Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

List of issues in relation to the fifth periodic report of Ecuador *

1.The State Party is invited to submit in writing the information requested below (preferably not exceeding 10,700 words) by 30 November 2026.

A.General information

2.Please provide information on the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights in the State Party and include specific examples of cases where national courts invoked or applied the Covenant. Please report on measures taken to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and judges’ training in economic, social and cultural rights. Please provide information on how the legislature was involved in the implementation of and follow-up to the previous concluding observations and in the development of the fifth periodic report.

3.Please provide information on the changes introduced by the Organic Act on Social Transparency and how they may affect or are affecting the work of defenders of economic, social and cultural rights. Please report on cases where there have been complaints of threats or harassment against defenders of the environment or of economic, social and cultural rights, the steps that have been taken to provide effective protection for the defenders and to adopt a comprehensive policy on protection, and the impact of those steps. Please provide information on measures taken to protect and safeguard Covenant rights during states of emergency, including measures to prevent the use of public health centres, schools and social centres for military purposes. Please also provide information regarding measures taken to assess the impact of the states of emergency on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and regarding the investigation and prosecution of alleged violations of Covenant rights, such as the denial of medical care during social protests.

4.Please provide information on legislative and/or policy measures taken to ensure that businesses exercise human rights due diligence in the conduct of their operations, particularly with respect to rights under the Covenant, and the impact of those measures. Please indicate whether the State Party intends to draft a national action plan on business and human rights.

5.With respect to climate change adaptation policies and measures, please provide information on the progress made by the State Party in the measures relating to its second nationally determined contribution. Please also provide information on the following:

(a)How the State Party assesses the impacts of climate change on the enjoyment of Covenant rights, in particular for marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and groups;

(b)How it ensures that there is an adequate allocation of all required resources to adapt to and address the impacts of climate change on, inter alia, economic, social and cultural rights;

(c)Measures taken to strengthen preparedness for and responses to natural disasters, disaster risk reduction measures and the financial resources allocated to those measures;

(d)Which institutions are tasked with the development and implementation of climate change adaptation measures and policies for slow-onset impacts in different areas, such as agriculture, housing and health, and how coordination among the institutions responsible for disaster preparedness and management is ensured;

(e)Measures taken to prevent conflicts of interest from arising from the merger of the Ministry of the Environment, Water and the Ecological Transition and the Ministry of Energy and Mining.

B.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1–5)

Right to freely dispose of natural wealth and resources (art. 1 (2))

6.In the light of the previous concluding observations and the State Party’s report, please describe how the consultation procedure is implemented in practice to safeguard the right to free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples, Montubio people and people of African descent. Please include information on the status of the organic code on free, prior and informed consultation concerning environmental and legislative matters and on the impact of the manual for the implementation of free, prior and informed consultations, the national REDD-plus consultation guidelines and the reopening of the mining registry. In addition, please provide information on the number of socioenvironmental conflicts recorded by the Secretariat for the Management and Advancement of Peoples and Nationalities, the nature of the conflicts and the consultations held with respect thereto. Please provide up‑to‑date information on the outcome of the procedure for the adjudication of lands within the State Forest Heritage and Protective Forests and Vegetation. In addition, please provide information on the status of the public application for constitutional review of the Organic Act on the Strengthening of Protected Areas, relating to its impact on the exercise of Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights.

Maximum available resources (art. 2 (1))

7.Please provide detailed information on the debt and fiscal deficit, the measures taken to reduce them without affecting Covenant rights, including through progressive tax strategies, and the impact of those measures. Please also provide information regarding any assessment of the impact of fiscal policies, particularly the recent fiscal consolidation measures taken under the Extended Fund Facility of the International Monetary Fund, the elimination of the fuel subsidy, the increase in the value added tax and other such measures, on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, and regarding the compatibility of the fiscal policies with the principle of non-regression and Covenant obligations. Please provide disaggregated data on the impact of the fiscal consolidation policies on inequality, poverty levels and access to essential services, including healthcare, education and social protection, paying special attention to the barriers faced by Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent and Montubio people in accessing employment and other social welfare services and enjoying a decent standard of living. In addition, please provide information on the evolution of the following, covering the past 10 years:

(a)The proportion of the population living below the nationally defined poverty line, broken down by sex, age, ethnicity and whether the persons in question live in urban or rural areas;

