Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations and/or conclusions as well as on its voluntary commitments

1. Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations
and/or conclusions as well as on its voluntary commitments

219. The importance that Ecuador attaches to this exercise is reflected in the active and representative participation in the preparations and the interactive dialogue of very high level government officials from various relevant State institutions involved in the implementation of public policies in key areas of human rights, such as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Integration, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Secretariat of People, Social Movements and Citizen Participation, the Ministry of Coordination and Social Development, the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion, the Migrant National Secretariat and other institutions which undertook efforts to be present at the interactive dialogue.

220. Ecuador values the extensive participation of delegations during the interactive dialogue. Ecuador received with satisfaction the acknowledgement by several delegations of Ecuador’s efforts in the promotion of human rights, including in the areas of institutional strengthening, implementation of public policies, dissemination of recommendations of the United Nations special procedures mechanisms, active participation in many international forums and others. Ecuador also indicated that it had taken note with profound interest the requests for further information on specific situations.

221. Ecuador indicated that it wished to state for the record that it had acted in a very responsible manner, profoundly committed to the need to make progress in the area of human rights, and thus it had welcomed all recommendations put forward by delegations, and thus these recommendations enjoy the support of Ecuador. It further indicated that Ecuador will continue to follow up on these recommendations and that it will make all efforts to implement them in practice.

222. Since the interactive dialogue took place on 7 April 2008, and under the coordination of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Integration, a number of State institutions, in consultation with civil society, had been working together to develop the voluntary commitments presented by Ecuador in this occasion. These are commitments which involve an enormous effort and firmness on the part of the Ecuadorean State. Ecuador will promote and disseminate human rights internally, harmonize their domestic legislation vis-à-vis international law, and many other areas. Some highlighted areas included:

(a) Firstly, in the area of international law for human rights, ongoing cooperation with OHCHR for the investigation, dissemination and respond to complaints put forward to special mechanisms and procedures with regard to alleged violations of human rights in the country; to present, co-sponsor and support according to the need, draft resolutions which condemn practices that are systematic violations of human rights in any part of the world; to maintain an open and ongoing invitation for cooperation with the special procedures and mechanisms, both from the United Nations system and the Inter-American system, so that they can come and see in situ what the human rights situation is in the country; to support the adoption of new instruments for protecting and promoting human rights internationally;

(b) Second, in the area of application, dissemination and promotion of human rights: domestically, this includes strengthening the response and follow-up to the international commitments taken on by Ecuador; implementation of the evaluation process of the national plan of action; promoting the work of the National Commission for the Application of International Humanitarian Law and the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;

(c) Third, harmonization of domestic law with international human rights norms, amendments to the Criminal Code, adoption of the anti-discrimination law and promoting the adoption of a law on crimes against humanity with a view to incorporating the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

(d) Fourth, compliance with international obligations, design and implementation of a follow-up system of international commitments;

(e) Fifth, penitentiary rehabilitation: designing a model for social insertion and a model for an infrastructure compliant with human rights standards; building of seven new penitentiary centres based on the model of social insertion;

(f) Sixth, human rights training for public civil servants, generating continuous training processes for public officials and officials in the area of justice;

(g) Seventh, preventing and combating the crime of trafficking in persons; effective implementation of a national plan of action to combat the crime of trafficking in persons;

(h) Eight, commitments undertaken to promote the collective rights of afro-Ecuadorian and indigenous peoples, dissemination through a broad process of the outcome of the conference on the elimination of racial discrimination to be held next year in Geneva; adoption of the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people with regard to free and equal access to services in the administration of justice;

(i) Ninth, voluntary commitments regarding the rights of children, young adolescents and adult senior citizens, development of a concerted agenda and policies for their protection; establishment of an institutional network to eradicate child labour; dissemination of the legal framework which contemplates young people as subjects of rights, through the development of an agenda for social protection and promotion of their rights, as a cross-cutting issue within all state programmes; dissemination of the rights of senior citizens based on the 2002 International Convention of Madrid and the Law on the Senior Adult;

(j) Tenth, in the area of women’s rights, promotion of democratic governance with equal opportunities for men and women; promoting a life free of violence, through the adoption of measures to prevent, eradicate, criminalize and punish violence against women, implementation of public policies and cross-cutting programmes, and the promotion of legislation to eliminate violence against women and children; development of laws and public policies to prevent and eradicate abuse, harassment and sexual exploitation of women and children; promotion of a gender perspective in the education system and in the implementation of social policies in the formal and non-formal education system, eradication of illiteracy, training of public and judicial officials, and in the criminal process of cases of domestic violence and sexual crimes against women and children;

(k) Eleventh, in the area of persons with different sexual orientation, implementation of a national system to guarantee equality and non-discrimination;

(l) Twelfth, in the area of the rights of migrants, follow-up to programmes and the national plan for the human development of migrants and the promotion and protection of migrants and their families;

(m) Thirteenth, in the area of rights of persons with disabilities, full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the promotion of relevant policies and targeted programmes to provide equal access to services and opportunities to persons with disabilities;

(n) Fourteenth, promotion of human rights within the national police, modification of the document on criminal police record; creation of a human rights and anti-corruption unit within the National Police; reform of the manual on procedures for the handling of children;

(o) Fifteenth, promotion of human rights within the armed forces, to create human rights awareness programmes; to hold workshops on prevention and eradication of ill-treatment and torture; training on mediation and arbitration; creation of a section within the Ministry of Defence for the prevention and control of corruption with the armed forces.

223. Ecuador believes that with the adoption of the final outcome, a new phase has been reached, in which there is a need to follow up on the recommendations and for international support for a country that like Ecuador, which is committed to make progress in the promotion of human rights. It is also important to weigh all difficulties and experiences that arise from the universal periodic review as a new mechanism.