COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE HEARS RESPONSE OF ECUADOR

The Committee against Torture this afternoon heard the response of Ecuador to questions raised by Committee Experts on the third periodic report of that country on how it was implementing the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Responding to a series of questions raised by the Committee members on Friday, 11 November, the delegation, which was led by Juan Carlos Faidutti, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the Constitution prohibited cruel treatment, including torture or any degrading treatment, including physical, psychological or mental torture. Torture against detainees was penalised, and the extraction of confessions by torture or degrading treatment was forbidden. The provisions of the Constitution were conformed to, and they were incorporated into the criminal code in order to be consistent with the provisions of the Convention.

Ecuador had been going through a very difficult phase in political terms over the last few years, and Congress had been somewhat more concerned with political affairs in the country, but this was not a justification for saying that Ecuador was not interested in undertaking reforms. A post in the Central University had been set up, and a National Plan put before the authorities to increase the respect and awareness of human rights among the armed forces and to give the necessary forces the impetus to promote and protect human rights as an important part of their obligations during both peacetime and times of conflict.

The Committee will submit its conclusions and recommendations on the report of Ecuador towards the end of the session on 25 November.

As one of the 140 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Ecuador is obliged to provide the Committee with periodic reports on the measures it has undertaken to fight torture.

When the Committee next reconvenes in public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 November, it is scheduled to take up the third periodic report of Austria (CAT/C/34/Add.18)


Response of Ecuador

Responding to a series of questions raised by the Committee Experts on Friday, 11 November, JUAN CARLOS FAIDUTTI, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said with regard to torture and application of penalties, as was set out in the report, the Constitution prohibited cruel treatment, including torture or any degrading treatment, including physical, psychological or mental torture. Torture against detainees was penalised, and the extraction of confessions by torture or degrading treatment was forbidden. The provisions of the Constitution were conformed to, and they were incorporated into the criminal code in order to be consistent with the provisions of the Convention. The Criminal Procedure Code prohibited cruel and degrading treatment, and the Police were prohibited from investigating crimes whilst violating human rights.

The only legal provisions were deprivations of liberty and of certain civil and political rights, Mr. Faidutti said. Internal legislation prohibited torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. There was, however, no definition of torture as included under the Convention, but as there were broad provisions in the Constitution, this was considered to be unnecessary. Combating torture was guaranteed, and potential victims of such crimes were protected as these crimes were prosecuted. The State had take action to include a definition of torture into the Criminal Code, with the support of civil society. It was because of the political crises over the last few years that these proposed laws had not been incorporated.

Ecuador had been going through a very difficult phase in political terms over the last few years, and Congress had been somewhat more concerned with political affairs in the country, but this was not a justification for saying that Ecuador was not interested in undertaking reforms, Mr. Faidutti said. The budget had been increased with a view to eradicating corruption, and following the establishment of this policy, the State had made efforts to increase the budget for those administrating justice to ensure that salaries were higher. This had helped to ensure that investigations were carried out more effectively. The judiciary were now receiving salaries that were much higher than other civil servants.

On domestic violence, there had been a net fall-off in the number of complaints at police stations in 2003. There had also been a reduction in prosecutions, Mr. Faidutti said. Non-governmental organizations and the press played a role in the diminution in figures, as they had played a role in highlighting awareness of the issue and given impetus to the idea of victims of family violence taking action and participating actively in reporting cases of violence. This had also obliged those who were the sources of such violence to take due care, and it was because of this that there had been an enormous reduction in the number of reports, simply because there was a greater awareness among the population of an increased need for respect for women. The situation had also been affected by the depenalisation of homosexuality, discrimination against which was forbidden, as was any form of threat or ill-treatment.

The leaders of indigenous peoples could apply their own rules and procedures for the solution of internal conflicts, stipulating that this was not in contravention of the Constitution. There was a draft law for indigenous justice, but in practice the authorities could forbid any practice that was harmful to the integrity of the person, Mr. Faidutti said. The Government had noted that it was necessary for prosecutors to speak the language of the defender, and was well aware of the need to increase the number of prosecutors who belonged to vulnerable groups, and considered that they were essential in increasing the knowledge of indigenous languages and practices, in order to make the process more appropriate.

The State was well aware that the existence of police and military courts was not compatible with the Convention, and therefore the political Constitution of the Republic, promulgated in 1998, stipulated that all judges and magistrates reporting to the executive would now report to the judiciary, and this was also true for those courts reporting to the police and on children. There had been budgetary issues that had made this impossible earlier, but in the case of children’s courts, these were now reporting to the judiciary, Mr. Faidutti said. There was great pressure within society and the Government to ensure that the judiciary reformed laws with a view to incorporating and bringing judges for police and military courts into the judicial sphere. There was no conflict of jurisdiction between the police and military courts, as they had their own codes.

The terrible phenomenon of forced disappearance had not taken place as a systematic practice, but in exceptional cases, the delegation said. The Constitution prohibited forced disappearance, genocide, torture, abduction or homicide for political or conscience-related reasons, and this was not subject to any statute of limitations. Criminal legislation did not yet have a definition of forced disappearance, but the Criminal Code included language and provisions covering this, and abduction was also covered and included as a crime.

On programmes for education and training, the delegation said Constitutional measures had been made known to the military institutions, along with Ecuador’s international commitments, and work had been done to strengthen human rights in these institutions. Social aspects of human rights, as well as their promotion was done nationally as well as internationally. A post in the Central University had been set up, and a National Plan put before the authorities to increase the respect and awareness of human rights among the armed forces and to give the necessary forces the impetus to promote and protect human rights as an important part of their obligations during both peacetime and times of conflict. This Plan had not yet been approved. Through the Office of the Magistrate and the Foreign Ministry, there had been a series of seminars organised for the police and defence forces.