(b)Levels of inequality, as demonstrated by indicators such as the percentage of the population living on less than 50% of the median income, the ratio between the total income of the richest 10% of the population and the total income of the poorest 40% and the ratio between the assets owned by the richest 10% of the population and the assets owned by the poorest 50%;

(c)The economy, in particular through the annual variations of gross domestic product (GDP), the changes in GDP per capita and the level of public debt in proportion to GDP;

(d)The proportion of the domestic budget funded by domestic taxes;

(e)The tax rates levied on corporate profits and on personal income, the value added tax rate (exclusive of value added tax on certain items, including luxury items) and the percentage of total revenue that is generated from personal income tax collected from the richest 10 per cent of the population;

(f)Public expenditure as a percentage of GDP and, within total public expenditure, the proportion of the public budget allocated to social spending, including social security, food, water and sanitation, housing, health, education and culture;

(g)The general State budget figures and the executed percentages for the period 2024–2026, with an indication of the amounts allocated to the sectors of health, education and social security;

(h)The impact of the National Public Integrity Strategy on the prevention of corruption;

(i)Measures taken by the State Party to ensure the sustainability of the institutions responsible for protecting human rights, in particular the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the right to a healthy environment, both at an institutional level and financially.

Non-discrimination (art. 2 (2))

8.Please provide information on measures taken by the national statistical office to ensure that the census yields data disaggregated by ethnic origin and other social characteristics that may be grounds for discrimination, in accordance with international standards and in the light of the audits conducted following the 2022 census. Please indicate the steps taken to enact a comprehensive law on the prevention and elimination of discrimination. Please provide information on the mechanisms for implementing the national equality agendas, the powers of the Office of the Undersecretary for Diversity and measures for preventing and punishing public hate speech and xenophobic marches. Please provide the results of the 2023 survey on perceptions of racism, xenophobia and racial discrimination in Ecuador.

Equal rights of men and women (art. 3)

9.Please provide information on:

(a)The impact of the merger of the Ministry for Women’s Affairs and Human Rights and the Ministry of the Interior on the implementation of gender-related laws, with an indication of their powers and budget as well as those of the National Council for Gender Equality;

(b)The results and impact of the National Agenda for Gender Equality 2021–2025;

(c)Legislative or public policy measures taken to promote a comprehensive care system in which the caregiving responsibilities borne by men and women and by the State, the private sector and the family are redistributed; the effects of the Organic Act on Labour Justice and Recognition of Domestic Work and the Organic Act on the Right to Human Care, mentioned in paragraph 8 of the State Party’s report; and up-to-date statistics on the percentage of their time that individuals spend on unpaid domestic and care work, disaggregated by sex, age and location;

(d)Up-to-date statistics regarding the representation of women, including Indigenous women and women of African descent, in decision-making and leadership positions at all levels of the private sector and government, and the results of the Organic Act on the Promotion of the Purple Economy.

C.Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6–15)

Right to work (art. 6)

10.Please include up-to-date statistics on the employment, unemployment and underemployment rates over the past five years, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnic or national origin, disability and whether the persons in question live in urban or rural areas. Please provide up-to-date statistics on informal employment as a percentage of total employment over the past five years, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnic origin, economic sector, migration status and whether the persons in question live in urban or rural areas, and information on measures taken to transition from the informal to the formal economy. Please also indicate whether or not measures are in place to ensure labour and social protection for workers in the informal economy and how any such measures address the structural factors driving informal employment, including rurality, low productivity and limited access to markets and services.

11.With respect to the previous concluding observations, please provide information on measures to prevent forced labour and to protect and ensure comprehensive reparations for victims, including through the implementation of Constitutional Court judgment No. 1072‑21-JP/24 in the Furukawa company case, and on guarantees of non-repetition.

Right to just and favourable conditions of work (art. 7)

12.Please provide up-to-date statistics on labour inspections conducted over the past five years, including information on the penalties imposed, the main labour law violations identified, the measures taken to address them and the persons affected, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnic or national origin, disability, migration status and whether the persons in question live in urban or rural areas. Please provide information on the productive sectors where lethal and non-lethal occupational injuries and diseases are most prevalent and on measures taken to prevent such diseases and workplace accidents and to assist the workers concerned.

