US embassy cable - 05QUITO2725

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 002725 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PREL, PHUM, EC 
SUBJECT: UN CRITICIZES ECUADOR'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD 
 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  The UN Committee Against Torture, which 
oversees countries' compliance with the Convention Against 
Torture, recently publicly announced that Ecuador needs to 
adopt a clear definition of the crime of torture and ensure 
investigation and punishment for acts of torture.  The report 
of the UN committee also found that vulnerable groups in 
Ecuador did not receive sufficient protections against 
torture.  The UN committee noted that there was a tendency to 
reject habeas corpus and criticized extensive periods of 
detention of prisoners before conviction and sentencing.  The 
GOE weakly replied that it has been implementing its human 
rights plan and training security forces and others in human 
rights, however there is currently no rehabilitation program 
for victims of torture.  As part of our human rights 
promotion efforts, we will encourage Congress to address 
legislative gaps to sanction torture here.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) The president of the UN Committee Against Torture 
reported on November 11 that Ecuador's legislation does not 
meet standards set within the UN's Convention Against 
Torture.  The committee had reviewed a GOE report to the 
committee, as well as an alternative report submitted by 
human rights NGOs CEDHU, INREDH, and others.  Ecuador was 
given one year to report back to the committee on advances 
made on some of the committee's recommendations. 
 
Impunity for HR Violators 
------------------------- 
 
3.  (U) The UN reports that violators of human rights in 
Ecuador are often penalized with only a fine, receiving no 
further sanctions.  The committee, composed of ten experts 
from various countries, recommended that Ecuador take action 
to eliminate immunity for those who commit torture.  The 
committee also found that vulnerable groups such as 
indigenous, sexual minorities, women, and refugees were not 
sufficiently protected against torture.  The UN committee 
recommended that Ecuador adjust its law to include all acts 
that can be defined as torture with clearly defined sanctions 
for each, that it guarantee indemnity for victims of torture, 
and that military and police tribunals be absorbed by civil 
courts. 
 
Legislation Needed 
------------------ 
 
4.  (U) Cesar Duque of human rights NGO CEDHU told PolOff on 
November 28 that Ecuador needs to pass a number of laws to 
conform with stricter standards against torture stipulated in 
the 1998 constitution and the Convention Against Torture.  A 
bill, submitted in 2004 by former PRE party deputy Maria 
Augusta Rivas, would reform the penal code to bring Ecuador 
into compliance with the Convention against Torture, but did 
not get beyond the first debate due to a general lack of 
interest.  Ecuador's penal code currently does not include 
specified sanctions for all the defined acts of torture 
within the Convention Against Torture. 
 
Detention and Prison Conditions 
------------------------------- 
 
5.  (U) The UN reported that there is a tendency to reject 
habeas corpus.  The committee asked Ecuador to guarantee 
persons detained by police to right to inform and relative 
and to consult a freely chosen lawyer and doctor.  The UN 
committee noted an increase in the use of extended detention 
("detencion en firme") which they found caused overpopulation 
of prisons and violated the right to a free and fair trial. 
A law on extended detention passed in 2003, allows prisoners 
to be detained indefinitely for certain crimes after 
indictment but before conviction or sentencing.  The law 
contradicts the constitution which states that a person 
cannot be held in preventive detention for more than a year. 
The National Social Rehabilitation Board which runs Ecuador's 
prisons reported that between 2003 and 2005, 2,348 prisoners 
were held under extended detention, not including those held 
in the Ecuador's two largest cities, Quito and Guayaquil. 
The committee recommended legislative advances to shorten the 
length of preventative prison, and to eliminate the use of 
extended detention. 
 
6.  (U) Prison overpopulation and the accumulation of 
unresolved court trials were also noted.  The committee 
referred to the NGO report which stated that only in 
Pichincha province, there were 390,000 trials pending. 
Currently, over 60 percent of prisoners nationwide have not 
been sentenced. 
 
GOE Implements National HR Plan 
------------------------------- 
 
7.  (U) The UN committee commended Ecuador for having a 
national human rights plan.  The plan, which the GOE began 
implementing in 1998, aims to build awareness in the various 
social sectors of the importance of preventing, eradicating, 
and sanctioning human rights violations.  In its report, the 
GOE claimed that between 1999-2003 it had trained 35 prison 
directors, 55 doctors, 49 psychologists, 42 social workers, 
and 334 prison guards in human rights and UN principles 
regulating detention of prisoners.  However, there is 
currently no government program to rehabilitate victims of 
torture. 
Comment 
------- 
 
8.  (SBU) We will be adding Convention Against Torture 
legislation to our list of congressional priorities and will 
begin raising the issue with the GOE.  The UN statement will 
bring added pressure for action on the issue. 
BROWN