GENEVA (26 April 2017) – Ecuador’s human rights record will be examined by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the third time on Monday, 1 May 2017 in a meeting that will be webcast live.

Ecuador is one of the 14 States to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its upcoming session taking place from 1 to 12 May, which also marks the commencement of the third UPR cycle.  Ecuador’s first and second UPR reviews took place in April 2008 and May 2012, respectively.

The documents on which the reviews are based are: 1) national report - information provided by the State under review; 2) information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities; 3) information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organizations and civil society groups.

Among the issues raised in the above-mentioned documents are: allegations of excessive use of force by security forces against demonstrators; ensuring the rights to freedom of expression and association and enabling a safe environment for human rights defenders; combatting discrimination against indigenous peoples, Afro-Ecuadorians and Montubios; addressing social stereotypes underpinning discrimination against women; combatting violence against women and ensuring accountability; increasing  access of women and girls to sexual and reproductive health services; combatting discrimination and violence against LGBTI people; improving the situation of persons deprived of their liberty; consultation processes with indigenous peoples in accordance with international standards; tackling poverty and improving access to basic services, education and health; addressing discrimination against persons with disabilities, refugees and migrants.  

The three reports serving as the basis for the review of Ecuador on 1 May can be found here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/ECSession27.aspx

Location: Room 20, Palais des Nations, Geneva
Time and date: 14.30 – 18.00, Monday, 1 May (Geneva time, GMT +1 hour)

The UPR is a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States.  Since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all 193 UN member States have been reviewed twice within the first and second UPR cycles.  During the third UPR cycle, States are again expected to spell out steps they have taken to implement recommendations posed during their previous reviews which they committed to follow-up on, as well as to highlight recent human rights developments in the country.

The delegation of Ecuador will be headed by Mr. Guillaume Long, Minister of Foreign Affairs

The three country representatives serving as rapporteurs (“troika”) for the review of Ecuador are: Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire and the Republic of Korea.

The webcast of the session will be at http://webtv.un.org

The list of speakers and all available statements to be delivered during the review of Ecuador will be posted on the UPR Extranet at the following link:  https://extranet.ohchr.org/sites/upr/Sessions/27session/Ecuador/Pages/default.aspx

The UPR Working Group is scheduled to adopt the recommendations made to Ecuador at 15.30 on 5 May.  The State under review may wish to express its positions on recommendations posed to it during their review.  The recommendations will be shared with the media on this day in advance.    

ENDS

To learn more about the Universal Periodic Review, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx

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