Ecuador - December 2024
Constitutional Court issues landmark ruling for victims of modern slavery
On 5 December, the Constitutional Court issued a historic ruling, finding that the Furukawa Plantaciones company, a Japanese enterprise, violated the prohibition of slavery by subjecting hundreds of its workers at abaca plantations to a system known as "servidumbre de la gleba". A contemporary form of slavery, the gleba kept hundreds of workers in inhumane conditions without access to basic services, and tied to the company for decades through facade rent agreements and other mechanisms. The Court declared that the company, operating in the country since the 1960s, took advantage of workers, mostly of African descent, in extremely vulnerable situations. The Court further condemned the Ecuadorean government for failing to prevent and enabling the abuse. The Court ordered Furukawa to pay compensation, and the state to develop policies and legal reforms to end the gleba. The company has contested the court's decision and claimed it cannot afford the ordered reparations without risking closure.
