The Regional Human Rights Advisory Foundation (Inredh) of Ecuador has released a report documenting 45 instances of human rights violations committed by public officials under the auspices of Executive Decree 111. The report spans 28 pages and covers complaints from citizens collected between January 8 and April 8 of this year through various social media platforms. Detailed in the report are serious allegations including extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, inhuman treatment in prisons, illegal detentions, and violations against Indigenous communities.
Executive Decree 111 was signed by President Daniel Noboa on January 9, 2024, following the declaration of a state of emergency under Executive Decree 110. The decree authorized the mobilization of the armed forces and national police to combat transnational organized crime, terrorist organizations, and belligerent non-state actors. Article 4 of the decree identified 22 groups to be neutralized by military operations.
The Inredh report raises multiple contentious points. It argues that the situation in Ecuador does not meet the intensity threshold required to classify it as a non-international armed conflict. Additionally, the report claims that the groups identified by the decree fail to meet the organizational threshold necessary for such a classification. The group also asserts that the declarations serve as a pretext for human rights violations and justify disproportionate force and administrative negligence.
The comprehensive report can be accessed here, and the official press release is available on the Inredh website.