13.Please provide up-to-date statistics on reports of workplace discrimination recorded over the past five years, disaggregated by whether the discrimination was based on sex, age, ethnic or national origin, disability or a person’s residence in an urban or rural area, and information on measures taken to combat discrimination, sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. Please update the data on the gender wage gap provided in paragraph 157 of the State Party’s report. Please provide information on the criteria used for dismissals in the public sector and on measures taken to mitigate their impact and to ensure that the State Party’s obligations under the Covenant are respected.

Trade union rights (art. 8)

14.With respect to the previous concluding observations, please provide information on the rate of unionization in the State Party and on the process of registering trade unions in the Single Labour System. Please provide up-to-date information on cases of anti-union discrimination, including anti-union dismissals, blacklisting and the partial implementation of rulings ordering the reinstatement of union leaders, and on any measures that the State Party is taking or plans to take to eliminate such acts of intimidation. Please indicate whether the State Party plans to amend the Labour Code to ensure the independence and conditions of safety required to organize freely and to prosecute acts of intimidation against and killings of trade unionists.

Right to social security (art. 9)

15.Please provide detailed information on the impact of the Act on Economic Strengthening and Sustainability and the changes relating to the Bank of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute on the enjoyment of the right to social security, including with respect to pensions. Please include information on measures taken to strengthen the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute and their impact. Please report on the impact of measures implemented to achieve universal social security coverage and include disaggregated statistics on the levels of social protection coverage in the State Party over the past 10 years. Please indicate the percentage of older persons who receive non-contributory pensions and benefits and provide information on how the State Party ensures that non-contributory pensions and benefits provide an adequate standard of living. Please provide information on measures taken to extend social security coverage to persons working in the informal sector, persons in non-traditional jobs, the self-employed, domestic workers and others. Please indicate to what extent the social security system ensures coverage for all members of the families formed by same-sex couples, including spouses and children. In the light of the very low rate of social security coverage among workers in the informal economy, please indicate whether the State Party has considered or implemented non-contributory or subsidized systems to provide a social protection floor, particularly for low-income informal workers living in rural areas.

Protection of the family and children (art. 10)

16.Please provide statistical data on the prevalence of child labour, abandonment, malnutrition, child marriage, forced pregnancy, sexual exploitation, forced recruitment and the criminalization of minors and on the numbers of children in street situations and homicides among children. Please provide information on the results of measures taken to address these issues and the progress made, including under the programmes “Ecuador Grows without Malnutrition”, covering the period 2021–2025, and “The New Childhood in Action”.

17.Please provide information on measures taken to amend the Code on Children and Adolescents to ensure a focus on ethnic diversity, interculturalism and non-discrimination.

18.With respect to the effective implementation of the Comprehensive Organic Act to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women, regarding which the Committee requested follow-up in 2022, please provide information on the changes in the most important indicators under the National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women 2020–2030 and the statistical data collected in the Single Registry on Violence. Please also indicate the status of the National Observatory on Violence against Women, the web page for which is currently inactive.

Right to an adequate standard of living (art. 11)

19.Please provide information on the impact and specific results of the National Development Plan in terms of reducing poverty and the disparities that exist between urban and rural areas. Please also provide information on the results and impact of the Organic Act on Social Housing, the National Habitat and Housing Plan 2021–2025 and the “Creating Homes” programme in terms of reducing the housing shortage, particularly among the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups, and indicate whether the Plan will be continued from 2026. Please include up-to-date statistical data on the housing shortage, access to public utilities, access to social housing and the population living in slums. Please describe measures taken to ensure that the energy crises affecting the public do not reoccur and to provide protection against unfair residential rates.

20.Please provide up-to-date statistics on the prevalence of malnutrition and moderate or severe food insecurity in the State Party, disaggregated by region, ethnic group, sex, age and whether the persons in question live in urban or rural areas, and include data on overweight and obesity. Please provide information on the specific results and impact of the implementation of the Organic Act on the Food Sovereignty System, the Food and Nutrition Security and Hunger Eradication Plan 2030 and the National Agricultural Strategy for Rural Women. Please also provide data on changes in public spending on agriculture over the past 10 years.

21.With respect to paragraph 64 of the State Party’s report, please provide information on the measures taken to reduce regional disparities in access to safe water and sanitation, the impact of the measures on the coverage of those services and the steps taken to stop the contamination of water sources by mining activities. Please provide, in particular, up-to-date information on the impact of the oil spill in the Province of Esmeraldas and the measures taken to address and remedy the resulting damage.

