Economic and Social Council
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UNITED NATIONS E Economic and Social Distr. GENERAL Council E/1990/6/Add.36 20 December 2002 ENGLISH Original: SPANISH Substantive session of 2003 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS Second periodic reports submitted by States parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant Addendum ECUADOR* ** [25 October 2002] * The initial reports (E/1978/8/Add.1, E/1986/3/Add.14 and E/1988/5/Add.7) concerning rights covered by articles 6 to 9, 10 to 12 and 13 to 15 of the Covenant, as well as the second periodic report concerning rights covered in articles 6 and 9 of the Covenant, submitted by the Government of Ecuador, were considered by the Working Group of Governmental Experts of the Economic and Social Council in 1980 (see documents E/1980/WG.1/SR.4 and 5) and in 1984 (see documents E/1984/WG.1/SR.20 and 22), and by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its fifth session in 1990 (see documents E/C.12/1990/SR.37-39 and 42). ** The information submitted in accordance with the consolidated guidelines concerning the initial part of the reports of States parties is contained in the core document (HRI/CORE/1/Add.7). GE.02-46410 (E) 260303 110403 E/1990/6/Add.36 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 - 5 3 Article 1 .................................................................................................... 6 3 Article 2 .................................................................................................... 7 - 11 3 Article 3 .................................................................................................... 12 - 35 4 Article 4 .................................................................................................... 36 9 Article 5 .................................................................................................... 37 - 41 9 Article 6 .................................................................................................... 42 - 83 10 Article 7 .................................................................................................... 84 - 138 20 Article 8 .................................................................................................... 139 - 158 34 Article 9 .................................................................................................... 159 - 209 38 Article 10 .................................................................................................. 210 - 274 46 Article 11 .................................................................................................. 275 - 376 56 Article 12 .................................................................................................. 377 - 480 78 Article 13 .................................................................................................. 481 - 544 101 Article 14 .................................................................................................. 545 119 Article 15 .................................................................................................. 546 - 615 120 E/1990/6/Add.36 page 3 Introduction 1. The present report of Ecuador on economic and social rights covers the 1990s, with projections to 2002. 2. As has been noted, Ecuador defended its initial reports and its second periodic report concerning rights covered by articles 6 to 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.1 It should be pointed out that the relevant reports have already been submitted to the new committees established by the United Nations, in particular the reports submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/ECU/4-5), the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/3/Add.44) and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD/C/226/Add.1), which may be used to supplement certain chapters of this document that may be considered incomplete. 3. The population of Ecuador has decreased. If we bear in mind the projections made during the 1990 national census, there is a shortfall of almost half a million people. This can be explained, in the main, by the wave of emigration from Ecuador to other countries, particularly the United States of America, Spain and Italy.2 4. The new Constitution, adopted by the Constituent Assembly in 1998, establishes certain basic rights, such as the recognition of ethnic minorities and their ancestral languages and cultures, which were not covered in previous constitutions. Equal access to first- and second-generation rights, the establishment of mechanisms to defend them, such as constitutional protection (amparo), habeas data and the ombudsman, are innovative elements. 5. For a better understanding of the statistics contained in this report, which are based on the exchange rate for the sucre that was in force until 2000, we have included as an annex a table with equivalencies of the exchange rate during the 1990s. Article 1 6. Article 1 of the Constitution of Ecuador states that “Ecuador is a social, sovereign, unitary, independent, democratic, multicultural and multi-ethnic State based on the rule of law. […] Sovereignty resides in the people, whose will is the basis for authority, who exercise it through government bodies and the democratic means provided for in this Constitution”. In article 4, the Constitution establishes the right of self-determination: “In its relations with the international community, Ecuador […] rejects all forms of colonialism, neocolonialism, discrimination or segregation, [and] recognizes the right of peoples to self-determination and to free themselves from oppressive systems.” Article 2 7. Article 23 of the Constitution provides for: “Equality before the law. All persons shall be considered equal and shall enjoy the same rights, freedoms and opportunities, without E/1990/6/Add.36 page 4 discrimination on grounds of birth, age, sex, ethnic group, colour, social origin, language, religion, political affiliation, property, sexual orientation, state of health, disability or difference of any other nature.” 8. Through its institutions, Ecuador has the supreme task of guaranteeing the effective exercise of respect for and realization of fundamental human rights and the rights of citizens, without distinction as to their nationality, either because such rights are contained in the Ecuadorian Constitution or because Ecuador is bound by international agreements to uphold such rights. 9. Under article 3 of the Constitution, the State has the duty to “ensure the effective exercise of human rights”. 10. Article 13 of the Constitution recognizes the equality of the rights of aliens and Ecuadorians, except for those civil and political rights restricted to Ecuadorians in accordance with the Constitution and the law. 11. Article 1 of the Aliens Act requires the State to regulate the status of aliens in Ecuador. Article 3 12. The text of the Constitution, prepared by the National Constituent Assembly and published in Official Gazette No. 1 on 11 August 1998, took account of the proposals put forward by civil society and incorporated such elements as gender equality, social justice, multicultural identity, human rights, environment, promotion of the economic, social and cultural rights of Ecuadorians, and the rule of the democratic system. Articles 34, 41 and 102 of the current Constitution refer to rights relating to gender equality. 13. Article 34 states that “the State shall guarantee equal rights and opportunities for women and men with respect to access to resources for production and to economic decision-making affecting their marital partnership and property”. According to article 41, “the State shall formulate and implement policies with a view to achieving equal opportunities for men and women”. Article 102 provides for “the equal participation of women and men as candidates in popular elections, in administrative and decision-making bodies in the public sphere”. These articles supplement article 23, paragraph 3, which deals with constitutional rights and explicitly states that there shall be no discrimination on the grounds of sex, ethnic group, colour, disability, or any other differences. 14. Article 47 of the Constitution considers children, adolescents, pregnant women, disabled persons, the elderly and the seriously ill as vulnerable groups and states that they shall receive special attention from government and private bodies. 15. The Constitution reaffirms the conviction that Ecuadorian legislation currently prohibits all forms of discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, religion or disability, and that policies are E/1990/6/Add.36 page 5 being devised to enhance genuine participation by women where rights and equal opportunities are concerned, a process which should involve the whole of society, setting aside the idea that equality should be regarded as a problem affecting women alone. 16. The important role of women in the development of Ecuadorian society, basically characterized by women’s greater participation in decision-making in recent years, was achieved with great effort. Women are increasingly becoming more prominent in politics, seeking to make themselves heard as part of the country’s population. 17. In the past decade, women have assumed a more visible role in politics. During the 1980-1984 presidential term, a woman was appointed Minister of Social Welfare for the first time. In 1990, none of the ministries