Ecuador: State must urgently adopt public policy to protect human rights defenders facing grave risk
Ecuador: State must urgently adopt public policy to protect human rights defenders facing grave risks
12 March 2020, 14:00 UTC
Today, at the end of Amnesty International’s visit to Ecuador, the organization expressed concern about the lack of concrete measures taken by the state to guarantee the effective protection of human rights defenders, as well as highlighting the authorities’ persistent inability to carry out appropriate and effective investigations into attacks and threats against members of the Mujeres Amazónicas (Amazonian Women) collective. The organization also expressed concern at impunity for human rights violations committed during the October 2019 protests and the state’s failure to assess the impact of austerity measures on human rights.
“For any policy for the protection of human rights defenders to be effective, the authorities must first publicly recognize the legitimacy of human rights defenders' work and foster an environment that enables them to carry out this work in safe conditions,” said María José Veramendi, Amnesty International researcher for South America.
One year after the publication of the report “They will not stop us”, which exposed the flaws in the response of the Attorney General's Office to a series of attacks and death threats against Patricia Gualinga, Nema Grefa, Salomé Aranda and Margoth Escobar, all members of Mujeres Amazónicas, Amnesty International's research shows that investigations into these attacks have not made any significant progress.
For any policy for the protection of human rights defenders to be effective, the authorities must first publicly recognize the legitimacy of human rights defenders' work and foster an environment that enables them to carry out this work in safe conditions
María José Veramendi, Amnesty International researcher for South America
More:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/03/ecuador-personas-defensoras-urgente-adopcion-politica-publica-para-proteccion/