22.Please indicate the specific measures that the State Party has taken to monitor and regulate oil and mining operations with a view to preventing, mitigating and remedying their impacts on the rights to health, water and food.

Right to physical and mental health (art. 12)

23.Please provide information on:

(a)Measures taken to reduce disparities in healthcare between rural and urban areas, and the changes in the density and distribution of healthcare personnel in these areas over the past 10 years;

(b)The impact of the government restructuring on the Ministry of Health, with data on its projected budget;

(c)The supply of essential and specialized medicines and of medical supplies and equipment in hospitals;

(d)Adolescent pregnancy and, in particular, the adolescent birth rate over the past five years; the measures taken to prevent adolescent pregnancy, including through comprehensive sexuality education in school curricula; and the impact of those measures;

(e)Maternal and infant mortality over the past five years, including statistics on each mortality rate, disaggregated by region and ethnic group, and the measures taken to prevent these forms of mortality;

(f)Measures taken to provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate care, particularly for Indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian and Montubio persons; the progress under the regulations for application of the intercultural approach in healthcare facilities of the national health system and the impact of the regulations; and measures intended to prevent the criminalization of birth attendants and ensure respect for and the preservation of ancestral health practices;

(g)Progress under the Organic Act on Mental Health, the preparation of the regulations thereto and initiatives undertaken to incorporate human rights indicators into the Act;

(h)Policies implemented to raise public awareness of the importance of mental health and to provide treatment for mental illness, including in terms of suicide prevention and care in situations of human mobility;

(i)Measures taken to eliminate existing barriers to access to voluntary termination of pregnancy, pregnancy prevention and family planning measures, the roll-out of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education programmes for all audiences, measures to fully decriminalize abortion and the challenge against the Act on the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy in Cases of Rape;

(j)Measures implemented to strengthen the approach of prevention and harm reduction with respect to psychoactive substance use, promote alternative sentencing for minor offenses, such as drug-related offences, and ensure the monitoring of economic, social and cultural rights in prisons; and the potential impact of eliminating the table of use thresholds;

(k)Changes in vaccination coverage for the most prevalent diseases over the past 10 years and measures taken to prevent the transmission and spread of tuberculosis in places of detention.

Right to education (arts. 13 and 14)

24.Please provide information on:

(a)The illiteracy and school dropout rates, disaggregated by sex, age, ethnic or national origin, disability and whether the persons in question live in urban or rural areas, and the capacity of the education system;

(b)The average amounts of public investment per student and per level of education over the past 10 years;

(c)Legal and administrative measures taken by the State Party to ensure access to a high-quality education for children with disabilities, as well as those with autism spectrum disorder, in both public and private educational institutions;

(d)The impact and specific results of the Organic Act on Intercultural Education, the “Learning on Time” national plan and the strategies listed in paragraph 98 of the State Party’s report;

(e)Measures taken by the State Party to improve the quality and relevance of primary and secondary education and prevent students from dropping out and the specific results of such measures, with disaggregated statistics on access to and retention in education in urban and rural areas, especially in Indigenous, Montubio and Afro-Ecuadorian communities, over the past five years;

(f)Measures taken by the State Party to address human rights, sustainable development and cultural diversity, incorporate a gender perspective and take account of differentiated needs in education policies, curricula, teacher training and student assessment, and the impact of such measures;

(g)The resources provided to the Secretariat of Intercultural Bilingual Education and the results of its work on the right to an intercultural bilingual education.

Cultural rights (art. 15)

25.Please describe the specific measures taken to protect cultural diversity and preserve and promote the languages and culture of Indigenous Peoples and Montubio and Afro‑Ecuadorian communities, including by preventing language extinction. Please provide information on the implementation of the Ten-Year Plan for the Revitalization and Promotion of the Use of Indigenous Languages.

26.Please provide information on the impact of the merger of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education on the continuity of cultural projects and programmes. Please include information on measures taken to ensure a stable budget line for culture and provide data on the annual budget for and yearly public spending on the cultural and creative sectors. Please also describe measures intended to preserve and promote cultural heritage and safeguard the autonomy of cultural and historical institutions, such as the House of Ecuadorian Culture.

27.Please provide information on measures taken to decrease the digital divide and, in particular, to ensure Internet access for persons in rural areas, Indigenous Peoples and Afro‑Ecuadorian and Montubio persons and to prevent Internet outages and monopolies on television frequencies. Please provide disaggregated data on the percentage of the public that uses the Internet.