Oakland, CA – Amazon Watch expresses deep concern over the growing criminalization and harassment of the Indigenous movement and social organizations in Ecuador. In recent weeks, authorities have opened criminal proceedings against critical voices – including Rafael Negrete, president of the MICC, and members of his community. At the same time, lawmakers are pushing legislation that expands unchecked surveillance powers, interferes with civil society, and weakens environmental protections.
According to public information and reports from human rights organizations, these actions are part of a broader pattern that includes public discrediting of the Constitutional Court, excessive use of force, criminalization of environmental defenders, massive and sudden requests for information from more than four hundred organizations in a single demand, and the freezing of bank accounts belonging to defenders and community collectives. These measures jeopardize their work and their livelihoods. At the same time, journalists have come under attack, and new regulations are disproportionately harming Indigenous and Afro-descendant children and youth.
In the past few hours, we learned of the tragic killing of Efraín Fueres, an Indigenous community member from Cotacachi, during state repression of ongoing protests. We extend our solidarity and deepest condolences to his family, community, and the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement. We join national human rights organizations in calling for an urgent, independent, and transparent investigation to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
We are also alarmed by reports of new investigations against defenders, including dozens of Indigenous and civil society members, accused under the charge of “unjustified private enrichment.” These actions undermine freedom of expression, assembly, organization, and the right to protest – all rights enshrined in Ecuador’s constitution and national law. Every defender has the right to act without reprisals, as recognized in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Escazú Agreement, and ILO Convention 169.
We call on the Ecuadorian government to:
- Take immediate and effective measures to end criminal, administrative, and financial persecution, including lifting bank account freezes that impact defenders across the country.
- Guarantee judicial independence and stop stigmatizing the Constitutional Court and its judges.
- Review and, if necessary, amend or repeal laws and administrative measures that undermine fundamental rights, ensuring that any policies on security, surveillance, or regulation do not limit the legitimate work of civil society or shrink civic space.
- Ensure comprehensive protection for communities and defenders, investigate the use of excessive force, and guarantee that peaceful protest is not criminalized or repressed.
- Fully comply with its international obligations on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, as established in ILO Convention 169, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Escazú Agreement, guaranteeing access to information, participation, and environmental justice.
Amazon Watch reaffirms its commitment to stand with peoples and organizations defending their rights. Guided by principles of non-interference, consent, and security, we will continue denouncing these violations before international human rights mechanisms.
We call on the international community – including UN special procedures, civil society organizations, labor unions, peasant collectives, and human rights networks – to express solidarity with Ecuador, particularly with the defenders targeted by criminalization and repression.
Defending land, water, and life is a legitimate and protected right. It must never trigger reprisals or restrictions.
