Ecuador: The right to defend rights at risk under President Daniel Noboa's government
Front Line Defenders expresses its deep concern about the deterioration of conditions for the defence of human rights and nature in Ecuador, and its impact on defenders in this context. This is attributable to a series of institutional measures and new legislation proposed by the national government that open the door to the closure of fundamental rights spaces, the criminalisation of human rights defenders and civil society organisations, and impact access to justice and information.
Elected in April 2025 after a year and a half in a transitional government, President Daniel Noboa has promoted rapid and profound changes in Ecuadorian institutions that threaten the right to defend rights and increase the risks in the already concerning situation of human rights and nature defenders in the country.
In July 2025, the government reduced the number of ministries from twenty to fourteen through Executive Decree No. 60. As a result, ministries that were key to guaranteeing rights, such as the Ministry of Women and Human Rights, were incorporated into the Ministry of Government and reduced to an undersecretariat. The decree also included the absorption of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE) by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, forming the new Ministry of Environment and Energy. This decision eliminates the autonomous oversight of the mining sector by the environmental sector, as the powers of the MAATE became subordinate to extractive policy, seriously weakening the protection of ecosystems and the communities that inhabit them, and increasing the risk of socio-environmental conflicts. This decision is particularly concerning for the human rights defence landscape in Ecuador, where most cases of defenders at risk occur in contexts of socio-environmental conflicts, with repeated cases of criminalisation of social leaders who seek to guarantee their right to participation and prior consultation in decision-making processes on extractive projects to be implemented on their territories and communities.
The measures contained in Executive Decree No. 60 are incompatible with Ecuador's international commitments on equality and human rights under the Escazú Agreement, ratified by Ecuador in 2020, which establishes the need to implement institutional mechanisms for access to information and justice on environmental issues, as well as public policies to protect environmental defenders. The reduction in the institutional framework dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, which has been rethought from a logic of control, security and public order, is concerning. Public policies for the promotion of rights and the protection of human rights and nature defenders do not seem to be on the government's agenda, which is reflected in the fact that, to date, the country does not have a mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders and nature.
In addition, the Ecuadorian Government has presented a series of laws, all under the guise of ‘urgent economic project,’ which oblige the National Assembly to process them within a maximum period of 30 days, without broad debate or citizen participation. Of particular note is the ‘organic law for the control of irregular capital flows’1, now called Social Transparency Law and referred to by President Noboa as the ‘foundations law’, which, he said, ‘aims to combat foundations that seek to destabilise the country’, particularly those that allegedly promote illegal mining. The bill presented by the Executive formally associates civil society or non-profit organisations with terrorist or illegal activities in its justification, stating that by receiving funds from various national and international sources, "civil society organisations, foundations, corporations, NGOs and community organisations (....) would be “vulnerable to being used, consciously or unconsciously, for illicit purposes.”
The Solidarity Law, also presented by the executive branch and passed by the National Assembly in one month, has been in force since June 2025 and establishes a special legal regime to deal with internal armed conflict, incorporating financial, tax, and security measures. In article 9, paragraph 4, it recognises self-defence groups as ‘organised armed groups’ without establishing clear distinctions between legitimate community organisations and armed structures linked to organised crime. This ambiguity could lead to the criminalisation of indigenous and peasant communities exercising their constitutional right to resistance (art. 98) to defend their territories against extractive activities or threats to their collective rights.
Finally, another legislative initiative presented by the Executive and already approved by the National Assembly is the ‘Intelligence Law,’ which seeks to regulate the National Intelligence System. The law has been criticised by several civil society human rights organisations for its potential to violate rights such as privacy, freedom of expression, and due process, especially with regard to the interception of communications without the need for warrants.
These three laws promoted by the Executive and the weakening of environmental and human rights institutions represent a serious risk to civil society and human rights defenders. By associating civil society organisations with illegal activities and enabling mechanisms for the dissolution of organisations, confiscation of assets and interference in financing, as well as the creation of new criminal offences that seek to criminalise self-defence groups, which can be interpreted as territorial defence or anti-extractive groups, these regulations directly restrict civic space, hindering the work of social, environmental, and human rights organisations. Such provisions jeopardise the safety of those who defend human rights and nature by creating a framework conducive to their criminalisation and stigmatisation, as well as violating freedom of association and the right to participate in public affairs.
In a country with high levels of socio-environmental conflict, these measures expose human rights defenders to reprisals and limit their institutional support and access to justice. In early August, the then MAATE sent a letter to each of more than 400 environmental civil society organisations and renowned nature defenders requesting that they submit their accountability reports and administrative balance sheets for the last three years within 48 hours, just one day before the demonstrations called by environmental groups and organisations against the merger of ministries.
Added to this scenario are the worrying public statements made by President Noboa and other senior officials in his government, such as the then Minister of the Interior, José de la Gasca, in media interviews in which they stigmatise civil society organisations, social movements and human rights and nature defenders, even associating them with armed groups and illegal activities.
In response to the advancement of legislation that violates fundamental rights, Ecuadorian civil society organisations have filed various protective actions with the Constitutional Court, the judicial branch responsible for ensuring that the country's constitution is respected. On 4 August 2025, the Constitutional Court provisionally suspended certain articles of three recently approved laws, including the aforementioned Solidarity Law and Intelligence Law, citing possible rights violations while their constitutionality is reviewed. Since then, President Noboa has repeatedly attacked the Constitutional Court. On 12 August, the executive branch organised and led a march in Quito against the Court, during which posters displaying the names and faces of judges were displayed, increasing their security risk and affecting judicial independence, according to the Court itself. Government and Assembly authorities described the Court as an ‘enemy of the people’.
This harassment of the judiciary by the executive branch was condemned by international organisations. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that statements and actions against the Court ‘could constitute attempts to undermine judicial independence’ and called for respect for the separation of powers. The IACHR expressed concern about acts and speeches that threaten the independent work of the Court.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern about the serious setbacks in human rights in Ecuador, which are taking shape through a series of legislative and institutional measures that weaken the right to defend the rights of communities and civil society organisations, threaten citizen participation and the defence of human rights and nature.
We urge the Government of Ecuador not to move forward with initiatives that intensify restrictions on civil society and human rights defenders. It is essential that all regulations that unduly limit their legitimate work be repealed or amended, ensuring that national legislation is fully in line with international human rights standards. In particular, we call on the Executive and the National Assembly to definitively shelve the draft ‘Social Transparency Law,’ as it constitutes a direct threat to civic space, civil society organisations, and human rights and nature defenders.
Similarly, we urge the Ecuadorian State to assume its responsibility to actively strengthen the human rights agenda. This requires publicly recognising the positive and legitimate role of those who defend human rights, ensuring that no public official contributes to their stigmatisation or defamation, and that public apologies are offered when this occurs. We also demand the adoption of concrete measures that guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and allow all human rights defenders to carry out their work without fear of reprisals, judicial harassment or other restrictions. In this context, we recall the State's obligation to respect the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, to guarantee the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement, and to develop comprehensive policies to protect human rights and nature defenders, ensuring their safety, legitimacy, and full respect for their work in Ecuador.
1Currently pending before the Permanent Specialised Committee on Economic Development, Productivity and Microenterprises of the National Assembly.