On the topic of expulsion to other countries where there was a risk of torture, Mr. Faidutti said that regarding people who had requested asylum, where there was a risk of torture, persons could not be expelled if they were of danger of torture in their or any other country. This was in compliance with the international norms to which Ecuador was party. The immigration authorities were informed of the principle of non-refoulement, and where the situation arose they had to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to ensure that the situation was in compliance with commitments. No person could be put in detention without being taken to a medical centre to assess their condition and determine whether they had been tortured. Complaints brought against penitentiary centres were ensured to be examined thoroughly, and there was a procedure established for this.

Complaints of violations of habeas corpus had decreased since the new Criminal Code had been established, Mr. Faidutti said. Severe sanctions were applied to any police agent who carried out arbitrary or illegal arrest, except for persons caught red-handed. According to the Constitution, everybody was a citizen, and foreigners could become residents under the law on foreigners, and so foreign residents who were legally settled in the country were not expelled, and the law forbade the extradition of Ecuadorians. The only persons who could be expelled were illegal foreigners with no papers. Attention was being given to refugees and other vulnerable groups. There was a training programme on refugees and internally displaced persons. There had been an initiative by the public defender who had seen that the situation in prisons was kept under appropriate control.

The National Human Rights Plan included measures with regards to the human rights of sexual minorities, and included steps to be taken to improve awareness and acknowledgement of their rights, but the Plan had not yet been approved. On paramilitary groups, Mr. Faidutti said there were no such groups in Ecuador, and this was categorical. Paramilitary groups were groups of persons subject to military discipline, with conventional weapons, and financed by groups having nothing to do with the State, and there were none in Ecuador. Regarding allegations of ill treatment in Guyaquil against persons of a sexual minority, reports had been received that a paramilitary group was involved, but there had been no confirmation of this information, and Mr. Faidutti said that this might have been perpetrated by a group of young criminals banded together.

Women had been incorporated in the active life of the country, Mr. Faidutti said, and accusations of machismo were now out of date. Many new members of the police force were women, and the new Courts of Justice included many women lawyers, who participated actively. The large majority of law students were women, and they were often the best students. There could come a time when most of the judges would be women, as they were the most active and generally scored highest in examinations. Ecuador was proud of giving women their due position in the active life of the country.

Claudio Grossman, Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report, said that the situation in Ecuador was quite difficult, and the answers given in the context of such a situation were most appreciated. The clarification on salaries for the members of the judiciary was appreciated, as was why there were fewer complaints on domestic violence. He suggested that the need for training be further examined, and that there should be more possibilities for training for the police and those working in the border police. There were many opportunities for these. He hoped it would be possible for legislation and internal practice to be brought in line as soon as possible with international commitments. It would be interesting to see forced disappearance stated as a crime. On the definition of torture, it would also be interesting to see if there could be harmonisation of the different laws and provisions, with a specific definition.

On the National Human Rights Plan, it was hoped that this would be adopted and implemented soon for the armed forces, Mr. Grossman said. Given the dimensions of the refoulement problem, further training was required. There was a possibility for regulation on the issue of attempted torture. With a proper definition of the crime, this could properly contribute to attempted torture being covered in legislation. It was hoped that the Draft Bill on sexual minorities would be pursued. The definition of the term “paramilitary” was also important, and it needed to be made clear, although Mr. Grossman said it was clear that the Committee had not insinuated that there were any paramilitary groups in Ecuador. The legislative programme, with the presentation of a number of draft laws covering Ecuador’s international obligations had been apparently postponed, and the Committee noted that there was a political intention to present these laws, and it was very important for this to be done.

Fernando Marino Menendez, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report, said that he did require clarification on one issue, and that was the draft law on sentencing, and a better solution needed to be found. He also recalled Ecuador’s openness to inspection visits by United Nations Special Rapporteurs and its sincere participation in United Nations monitoring bodies, which showed its good will. Was there an intention on the part of the Government to increase budgetary allocations to eliminate overcrowding in prisons, he asked, by, for example, building centres for holding people in preventative detention. Was there an investment plan for prisons, as this situation of overcrowding was one where inhumane treatment tended to occur automatically. On the establishment of public defenders for various groups of the population including women and children and indigenous persons, was there a gap between intention and reality, he asked, and how was it being implemented. Mr. Grossman’s final question covered the compensation awarded to victims of torture, and whether there was a summary executive procedure ensuring that all victims received full compensation.


Responding briefly, Mr. Faidutti said the national Government had developed a law on execution of sentences, which was being presented to the Congress. As elections were approaching, legislators were more burdened with political issues, but the Government had elaborated laws on this issue which would be examined at the outset by the new Congress. There was an intention to increase budgetary allocations for public defenders, and these would include those for indigenous communities.

Other Committee Experts also asked questions and made comments. An Expert asked what had happened to perpetrators of cases that had been brought before United Nations treaty bodies, including the Committee Against Torture and what had been done to prevent re-occurrences of such cases.

Mr. Faidutti responded that as a result of the economic situation in various Latin American countries, various groups of young people tended to get involved in crime in order to make progress in their lives in a certain way. The State was attempting to provide opportunities for these people.

In a concluding statement, Mr. Faidutti thanked the Committee for listening to the delegation, saying that it had made every possible effort to satisfy the concerns of the body. Ecuador was making every possible effort to take on board the recommendations and suggestions of the United Nations treaty bodies. International norms and standards had played a very important role in Ecuador, as had NGOs, in establishing a series of norms and laws which had brought these matters to the consciousness of the State. The members of the police and army were constantly making efforts to ensure that in their personal training there was no obligation which was neglected. Ecuador was making every effort and was open to any suggestion which could come in order to bring these things to consideration so that Ecuador could really appreciate and implement the national and international norms on human rights standards.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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