democracy, and the holding of peaceful elections amid the country’s complex security situation.

Elections Daniel Noboa

In a referendum held on 20 August, over 58 per cent of voters chose to stop oil extraction in the Yasuni National Park, a UN protected biosphere located in the Amazon. In a second referendum, Ecuadorians also voted to ban all extraction activities in the Choco Andino tropical rainforest, near Quito, with around 68 per cent of support.  Efforts to contain oil production in the Amazon had been spearheaded by Indigenous Peoples and environmental activists, many of them young people, for years. Officials across several administrations and the state’s oil company, Petroecuador, had argued that an end to oil development in Yasuni, would lead to austerity measures with a negative impact on the economy. Petroecuador will have to dismantle its oil processing facilities and provide for reparations.  According to Human Rights Watch, the vote on the Yasuni is the first time a referendum had resulted in a ban on new and pre-existing fossil fuel exploration. Turnout for this referendum neared 83 per cent. Notably, the decision will benefit the Taromenane, Tagaeri and Dugakaeri peoples, who choose to live in isolation in the region, as the drilling activities impacted the quality of their water and resources. Environmental activists have organized to demand the government’s compliance with the referendum as, following the results, officials, including incumbent president Lasso, as well as the candidate currently leading in polls to succeed him, have expressed reservations about the government’s ability to implement the results in the given timeline. 

Referendum Indigenous Rights Environmental Protection